A cover letter should always accompany your resume when applying for a job. The purpose of the resume cover letter is to introduce yourself to an employer or recruiter and inspire them to find out more about you by reading your resume.
Resume cover letters will be unique to your circumstances. If you are a graduate or school leaver, your cover letter will be different from the one you will write if you are on a career break, making a career change, looking for temp work, or were fired.
Here we provide resume cover letter examples to help you create an effective document reflecting your situation.
Cover letter basics
Before viewing our cover letter examples, we recommend reviewing the four basic steps of writing a cover letter:
- Personalize your cover letter: Always address your cover letter to the recruiter, hiring manager, employer, or department. Correctly addressing your cover letter demonstrates that you are not sending out a generic document and have a genuine interest in the employer.
- Research the company: Research the organization further to understand its values, mission, and culture. You can visit the company’s career page to gain insights into qualifications, duties, and desirable skills and experience.
- Convince the reader: Describe how you are uniquely qualified for the position and the organization’s ideal candidate. You can provide evidence to your statements by mentioning sales achievements, statistics, customer satisfaction levels, managerial praise, awards, or recognition.
- Proofread your cover letter: Always proofread and spell-check your cover letter. The best approach is to get someone you trust to proofread and dictate your cover letter to you.
School leaver cover letter example
A school leaver’s cover letter needs to play to your strengths and abilities. It would be best to focus on your skills, which means placing your education ahead of any work experience you may have. Mentioning your hobbies, interests, volunteer work, and extracurricular activities in a paragraph or two provides plenty of opportunities to include examples of transferable skills usage, your personality, and positive traits.
-> DOWNLOAD A FREE SCHOOL LEAVER COVER LETTER EXAMPLE
Graduate cover letter example
If you are a recent graduate, you can take the school leaver formula and take it to the next level to create an outstanding graduate cover letter. We recommend highlighting degree modules and projects where you could leverage the professional skills that the employee is seeking.
Relevant seasonal temp work and part-time employment can further prove your soft and hard skills.
-> DOWNLOAD A FREE GRADUATE COVER LETTER EXAMPLE
Fired cover letter example
If you have been fired, you can explain the end of employment as made redundant after an organization’s restructuring or following furlough. Losing a job can be a sensitive topic, but you can work it to your advantage if you handle it correctly. For example, you can mention hobbies or volunteer work to demonstrate continued activity or new skills discovery, followed by expressing your desire to return to work.
-> DOWNLOAD A FREE FIRED COVER LETTER EXAMPLE
Temp work cover letter example
A temp work cover letter differs from the standard formula due to the unique challenges of part-time or temporary work. It would help if you prioritized highlighting your transferable skills, adaptability, immediate availability, and flexibility. If you have limited previous work experience, use the scope of your education and different courses and topics to convey your suitability.
–> DOWNLOAD A FREE TEMP WORK COVER LETTER EXAMPLE
Career break cover letter example
A career break cover letter should briefly explain the gap in employment and indicate that you are ready to re-enter the workplace. To define a career gap, you can state that you are returning from starting a family, illness, study, or fulfilling family commitments.