Your resume might be the document that demonstrates your career history and skills, but the cover letter is just as important when applying for a new job – it’s your chance to immediately sell yourself to recruiters and highlight precisely why you’d be perfect for a position.
It’s a critical bit of paper, then, and so it makes sense to get it right. But that can bring its own challenges: it can be tricky to know what to include in a cover letter and what to leave out, and it’s hard to know exactly how to structure a good cover letter.
If you’re not sure about how to move forward, we’ve put together a directory of the ten best cover letter example sources. These sites all have fantastic cover letter examples for anyone to use, and they’re also packed with advice on how to customize each document for your next application.
And if you want more help with resumes and cover letters, we’ve reviewed the best resume-building software and answered ten key questions about recruitment.
The Balance Careers
This is one of the biggest sites around when it comes to recruitment, so it’s no surprise that The Balance has a great selection of cover letter templates. You can start with a standard cover letter template that’s available in plain text and in Microsoft Word format, and the site goes further by offering dozens of personalized letters for different jobs.
The Balance also has templates designed for different situations, which is handy if you want to write a letter that reflects a career change, an employee referral or your salary requirements. And, beyond this, The Balance also delivers superb advice on how to write your own cover letter.
HubSpot
HubSpot’s CRM platform is a great choice for growing businesses, and its cover letter samples are superb options for anyone who wants to apply for a new job. You’ll find fourteen different templates that are designed for different positions and industries alongside in-depth explanations of how they work and direct links to download the files.
That makes it easy to download, modify and then send your next cover letter, and HubSpot a checklist that details all the information you need to include in any cover letter.
Enhancv
With a name like Enhancv, you’d hope that this site can sort out a good cover letter – and you’d be right. As well as a guide to writing the perfect letter, Enhancv includes templates that cover hundreds of different positions alongside and examples of letters that have helped people get jobs in the past.
Enhancv also has a neat wizard tool that can build your own cover letter from scratch. It’s easy to use, it can produce formal and casual documents that highlight different skills, and you can get the document by creating a free account.
My Perfect Resume
This site takes a refreshingly straightforward approach to cover letters. It lays out an example letter immediately, explains what you need to convey in a letter, and shows precisely how each aspect of the document can help jobseekers achieve their goals.
My Perfect Resume supplies cover letter templates across loads of different situations, so you can pick a document based on your precise needs, and you’ll also find hundreds of templates that are designed for different industries and job roles at all levels of seniority.
Monster
It’s one of the biggest job sites on the planet, so you know that Monster has got you covered if you need cover letter examples. Monster offers straightforward advice on how to write the perfect cover letter, including a step-by-step guide, and Monster also has dozens of templates that cover a wide variety of positions and industries.
The Muse
The Muse goes into more detail than most about why a cover letter is necessary and what you should include and omit from your next cover letter – undoubtedly useful if you want to write your own.
If you’d prefer to use a template, The Muse has you covered: the site has templates that cover several common scenarios, and there are explanations about what makes each letter suitable. This site is ideal if you want a deep dive into your next cover letter.
Indeed
Indeed is another huge job site that provides reassuringly straightforward cover letter templates and easy to follow advice. You’ll find a page here that guides you through the entire writing process, with examples and tips from career coaches.
If you’d prefer to use and modify a template, Indeed has you covered: the site serves up dozens of templates that cover most major industries and positions.
ResumeGenius
This top-notch recruitment site lays out straightforward cover letter templates that cover professional, creative, entry-level and career-change scenarios alongside a more general cover letter example.
They’re easy to use because they can be downloaded in Microsoft Word format, and the site also explains exactly why they work and the information you need to include in your finished document. There’s also a wizard that can be used to build a cover letter once you’ve provided the right information.
Zety
Zety has one of the best cover letter guides you’ll find anywhere, with plenty of explanation about how to write the perfect letter – and in-depth information about how you can succeed by getting the little details right.
Unsurprisingly, Zety also has cover letter templates that cover hundreds of roles in dozens of industries, and it has a cover letter builder that can create a customized document in seconds once you’ve provided the relevant information. Anyone serious about writing a cover letter should head here.
JobHero
This is one of the best resources you’ll find anywhere for cover letter examples. JobHero has more than 700 templates that can be copied and pasted into your word processor of choice, and a building module can also create a personalized letter once you’ve given the site a few key pieces of information.
Users can browse JobHero’s cover letter database by job title, industry and level of seniority, and the site also dispenses plenty of advice for writing an excellent cover letter from scratch.
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