Cover letter

How to use this template

  1. Fill in the table below from the job posting before you write: the two things it asks for most, and what you did that proves each. One solid result beats three vague ones.

  2. Write one paragraph over each grey line. The opening names the role and the one reason you fit it. Each proof gives the situation, what you did and what changed, with a number if you have one. The closing says why this company and proposes the next step.

  3. Show rather than describe: “cut setup time from 21 days to 9” says more than “results-driven”. Skip “I am writing to apply”; the reader already knows.

  4. Replace the few [blue brackets], keep the letter to one page (about 250–400 words), and set the text back to the default colour.

  5. Delete everything that isn't the letter: the label, this box, the example and the checklist.

Match the posting first

What they want

What you'll show

Why this company:

[Your name]

[City] · [Email] · [Phone] · [LinkedIn or portfolio]

[Month DD, YYYY]

[Hiring manager's name], [Title]
[Company]
[City, State]

Re: Application for [job title]

Dear [Name],

Opening: the role, and the one reason you fit it

Proof: your result for their top requirement

Proof: a second requirement, a second result

Closing: why them, and the next step

Sincerely,

[Your name]

See an example letter

Opening: I'm applying for the Senior Customer Success Manager role on your careers page. Fieldnote's push to move clinics off paper intake is the problem I've spent the last four years on, and I'd like to help your mid-size customers get there faster.

Proof 1: At Tallyhealth I took over onboarding for 40 enterprise accounts that were stalling after they signed. I rebuilt the kickoff into a two-week plan with a named champion on each side, and the time to the first live clinic fell from 21 days to 9. Renewals in that group rose from 82% to 94% the next year.

Proof 2: Your posting asks for someone who turns customer feedback into product changes. Every month I brought our product team the five most-requested fixes, with the accounts and revenue behind each; three shipped within a quarter, including the bulk import that cut setup calls by half.

Closing: I'd welcome a conversation about where onboarding stands at Fieldnote today. I'm free any afternoon next week, and I'll follow up on Friday in case that's easier.

Before you send

  • The company name, the job title and the hiring manager's name are right everywhere, especially if you started from another letter

  • Every grey line and bracket is replaced, and the text is back to the default colour

  • Each middle paragraph proves a requirement from the posting with something you did

  • It fits on one page, and you've read it aloud once to catch clumsy sentences

  • Saved as a PDF named like “Firstname-Lastname-Cover-Letter.pdf”, unless the application asks you to paste it into a form