How to tailor a cover letter in ten minutes
Updated 2 September 2026 · 5 min read
A cover letter earns its place when it answers one question the CV cannot: why this role, at this company, from you. Ten minutes is enough if you have a structure.
The four-paragraph structure
- Opening: the role, where you saw it, and one sentence on why it fits the direction you are already moving in.
- Proof: your single most relevant achievement, with the outcome, mapped to the ad's top requirement.
- Fit: one specific, verifiable detail about the company — a product, a market, a published change — and what you would contribute to it.
- Close: availability and a plain request for a conversation.
What to cut
- Restating your CV in prose. They already have the CV.
- 'I am a passionate, hard-working team player.' Unverifiable, so it reads as filler.
- Apologising for a gap or a career change. State it neutrally in one clause and move on.
Handling the gap you cannot hide
If the ad asks for something you lack, name the nearest genuine equivalent and how fast you closed a comparable gap before. Honest and specific beats silent, and it beats invented every time.