How do you write a cover letter for a specific job?
Pick the two or three requirements in the posting that matter most. Find the line on your resume that proves each one. Write one short paragraph per requirement, then add an opening that names the job and a closing that asks for an interview. Keep it under one page, and use only true facts.
That is the whole method. The rest of this page shows each part with a made-up example, and explains where the advice comes from. Career centers and public employers that publish cover letter guides agree on most of it. Where they differ, this page says so.
If you are still deciding whether to send a letter at all, read are cover letters necessary first. This page assumes the posting asks for one, or that you have decided one will help.
What should you do before you start writing?
Read the posting twice, list its requirements, and mark the two or three that appear first or most often. Next to each one, write the job, project and result from your resume that proves it. If a requirement has no proof, leave it out of the letter. That list becomes your outline.
The Ontario Public Service's guide, Writing a cover letter and résumé, dated October 2015, says to "Tailor your cover letter to the qualifications of the job advertisement." It adds two points worth copying: "Focus on your most recent experience and accomplishments," and show "that you know something about the ministry or the organization."
A few minutes of research gives you that last point. Read the employer's careers page, a recent news item or the team's own page. One true sentence about why this employer interests you is enough, and it should come after the evidence.
What goes in the header and greeting?
Put your name, email, phone and city at the top, matching your resume. Add the date. A subject line with the job title and job ID helps the reader file it. Address a named person if the posting names one, and use "Dear hiring team" or "Dear hiring manager" if it doesn't.
Guides differ on the greeting. Monroe Community College's career center says to address the letter to a specific person, and to call the employer for a name. The Ontario Public Service guide says that because its recruitment is centralized, "The Hiring Manager" or "To Whom it May Concern" is sufficient. Use a name when you can find one quickly, and don't guess.
The Ontario guide also recommends a subject line that gives "the file number (Job ID) and job title." If an employer has several similar openings, the job ID tells the reader exactly which posting you mean.
How should the first paragraph open?
Name the job and say in one sentence why you fit it. Give your strongest piece of evidence early, so a reader who stops after three lines still learns the main fact. If someone referred you, name them here. Leave out broad claims about passion or being a perfect fit.
The University of Northern British Columbia's cover letter handout says to mention "the position you are applying for and how you found out about it," and to name "two or three strengths that qualify you." The Ontario guide adds a useful caution: in its screening, how you heard about a job "is not used as part of the screening criteria." Keep that part to a few words.
Here is a made-up opening. Change every detail to your own facts.
I'm applying for the Payroll Specialist role (job ID 2290). For the past four years I've run biweekly payroll for 600 employees across Ontario and Quebec, which matches the multi-province experience your posting asks for.
What goes in the middle paragraphs?
Give each top requirement its own short paragraph. Start with the requirement in the employer's words, then give your evidence: what you did, where, and the result. One example per paragraph is enough. Two or three of these paragraphs make the core of the letter, and they are the part readers check.
The Ontario guide asks you to "Cite specific and relevant experiences or examples." It also says to write "in your own words" and to avoid "directly copying material from the job description." The federal public service gives similar advice for its screening questions on its page about applying for Government of Canada jobs: "Don't just state that you have the experience or education; provide details or examples."
Use the posting's key terms, and write the sentences yourself. If the posting says "vendor management," use those two words, then describe your own vendor work in plain language. Our page on resume keywords explains why matching the employer's terms matters, and the XYZ resume formula gives a pattern for stating a result.
Here is a made-up middle paragraph.
Your posting asks for experience with year-end reporting. Last January I prepared T4 and RL-1 slips for 612 employees and reconciled them to the general ledger before the filing deadline. Our auditors raised no payroll findings that year.
How should you close the letter?
Thank the reader, say you would welcome an interview, and give the best way to reach you. Mention when you can start if that matters, for example after a move. Two or three sentences is enough. Sign with your full name, and attach the letter in the format the employer asks for.
The UNBC handout says to "Mention your interest in a personal interview," to provide "information on your availability and how the employer may contact you," and to "Always thank the employer for their time and consideration." Those three points cover the whole closing.
How long should a cover letter be?
One page or less for most jobs. Monroe Community College says to "Limit your cover letter to 3 to 4 brief paragraphs," about half to three quarters of a page. Some public employers allow more: the Ontario Public Service guide suggests one to two pages, within a five page limit for the whole application.
This table shows how the parts fit together in a one page letter.
| Part | Job it does | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Header and subject line | Your contact details, the date, the job title and ID | 4 to 6 short lines |
| Greeting | A named person, or "Dear hiring team" | 1 line |
| Opening | Names the job and your strongest fact | 2 or 3 sentences |
| Evidence paragraph 1 | Proves the top requirement with one example | 2 to 4 sentences |
| Evidence paragraph 2 | Proves the second requirement | 2 to 4 sentences |
| Optional paragraph | A gap, a move, a career change, or why this employer | 2 or 3 sentences |
| Closing | Thanks, interest in an interview, availability | 2 or 3 sentences |
If your draft runs long, cut the sentences that repeat your resume without adding evidence. The UNBC handout puts it plainly: "Don't repeat your resume."
What should you check before you send it?
Check that every claim is true and appears on your resume or in your records. Then check the details that readers notice first: the company name, the job title, and the job ID. A letter that names the wrong employer is an easy error to make when you reuse a draft.
Run through this list before you send it.
- Every fact in the letter is true, and you could explain it in an interview.
- Each middle paragraph answers one requirement from this posting.
- The company name, job title and job ID are correct.
- The letter fits on one page, unless the employer allows more.
- You read it aloud once to catch typos and long sentences.
- The file name includes your name, such as "Lee_Cover_Letter.pdf."
The free cover letter generator follows the same method. Upload your resume and paste the job, and you get a cover letter where every claim comes from your resume. Each paragraph answers one requirement and shows the lines it rests on, so you can check them.
Your resume should match the same posting. The guide to tailoring a resume without lying covers that, and the free resume optimizer rewrites the lines that matter for the job while keeping your facts. Prept writes tailored resumes only from facts you confirmed, so the letter and the resume tell the same true story.
After you apply, the page on following up on a job application covers when and how to check in. If you get the interview, the evidence from your letter is also the core of your answer to why should we hire you.