When a cover letter gets read
- The advert asks for one, or the form has a required field for it. Treat it as part of the test: a missing or generic letter tells them something before they reach your CV.
- Smaller employers, where the person hiring reads every application themselves and has time to read a page.
- You're changing career. Your CV shows where you have been. The letter is the only place to explain why the move makes sense, which our career change guide covers.
- You have a gap of more than a year. The CV gets one line about it. The letter is where you can say a little more, briefly and without apology, as our guide to CV gaps suggests.
- Speculative applications, where there is no advert and the letter is the application.
When it's likely to be ignored
- There's nowhere to put it. Don't paste a letter into an "additional information" box that asks for something else.
- It's optional at a large employer that screens CVs by software first. Whether your CV gets through can be settled before anyone opens the letter. Write one if you have something specific to say, not by reflex.
- You're applying through a recruitment agency. Agencies often pass your CV to the employer with their own summary, so the letter may never travel with it.
- It could have been sent anywhere. A letter that names no detail from the advert reads as no letter at all.
If your CV isn't getting replies, a cover letter won't fix that. Start with the CV: our CV rewrite is £9.99, or both together are £14.99.
What a good one does
It is three or four short paragraphs, around 300 words, and each one has a job.
The opening names the role and the single strongest reason you fit it. Not "I am writing to apply for", which spends the line a hiring manager reads most carefully on something they already know.
The middle takes one or two things your CV can only list and tells them properly: the situation, what you did, what changed. A CV line saying you brought complaints down at a busy branch becomes the story of how, and why that matters for the job you're applying for.
The close says what you would bring and that you would welcome a conversation. It doesn't ask them to forgive anything, and it doesn't beg.
Ours: £6.99, written to your advert
You send the advert, your CV or work history, and anything you want the letter to say. We draft it with Claude, an AI model made by Anthropic, against that advert and our written rules for cover letters, then a person reads it before it goes out. It reaches you by email within 24 hours of payment.
We only write what you tell us. If you haven't said why you want this employer, the letter won't invent a reason. It will lead with your evidence instead, and our note will suggest what you could add.
- One letter for one job application
- Word (.docx) and PDF
- One free revision, requested within 48 hours of delivery
- Paid once, no subscription
Questions about cover letters
Do I need a cover letter if the job doesn't ask for one?
Usually not. If the form has no place for one, don't force it in. If it is optional, send one only when you have something specific to say that your CV can't: a change of career, a gap, or a real reason you want this employer.
How long is the letter?
Three or four paragraphs, about 300 words. That fits on one page with room to spare, which is what a hiring manager expects.
Can I reuse it for another application?
Not well. It is written to one advert and names that employer and role, and the evidence in it is chosen for what that advert asks. A letter that could go to any employer reads as if it was sent to every employer.
Will it repeat what is on my CV?
No. It takes one or two things your CV can only list and gives them context: what the situation was, what you did, and what changed. Repeating your CV in paragraphs wastes the one place you get to explain.
Can you write it if I don't have the advert?
We can work from the job title, and we'll tell you that's what we did. The letter will be weaker, because the advert is what we write to. If you can find it, send it.
Who will it be addressed to?
To the person named in the advert, if there is one. Otherwise "Dear Hiring Manager". We don't guess at names.