Cover letter guides
A cover letter answers the question a CV cannot: why this job, and why you. It is short, written for one employer, and it should say something the CV does not already say.
These guides cover the structure, the length, letters for an internship or a first job, motivation letters for universities, and the email you send the CV with.
- Are AI cover letters OK?
Yes, if every claim is true and it sounds like you. What employers and career offices say, how AI letters get spotted, and how to write one you can defend.
- What is a cover letter, and what goes in one?
A cover letter is the short letter that goes with your CV. What goes in each paragraph, how long it should be and when you need one, from career services.
- How to write a cover letter for a career change
How to write a career change cover letter: name the move in the opening, build a T-table from the posting, and a full worked letter from restaurant to HR.
- What to write in the email when you send your CV
What to write in the email that carries your CV: subject line, a short body, file names, and the follow-up two weeks later, with three full examples.
- How do you write a cover letter for an internship?
How to write a cover letter for an internship with little experience: three short paragraphs, examples from coursework and projects, from career services.
- How to write a motivation letter, and how it differs from a cover letter
How to write a motivation letter for a master's, a scholarship or a volunteer post, how it differs from a cover letter, and an annotated sample.
- How to write a cover letter when you have no work experience
How to write a cover letter with no work experience: where first-job evidence comes from, lines that undersell you, and two full example letters.
- References on a CV: what to write, whom to ask and what they are asked
Whether to put references on your CV, how to ask a referee, a sample reference list, and what UK employers ask a referee, from Acas and NHS Employers.
- Speculative cover letter: writing to an employer with no vacancy
How to write a speculative cover letter when no job is advertised: finding the right person, the subject line, an annotated sample and when to follow up.
- Thank-you email after an interview: what to send and when
When to send a thank-you email after an interview, what fits in three or four sentences, panel interviews, and the follow-up when you hear nothing.