Applying · 6 min read
How to write a cover letter for a specific job
When a letter is worth writing, how to make it about this job rather than any job, and how to make your case honestly, even when you’re missing something they ask for.
By the Ergent team · Updated
Do you need a cover letter at all?
Not always. Many applications never get one read. But when the posting asks for one, when you’re changing fields, or when there’s something your resume can’t explain on its own, a short, specific letter can be the thing that gets you a call.
Write one when
- The posting asks for it, or the form has a field for it
- You’re changing careers or industries
- There’s a gap, a move or a pivot worth explaining
- It’s a small company where a person reads every application
Skip it when
- The form gives no way to attach one
- It’s a high-volume role with an automated first screen
- The posting says not to send one
- You’d only be repeating your resume in sentences
What a good letter does
A recruiter reads a cover letter for a few seconds before deciding whether to keep going. In that time it should answer one question: why you, for this job? A letter that could be sent to any company answers nothing.
The best letters do three things: name the role and something specific about it, connect two or three pieces of your real experience to what the job asks for, and finish with a short, confident close.
A structure that works
Three or four short paragraphs, under a page:
- Opening. Name the role and the company, and give a specific reason you’re interested, something from the posting, the product or the team, not “I’m excited to apply”.
- Evidence. Two or three things from your resume that match the job’s must-haves. Say what you did and what changed, using the job’s own terms where they truly describe your work.
- Fit. Optional: why this company or team in particular, or a short note on anything the resume leaves unexplained.
- Close. One or two sentences: you’d like to talk, and when you’re available.
Write from your resume, not around it
Every claim about yourself should be something your resume backs up. The letter connects the dots for the reader; it doesn’t add new ones.
If the job asks for a tool or skill you don’t have, don’t imply you do. Say what you have that’s closest, and that you’re learning the rest, if that’s true. “I haven’t used Looker, but I’ve built weekly dashboards in Tableau that four teams rely on” is honest and still makes your case. A claim you can’t back up in the interview costs you more than the gap.
- Does the first paragraph name the role and the company?
- Is there one specific reason you want this job, not just any job?
- Does each piece of evidence match something the posting asks for?
- Is every claim about you backed by your resume?
- Is it under a page, with short paragraphs?
- Did you replace every placeholder and check the company name?
Common mistakes
Repeating the resume. The reader has your resume. Use the letter to explain why those experiences matter for this job.
Starting with “I am writing to apply for…”. It wastes your strongest line. Start with the reason you’re a fit.
One letter for every company. Generic letters are easy to spot. Changing the company name isn’t tailoring; changing which evidence you lead with is.
Being too long. If it runs past a page, cut the paragraph that’s least about this job.
What a tailored letter looks like
Sample output · fictional candidate and job
From the sample letter
I care about analysis that changes what gets built. When our monthly reporting was taking three days, I automated the data pulls in SQL and brought it down to one, which gave the team time back for the questions that mattered. [Add one decision your checkout reports or dashboards influenced, if you can name it.]
The highlighted [prompt] is a detail only the candidate can add — Ergent leaves it rather than inventing one.
Questions
- How long should a cover letter be?
- Under a page: three or four short paragraphs, roughly 200 to 350 words.
- Who should I address it to?
- The hiring manager by name if the posting or company site gives it. Otherwise “Dear Hiring Team at [company]” is fine.
- Should I mention a skill I don’t have?
- Don’t claim it. Point to the closest thing you have actually done, and say you’re learning it if that’s true.
- Can I reuse one letter for several jobs?
- Reuse the structure, not the letter. Change the opening and which evidence you lead with for each job.
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