500+ Best Cover Letter Examples to Pair w/ Your Resume

A cover letter is a short and sweet way to give hiring managers a glimpse into who you are as an employee and what you can bring to their company. It’s your chance to make a lasting and positive impression.

It’s probably also worth detailing what a cover letter is not.

A cover letter is not your life story, not pages of work history, and not a place to vent about coworkers or managers. For sure, some job seekers make the mistake of including these things in their cover letters, but we can assure you their applications won’t make it far.

The best cover letter is one that gives a genuine snapshot of the how and why behind your top work accomplishments (and how those accomplishments are relevant to the place you’re applying) and will leave hiring managers feeling confident in contacting you for a chance to connect.

Start by checking out cover letter samples that aren’t just generic fluff. Look for a cover letter example that does the following:

• addresses a specific company and its needs
• shares the candidate’s work achievements and how they were accomplished, and
• expresses genuine excitement for the role and a chance for an interview or future conversation.

A sample cover letter like that will be a guiding light for you to imitate.

Why?

Because you’ll be leaving an overly generalized and boring letter behind that no one wants to read. Instead, you’ll have a professional cover letter that excites recruiters and hiring managers because they’ll be able to see how your skills and past success on the job have impacted other companies; they’ll want to talk more about how you can do the same for them.

Before you figure out how to start a cover letter, format your cover letter properly and include the correct contact information for yourself and the recipient.

Moving on from there, you’ll need three to five short paragraphs:

• Paragraph 1: Make a connection with the company and demonstrate your qualifications for the job.
• Paragraphs 2-4: Highlight specific work accomplishments in the past, explaining the how and why, that are relevant to the needs and requirements of the company where you’re applying
• Paragraph 5: Sum up with a qualifying thought, demonstrate a confident interest in further conversation, and express gratitude for the hiring manager’s time.

Finally, sign off with a professional and kind close, such as “Sincerely,” “Kind regards,” “Thank you,” etc., and your name.

FOMO (fear of missing out for those of you still catching up to today’s lingo) is a real thing, and while we’re not advocating that you let fear be your backseat driver, do you want to potentially miss out on your dream job just because you didn’t take the time to write a cover letter?

The thing is, most job seekers are blindly throwing their resumes out into the world with the hopes they’ll get a bite. It’s honestly a lot like that magnetic fishing game you always see kids doing at carnivals. There’s a whole bunch of ‘em overcrowded around a kiddie pool. Only one lucky kid’s going home with the rinky-dink prize; all the rest leave with shoulders slumped and feet shuffling to the next game.

But instead of sending your resume off to the masses and just hearing crickets, what if you added a cover letter and sent your matching duo off to, say, 5 companies a day? And what if you adjusted each cover letter to specifically address the needs of the company where you’re applying?

A good cover letter will take you places that your resume, on its own, just can’t. And a cover letter tailored to the company where you want to work is going to be hard for a hiring manager to pass up. All of a sudden, you’re the kid who wised up about the magnetic fishing game and went straight for the dunking booth—because you know you’ve got good aim.

Gone are the days of two to three-page cover letters—or at least those days should be gone!

Great cover letters will never be longer than a page. If it takes someone three pages to explain how fantastic they are at what they do, doesn’t that make you a little wary? This is the time to be confident in your skills and abilities, and it should only take a short cover letter to do it.

Short cover letters respect the time of recruiters and hiring managers while clearly and quickly showing them what you can bring to the table.

Yup. We’ve got over 500 example cover letters across all industries to guide you in creating a cover letter for the job you want. Our sample cover letters and tips will build your confidence, as you’ll know exactly what to include in yours.

Not only are our cover letter examples free, but our cover letter generator is free for you to use, too. Pair your resume with the job description, and we’ll generate a cover letter for you tailored to the role. Complete the package with a free cover letter template that matches your BeamJobs resume.