The only structure you need
- Line one: the specific hook. Name the role and one concrete reason you are credible for it.
- Paragraph two: proof. One or two results that map directly to the job's top requirement.
- Paragraph three: fit. Why this company, in their language — product, market, mission or problem.
- Close: availability and next step. Time zone, notice period, and a clear invitation.
Keep the whole thing under 250 words. Recruiters skim.
Example: global remote engineering role
I'm applying for the Backend Engineer role at Northwind. I've spent four years building payment APIs at scale in Lagos — most recently cutting settlement failures from 2.1% to 0.3% across 1.4M monthly transactions.
Your job description emphasises reliability under load and Go services. At Paystack-scale volume I owned three Go services with 99.98% uptime, introduced structured logging and cut p95 latency 38% in one quarter.
Northwind's move into cross-border payouts is exactly the problem I want to work on next; I've shipped in that domain and understand the compliance edge cases.
I work GMT+1 with six hours of daily overlap with your Berlin team and can start within four weeks.
Mistakes to avoid
- Restating your CV in prose.
- Opening with "I am writing to apply for…" — wasted first line.
- Praising the company without evidence you understand it.
- Any sentence that could appear in someone else's letter.
Career changers
Lead with transferable evidence, then name the change directly: what you did, what transfers, what you have already done in the new field. Vagueness reads as uncertainty.
FAQs
Are cover letters optional? When optional, submit one for roles you genuinely want. It is a cheap advantage in a crowded pool.
Can AI write it? Yes, if you give it the job description and your real evidence, then edit for voice. Generic AI output is obvious; grounded AI output is not.