Cover letter for experienced professionals
Four short paragraphs: the role and your experience, your best result for this job, why this company, and a close. Write yours below, or start from the sample closest to you.
First job? Cover letter for freshers.
What changes after a few years
Lead with a result
A fresher proves potential with a project. You have results: the first paragraph after the opening should hold your best one, with a number.
Match their problem
Pick the result closest to what the posting needs, not your most impressive one. A sales manager hiring for SMB deals wants your SMB number.
Say why you are moving, forward
One clause about the work you want next, never about what is wrong where you are. The letter may be read by people who know your manager.
Write yours
Your cover letter
Dear Hiring Manager,
I am applying for the [Role] position at [Company]. I have spent [your years, role and company].
[One thing you did that proves those skills: what, how, and the result.]
My résumé is attached. I would welcome the chance to talk about how I can help your team.
Regards, [Your name]
54 words. 5 blanks in [brackets] to fill before you send it.
Runs in your browser. Nothing you type here is sent anywhere.
Samples
Data analyst, 3 yearsProduct Analyst · Kiranakart
Dear Hiring Manager,
I am applying for the Product Analyst position at Kiranakart. I have spent three years as a data analyst at a retail chain, and the skills in your posting that I use most are SQL, Power BI and A/B testing.
I built the weekly sales dashboard 40 store managers use, which cut their reporting from a day to an hour. Last quarter I found a pricing error in one region worth about a lakh a month.
I would like to join Kiranakart because your analysts sit inside the product team, and I want my work to change the product directly.
My résumé is attached. I would welcome the chance to talk about how I can help your team.
Regards, Arjun Mehta
Sales, 4 yearsAccount Executive · Fieldbook
Dear Hiring Manager,
I am applying for the Account Executive position at Fieldbook. I have spent four years in inside sales for a B2B software company, and the skills in your posting that I use most are enterprise sales, Salesforce and product demos.
Last year I closed 118% of my target, mostly with mid-sized manufacturers like the ones your product serves.
I would like to join Fieldbook because I want to own full deals, from the first call to the signed contract.
My résumé is attached. I would welcome the chance to talk about how I can help your team.
Regards, Rohan Desai
HR, 2 yearsHR Generalist · Brightpath Staffing
Dear Hiring Manager,
I am applying for the HR Generalist position at Brightpath Staffing. I have spent two years as an HR executive at a 300-person manufacturing firm, and the skills in your posting that I use most are recruitment, onboarding and HRMS.
I hired more than 60 people last year and brought our average time to fill a role from 45 days to 28. I also moved our onboarding from paper to the HRMS.
I would like to join Brightpath Staffing because your clients hire at a pace where a good process shows quickly.
My résumé is attached. I would welcome the chance to talk about how I can help your team.
Regards, Fatima Shaikh
Nurse moving hospitalsICU Staff Nurse · Lakeview Hospital
Dear Hiring Manager,
I am applying for the ICU Staff Nurse position at Lakeview Hospital. I have spent five years as a staff nurse, the last three in a 20-bed ICU, and the skills in your posting that I use most are ventilator care, patient assessment and ACLS.
I care for up to three ventilated patients a shift, and I trained 12 new nurses on our handover checklist.
I would like to join Lakeview Hospital because your critical care unit runs the structured training programme I want to grow into.
My résumé is attached. I would welcome the chance to talk about how I can help your team.
Regards, Anjali Thomas
Career change: teacher to instructional designInstructional Designer · Learnloop
Dear Hiring Manager,
I am applying for the Instructional Designer position at Learnloop. I have spent six years teaching science, and this year a certificate in instructional design, and the skills in your posting that I use most are curriculum design, assessment writing and storyboarding.
I designed a 40-lesson Class 9 physics course that my school now uses across six sections. I have also built three sample e-learning modules, linked in my résumé.
I would like to join Learnloop because you build courses for school students, and I know how they actually learn.
My résumé is attached. I would welcome the chance to talk about how I can help your team.
Regards, Meera Pillai
Questions people ask
Should I mention why I am leaving my current job?
Only as where you want to go, in one clause: “I want to own full deals” rather than “there is no growth here”. The interview is the place for the full answer.
Should I mention my notice period or CTC in the cover letter?
No. They belong in the application form or the conversation with the recruiter. A cover letter is for why you fit the role.
How long should an experienced professional’s cover letter be?
The same as a fresher’s: four short paragraphs, 150 to 250 words. More experience means better choices about what to leave out, not a longer letter.
How do I write a cover letter for a career change?
Open with the years you have, then the result from your current field that uses a skill the new one needs, then what you have done to move (a course, a project). The last example above is one.
A letter for every job, from your résumé
BananaJobz writes a cover letter for each job from your résumé and the posting, using only what is true about you, ready to edit. Free includes 5 a month.
The sample people and companies are made up.