Cover letter examples

Pick a cover letter by situation first, then by job. Answering a job posting, applying for an internship and changing careers call for three different letters: the first follows the posting's requirements, the second leans on your coursework and projects, the third explains the move and the skills that carry over.

• You're answering a job posting: start from a letter that follows the requirements in order and swap each one for an achievement of yours.
• You're applying for an internship: use a letter built on classes, projects and availability, like the internship cover letter.
• You were referred: name the person in the first sentence. It is the strongest opening you have.
• You're changing careers: open with the reason for the move, then two skills that transfer, 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 hiring manager looks for in that case.

1. Header: your name, phone, email, city and state, then the date and the employer's details.
2. Greeting: “Dear Ms. Alvarez,” when you have a name. Otherwise “Dear Hiring Manager,” rather than “To Whom It May Concern.”
3. Opening: the exact job title, where you found the posting, and why this company.
4. Body: two or three requirements from the posting, each answered with an achievement and a number.
5. Closing: what you'd bring, a request for an interview, and “Sincerely,” followed by your name.

Leave out your age, marital status and salary history unless the employer asks for them. Under the laws the EEOC enforces, hiring decisions can't be based on age (40 or older), race, religion, sex or national origin, so none of that helps your case.

The most common case: a letter that answers a job posted on LinkedIn, Indeed or a company careers page. It follows the requirements in order, names the company in the first paragraph and backs each skill with a number.

• The opening talks about the employer's need before talking about the candidate.
• The middle paragraph proves each requirement with a figure: 120 appointments, four physicians, 30% fewer no-shows.

The first sentence decides whether the rest gets read. Say who you are, what you want and why this company. Three openings to adapt (all fictional):

Skip openings that say nothing, like “I am writing to express my interest in the position.” The hiring manager already knows why you're writing.

The structure stays the same, but each field expects something different in the body paragraph:

• Healthcare: your license, the units or settings you've worked in, and the shifts you can take.
• Retail and customer service: customer volume, sales results and how you handle complaints.
• Office and administration: software, scheduling, accuracy and deadlines.
• Education: certification, grade levels and one result with students.
• Technology: the stack, a project shipped and its measurable impact.

One page, three to four paragraphs, the same font and header as your resume. The cover letter length guide explains the word count in detail. In Kandiq, the review puts the body of a good letter between 900 and 2,600 characters.

• The company only appears in the header: the letter reads like one sent to a hundred employers.
• Another company's name left over from the last application.
• Generic claims (“I'm a hard-working team player”) with no fact behind them.
• Typos in the company's or hiring manager's name: read it out loud before you send.

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 posting and your resume. Your resume is the only source of facts it's allowed to use: when something is missing, the letter leaves a [to complete] placeholder instead of inventing it. The cover letter generator page shows how it works.

• A scored review, with no AI: length, company named in the body, posting terms, empty phrases, a figure, placeholders left behind.
• Layouts that match your resume: same accent color, same font, no columns, no photo.
• In English, Spanish or French, downloaded as a PDF or a Word file with Kandiq Pro.