When, and when not, to write a cover letter

Cover letters are the most misunderstood part of the application process.

When nobody will read it

Be honest with yourself about the application context before spending an hour on a cover letter.

High-volume graduate schemes with structured online applications

If you're applying through a portal that asks you competency questions, situational judgement questions, or has a dedicated section for "why this firm," a separate cover letter is rarely read, and sometimes not even looked at. The structured questions are the filter. Your cover letter goes into a folder that the recruiter opens after they've already decided whether to progress you.

This applies to most large graduate programmes at banks, consulting firms, law firms, and large corporates. Read the application instructions carefully. If a cover letter is listed as optional, it almost always means it won't be read. If it isn't mentioned, it almost certainly won't be read.

Automated ATS-only applications

If a job posting asks you to submit your CV through an automated system with no email address, no named contact, and no indication that a human will see your application at first, a cover letter is largely pointless. The system is parsing your CV for keywords. Write for the system first, and don't spend significant time on a cover letter that the algorithm will ignore.

Mass-apply portals

LinkedIn Easy Apply, Indeed one-click applications: any application where you're competing with hundreds of people and the employer is using the platform's tools to sort applications. Your CV is what matters here. A cover letter attached to a one-click application is rarely opened.

When to write one

Direct applications by email

If the job listing asks you to send your CV to a named person or a specific email address, write a cover letter. A named human is going to open your email. The cover letter is your first impression and your opportunity to make the case that you're worth 30 minutes of their time. This is the context where a well-written cover letter has the most impact.

Small and medium-sized employers

Smaller companies typically have less structured hiring processes. There's no competency framework, no ATS, no scoring matrix. A hiring manager reads applications and decides who to call. A cover letter that shows you've actually thought about the company: what they do, where they're trying to go, why you specifically want to work there, stands out sharply against the pile of CVs submitted with no covering note.

Roles where writing ability matters

If the job involves communication: journalism, PR, policy, marketing, consulting, research, legal work,your cover letter is itself a demonstration of whether you can write clearly and make an argument. Submitting a poor cover letter for a research role signals that you can't write. Submitting nothing signals that you didn't think the role was worth the effort.

Career changes or non-traditional backgrounds

If your CV doesn't obviously speak for itself ( because you're changing field, returning from a gap, or have an unconventional path) a cover letter is your opportunity to do the work your CV can't do. Explain the logic of your trajectory. Make the connection between where you've been and where you're trying to go. Without a cover letter, a non-traditional CV is just a puzzle. With one, it's a story.

When you have something specific to say

This sounds obvious, but it's the test: do you have something to say about this specific organisation and this specific role that you couldn't say about any other employer? If yes, write the cover letter. If you're writing something generic and you know it, ask yourself whether it's worth sending at all.

What a good cover letter does

A cover letter is not a prose version of your CV. Restating your experience in paragraph form is a waste of the reader's time and yours.

A good cover letter does three things:

1. Explains why this employer, not just this type of role What is it about this specific organisation, its work, its clients, its approach, its position in the market, that has led you to apply here rather than anywhere else? This requires research.

2. Makes one or two specific connections between your background and what they need One or two things, explained properly. Why does your particular combination of experience and interest make you relevant to what they're doing?

3. Is short Three paragraphs. Four at most. A cover letter that runs to a full page is too long. A hiring manager reading twenty applications in an afternoon will read a tight, well-argued three-paragraph letter. They will skim or skip a dense page of text.

The most common version

I am writing to apply for the position of X at Y. I am a hardworking, motivated, and enthusiastic individual with a passion for Z. During my time at university I developed strong analytical and communication skills...

This letter says nothing. It could have been written by anyone applying for anything. It will be forgotten immediately.

If you've written something that looks like this, don't send it. Either rewrite it with specific, concrete content, or, if you genuinely can't think of anything specific to say about this employer, ask yourself whether you actually want this job or whether you're just applying because it exists.