How to Write a Great Cover Letter in 2025 (With Examples)

Let me guess, you were filling out an application, typing away, and then you saw it—those dreaded words:

“cover letter required”

You probably didn’t even know they still asked for those in 2025. What next, are they going to ask you to fax it in?

Now, I get the hate, but cover letters are actually great tools. And people will come at me with pitchforks for this, but I think they should be sent out even if they’re not required.

Sure, a lot of times they don’t get read. But when they do, they give you a far better chance of getting hired. Especially when other applicants are sending cookie cutter, ChatGPT cover letters.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to create a strong cover letter. One that supports your resume and more importantly, showcases you.

So what does a cover letter need to accomplish?

It’s simple:

The purpose of a cover letter is to answer the question: “Why should we bring this person in?”

And before you get cheeky—yes, a resume also does this, but cover letters just do it better. Resumes don’t explain:

• Why you want the job
• Why this specific company
• And what you’re willing to bring to the table

Used correctly, cover letters actually support your resume. And this goes to my next point:

Don’t just rewrite your resume in paragraph form.

It’s one of the biggest mistakes people make. Not only is it boring to read, it misses the opportunity to stand out.

Should I use ChatGPT (AI)?

Look, ChatGPT is great, and I’m not saying to avoid it. But you still need to edit what it gives you.

AI is designed to spit out an average response based on everything it’s been trained on. So any AI generated cover letter is just that—average.

To create an impactful cover letter, you need to make it feel more human—more you. I’ll include templates to help you do exactly that.

You can run the templates through ChatGPT to help you brainstorm, this is where it shines.

But please—I’m begging, proofread what it gives you. Take out anything it ‘makes up’ about you. And remove any unnatural wording, something you could never see yourself saying in person.

What makes up a cover letter

To create a memorable cover letter, we’re going to stray away from the standard introduction, body, and conclusion format.

Instead, we’ll follow this format:

• Opener (introduction)
• Who you are
• Skills match
• Why this company
• Closing (conclusion)

Step 1: Opener (Introduction)

Who to greet

Every letter needs a greeting.

Let’s not overcomplicate this though—I’m not going to have you comb through LinkedIn profiles like a private detective.

Yes, in a perfect world, you’d want to address the person doing the hiring. But it’s so hard to know 100%.

Will it be the Head of HR? The Manager for the department hiring? The CEO who decided he’s bored and wants to play hiring manager? Hard to say.

So let’s keep it simple. Address the letter with:

“Dear Hiring Manager”

Writing the Opener (Introduction)

A common mistake people make here is opening with a ‘Hi my name is [X] and I’m applying for the [X] role on LinkedIn.’

😴

Let’s get you something that doesn’t feel so standard and robotic. Something more human.

Harvard Business Review actually has a great guide on cover letter openers on YouTube.

But to sum it up, you want to show some enthusiasm for the job.

Is this a company you’ve bought products from? Or a role you’ve always wanted to get into? Does their LinkedIn show a fun work culture?

Let them know!

Opener (Introduction) examples

Feel free to add on to it if needed. These should be no longer than 3 sentences.

Step 2: Who you are

To make your letter flow, your next few sentences should introduce who you are and your professional background.

You can include:

• Your career
• How many years of experience you have
• What kind of roles you’ve worked in
• Your focus, skills
• What kinds of problems you typically solve

Think of it like an elevator pitch. If you were at a networking event, how would you answer if someone asked ‘what do you do’?

Here are some examples of what this section should look like:

‘Who you are’ examples

Step 3: Skills match

The skills match is the meat of your cover letter, it’s where you connect your skills to what they’re looking for.

Before you start writing, I highly recommend brainstorming. It’ll help you sort out your thoughts before you write anything.

Quick brainstorm exercise

The important thing you need to do is figure out what the hiring manager cares about.

You might be applying for an Office Admin role, but if they have 2 bullet points about payroll—you’ll know this isn’t just about answering phones.

So here’s what you do:

1. Take a look at the job description and find 2-3 things you think they care about. Either things bulleted first, mentioned more than once, or in the qualifications section.

2. Then write notes for each of those 3 things. Include:
   • When you used that skill
   • What that skill accomplished for your past jobs
   • What you learned doing that skill

Writing the skills paragraph

For writing, you don’t want to cram as many skills as possible—remember, one page.

Instead, take at least 2 skills you want to talk about. Ideally, ones that relate to the brainstorm you just did.

For each skill, break the paragraph into three parts:

• The setup — introduce the skill
• The situation — where the skill was used
• The outcome or lesson — what happened or what did you learn

The setup

For the setup, you want to introduce your skill.

Here you’d use sentences like:

• I’ve always been drawn to roles where I get to [use this skill].
• I’ve picked up a range of skills over time, but [skill] has been the most valuable by far.
• When I looked at the job description, the part that stood out to me most was the need for [skill].

The situation

In the next sentence, set up a situation where that skill was used. Either broadly or a specific example from work.

Here you’d use sentences like:

• I used it most while working on [project, process, or responsibility] at [company], where I handled [specific duties]. This meant staying on top of [challenge, demand, or expectation].
• At [Company], that’s something I used in my day-to-day work with [team or department] in handling [task or responsibility]. It came in handy when we needed to balance [priority 1] with [priority 2].

The outcome/lesson

In the next sentence, close it up with what your skill accomplished or what you learned. This ties everything up in a neat knot.

Here you’d use sentences like:

• It taught me how to [takeaway about how you work].
• It showed me how important [personal trait or habit] is when doing this type of work.

Skills paragraph examples

When I looked at the job description, the part that stood out to me most was the need for video editing. That’s something I used in my day-to-day work with the Marketing department in handling social media ads. Especially when we were dealing with peak shopping seasons. It taught me how to really manage my time and communicate expectations with my team.

I’ve also always been drawn to roles where I get to focus on email marketing. I used it most while working on a sales automation strategy at ACME, where I handled everything from writing the emails to designing them. It required me to stay on top of tight deadlines to keep things moving, and it taught me how important time management is in this kind of work.

Repeat this section for any additional skills you want to talk about.

Step 4: Why this company

Alright, enough bragging. Let’s shift the focus to the company. This is where you share why you want to work here. You can bring up anything that speaks to you, like their values, culture, products, etc.

You’ll need to do your research though.

Some places to look:

• Glassdoor or any other employer review site
• Their website (hint: check their ‘about us’ page or read through their blog page)
• Their social media (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn)

And then use these templates to help you write:

• That’s why I’m excited about this role, it feels like a natural next step where I can bring my strengths in [skill or approach] to a team that values [trait or principle].
• Lately, I’ve been exploring opportunities in [industry], and [Company Name] seems like a great place to apply these skills while continuing to grow.
• That’s why I was drawn to [Company Name]. Your work on [product, service, or initiative] stood out to me, and it’s the kind of thing I’d be proud to support, especially with my background in [skill or field].

‘Why this company’ examples

Step 5: Closer (Conclusion)

Here, you’ll want to wrap up your cover letter. 

• Thank the reader for their time and consideration 
• And end the letter with a call to action that encourages them to reach out to you. (This one is crucial)

For the closing, you can use one of these:

• Thank you,
• Thank you for your consideration,
• Best Regards,
• Sincerely,

Closer (Conclusion) examples

Optional sections

These won’t apply to everyone, but they’re worth including if they fit your situation.

Career changes

If you’re switching industries or roles, explain why and highlight how your existing skills or experiences still apply.

Gaps and freelance work

Address any gaps or freelance experience in your resume. These things can usually raise questions so use your cover letter to get ahead of them.

Notes on availability or logistics

If there’s something logistical the employer should know, like your availability, relocation plans, or work authorization, make sure to mention it.

Review

You know what’s worse than a boring cover letter? A cover letter full of spelling mistakes 😬

Make sure to proofread yours before submitting.

ChatGPT can be great here. Use it to clean up any spelling or grammar mistakes.

Grammar.ly is also a great resource, though it might require a free account.

The finished cover letter

All done.

You should now have a strong, memorable cover letter.

If you still need some inspiration, I left some examples below to get the cogs turning.

And if you need help writing a resume, you can check out our guide here.

Happy job searching 😄

Examples