How Do You Start a Cover Letter?

Imagine walking into an interview and choosing how to start the conversation. What would you wish to highlight? How would you set the tone for the rest of the chat? The same considerations are relevant when you think about how to start a cover letter.

While a CV is a factual account of your career, the cover letter is your personal elevator pitch. Which elements of your career story do you select to make your compelling case?

You can approach those first 3-4 lines in different ways. How you begin your career story will vary depending on the role and the culture of the employer in question. Those first couple of sentences need to directly address why you are the person for this specific role.

If there is any sense of irrelevance, the hiring manager won’t bother to read any further.

Here are eight approaches that you can mix and match to create the perfect intro:

8 ways to start a cover letter

Grab the attention. First and foremost, you have to make the hiring manager sit up and pay attention. They will have likely been reading through CVs and cover letters for a while until they get to yours, so grab their attention with hyper-targeted messaging. You are the one.

Let achievements convey your passion. Dispense with empty adjectives and vacuous statements. Anyone can say how passionate they are. Let your love for your job come across in the scale and scope of any accomplishment you share. Offer a unique context.

Include an unusual but crucial keyword. Keywords are important in a cover letter – for the ATS software and to convey suitability to a hiring manager. Dig into the job description and highlight one of the less obvious (but no less important) keywords in the introduction.

Show how your “why” is a fit. Linking a strong belief statement to the nature of the role is a great way of combining your “why” with the needs of your future boss. The deeper the motivation, the more convinced a hiring manager will be of your desire to make it happen.

Mention a mutual connection. Personal contacts can sometimes make all the difference in the early stages of the recruitment process. If a former colleague (who thinks highly of you) is working at your prospective employer, ask if they will put in a good word.

Cover letter impact

Highlight your research. Every hiring manager wants to understand that you have thought long and hard about the role. If you throw in a hint that you appreciate the finer nuances of the position, they will take your application that bit more seriously.

Lead with a compelling story. The success of your interview process lies with the nature of the career stories you choose to tell. If you lead with a compelling story, it is only natural to anticipate that there are more from where that came from.

Adopt an enthusiastic and admiring tone. Lastly, the tone of the introduction should reflect your enthusiasm for the opportunity. Be hopeful, but not expectant. There can be no hint of arrogance. Avoid extreme language – don’t say you are the “best” candidate for the role.

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This blog is shared with Job Seeker Duetists. 

Written by former recruitment ghostwriter Paul Drury (not AI).