Cover letter examples

Choose a cover letter by situation first, then by job. A reply to a job advert, a speculative letter and a graduate scheme application each call for a different letter.

• Replying to a job advert: start from a letter that answers the essential criteria in order. See the cover letter for a job application.
• Speculative application: open with something specific about the organisation, then say what kind of role you're after.
• Graduate scheme or placement: your course, your dissertation or projects, and the skills they gave you.
• Career change: explain the move in one sentence, then two skills that carry over, each with a fact.

The grid above sorts our cover letter examples by situation and by job. Each one comes with the full letter and what the recruiter looks for in that case.

The National Careers Service describes it as a short letter of 3 to 5 paragraphs that you should always send when you apply with a CV, by email or on paper. Most cover letter examples from UK employers and universities follow the same plan:

1. Your contact details, then the date and the employer's details.
2. The greeting: a name and title (Dr, Mr, Mrs, Ms) if you can find one on the advert or the company website.
3. The introduction: the job title, the reference number if there is one, and where you saw the advert.
4. Why you: the skills and experience that match what the employer asks for, backed by facts.
5. The ending: thank them, say your CV has the details and that you look forward to hearing from them.

The most common case: a reply to a vacancy on Indeed, Reed, LinkedIn or an employer's careers site. It names the organisation in the first paragraph and answers each criterion with a figure.

• The reference line repeats the exact job title and reference from the advert.
• The first paragraph talks about the employer's need before the candidate.
• The second proves each criterion with numbers: nine advisers, 1,400 calls, 68% to 81%.

With no vacancy to reply to, your first line has to give a reason to keep reading: a new site, a project, a piece of news. Tell them what sort of role you're looking for, as the National Careers Service advises.

• Healthcare and care: your registration or training, the settings you've worked in and the shift patterns you can cover.
• Retail and hospitality: customer numbers, sales or covers, and how you handle a busy Saturday.
• Education: your training, the key stages you've taught and one result with pupils.

• A new letter for every job, tailored to the organisation and the role: the National Careers Service is clear on this.
• The same font and size as your CV, and the same contact details on both.
• The company name and the recruiter's details spelt correctly, and no other employer's name left over.
• Every claim backed by a fact, and the keywords from the job advert used as written.
• A copy kept for yourself: you may be asked about it at interview.

If you've mentioned a disability on your CV, you can say more about it in your letter, but the National Careers Service is clear that you don't have to mention it at this stage.

An example gives you the shape; you still have to write your letter. In Kandiq, you start from a blank page or from a first draft written by AI from the full job advert and your CV. Your CV is the only source of facts it can use: when something is missing, the letter leaves a [to complete] placeholder rather than inventing it. The cover letter generator page shows how it works.

• A scored review, with no AI: length (900 to 2,600 characters), company named in the body, advert terms, empty phrases, a figure, placeholders left behind.
• Layouts that match your CV: same accent colour, same font, no columns, no photo.
• In English, French or Spanish, downloaded as a PDF or a Word file with Kandiq Pro.