How to Structure a Cover Letter

Read what the question is asking

The biggest reason people get stuck is that they pick the story they want to tell and only look at the question afterwards. Application questions usually ask indirectly about an ability or attitude the employer wants to see. "A difficulty you overcame" is often about how you approach problems, "a time you worked in a team" about how you handle conflict and what role you played, and "why you are applying" about how well you understand the job. Write down in one line what the question is trying to find out before you choose your material, and the piece will not drift. If a question asks for two things at once, such as an experience and what you learned from it, check at the end that you answered both parts.

One experience per question

Listing several experiences in one answer means none of them gets shown in depth. Choose the single experience that best shows the ability being asked about and describe in detail where you made decisions and acted. That is far more convincing. When choosing, look first at whether your role is clear rather than how big the result was. A large team success is weak if your part is vague, while a small task is great material if your judgment changed the outcome. Keeping a list of experiences in advance stops you reusing the same one for several questions. Next to each experience on the list, note one or two abilities it can show; matching experiences to questions becomes much easier.

Organize it as situation, task, action, result

Writing about an experience in the four steps below makes it easy to follow. The action step deserves the most space; a long setup tends to bury what you actually did. Finish with a sentence or two linking what you learned to how you would use it in this role.

• Situation: when it was and what the conditions were, briefly
• Task: the problem to solve and your role
• Action: what you did and why, in concrete terms
• Result: what changed and what you learned

Put the conclusion first

Readers often decide from the first sentence of each answer whether to keep reading. So open each paragraph by stating what the experience shows. For example, start with a claim such as "When something goes wrong, I check the records for the cause before I act," then bring in the experience as evidence. Short headings for each answer can also get the point across quickly, but make sure they match the body and do not turn into exaggerated slogans.

Motivation is not praise for the company

Answers that praise a company's size or reputation could be written by anyone and are quickly forgotten. Instead, explain how you understand the work in this role, which parts of your experience connect to it, and what you would like to try once you join. Drawing on the company's public materials, the job posting and descriptions of its business shows that you prepared. Do not use unverified rumors or guesses as evidence. Your reasons for applying and your plans after joining should connect. If why you want the work and what you want to do once there point in different directions, the whole letter loses force.

Handling length limits

When there is a length limit, check exactly how it is counted, for example whether spaces are included. Write freely at first and cut afterwards; you lose less of the substance that way. Cut the setup and filler first and keep the action and result. Falling far short of the limit can look like a lack of effort, so aim close to it, but never pad by repeating yourself. After pasting into the application form, check that line breaks and special characters have not been mangled.

Common mistakes and how to revise

Leave the draft for a day before rereading; awkward parts stand out much more. If possible, have someone else read it and ask them what they learned about you. If their answer is not what you intended, your main point is blurry. Copying sample answers from the internet or someone else's essay shows easily because the wording overlaps, and it leaves you with sentences you cannot explain in an interview. Even if you use a writing tool, rewrite the result in your own experience and voice.

• Another company's name or lines from a previous application left in
• Words like "diligent" or "responsible" with no experience behind them
• A long story that does not answer the question
• Exaggerations you could not explain in an interview