Cover Letter Templates and Examples

Most applicants now draft cover letters in ChatGPT, and hiring managers have learned the tells: the "I am writing to express my interest" opener, three evenly balanced paragraphs, a closing that thanks them for their time. A letter that reads like every other letter gives the reader nothing to hold on to. Each guide shows you where to drop in a specific project, a number, or a name, so your letter reads like it came from you rather than a prompt.

The opening and closing carry the most weight. Skip "I am writing to apply for the position of"; the reader already knows why you wrote. Open with the thing that makes you a fit: a result you delivered, the person who referred you, the reason you want this employer over any other. Close by saying what you will do next, not by thanking them for their time. "I would welcome the chance to show you how I cut our onboarding time by a third" does more work than "Thank you for considering my application."

Terminology splits by country. Employers in the United States and Canada ask for a cover letter. Across Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, the Philippines and India, the same document is an application letter, and the conventions differ: an "RE:" subject line, "Yours faithfully" instead of "Sincerely," a more formal register. Use that section for the Commonwealth version and this one for the US and Canadian cover letter.

Start with how to write a cover letter for the full structure, or cover letter format when you only need the spacing and layout. Writing your first one with no work history to point to? The internship cover letter guide works through exactly that. Applying to teach? The teacher application letter example pairs a full sample with the wording schools look for.

Every example is free to read and copy. As each guide is rebuilt, it ships with a download-ready .docx you can open in Word or Google Docs, with no email wall and no account. An AI summary can describe a cover letter for you; it cannot hand you the file.