cover letter entry level

Write An Entry-Level Cover Letter (Examples, Tips & Template)

So, you’re applying to an entry-level job and wondering where a cover letter fits in the application package.

Is an entry-level cover letter a requirement? If so, what should you write in your entry-level cover letter to really improve your employment chances?

Should it be the same as a normal cover letter, or should it include some specific information that can serve an entry-level job? Yeah, there are quite a few questions on the topic—and for good reason. After all, who doesn’t want their application to be as perfect as possible?

In this article, we’re going to teach you everything you need to know about entry-level cover letters. 

• What’s an Entry-level Cover Letter and Why It Matters
• Entry-level Cover Letter Format
• Tips & Examples on Writing an Entry-Level Cover Letter

Entry-level Cover Letter Template

...and more! 

Ready? Let’s dive in!

What Is An Entry-Level Cover Letter?

An entry-level cover letter is a cover letter that you write when you’re applying for an entry-level job. 

As such, you will need to write an entry-level cover letter on these occasions: 

• As a college senior on a job hunt.
• As a recent college graduate looking to land his first job.
• As a professional who has changed industries/career paths.

In any of these cases, an entry-level cover letter is an essential part of the application.

One could even argue that entry-level cover letters are even more beneficial to your resume than your average cover letter.

Here’s why:

As a college senior/graduate or someone changing careers, chances are, your resume might not be that rich in terms of practical work experience.

So, in addition to your resume, your cover letter is your second-best chance to explain why you’re the perfect fit for the job!  

What Should an Entry-Level Cover Letter Include

Before we get into the specifics of writing an entry-level cover letter, let’s go over the basics.

Namely, the format . 

If you don’t know how to properly “set up” your letter, it will end up being disorganized and confusing .

Entry-Level Cover Letter Format

So, what should your entry-level cover letter contain? Here are all the details.

• Header with contact information. In addition to your name, your contact information should contain your email (a professional email, that is), your phone number, and (optionally) LinkedIn profile. Underneath your contact info comes the date and then the receiver’s information: manager’s name and title, company name, and the company’s street address.
• Addressing the hiring manager. How you address the cover letter is important. Preferably, you want to include the hiring manager’s name/professional title or the name of the department head doing the hiring.
• Opening statement. Your opening paragraph should be professional, but at the same time personal and attention-grabbing. The best way to achieve that is by tailoring your introduction to the job application.
• The body. The body of your entry-level cover letter should consist of 2-3 paragraphs highlighting your skills, accomplishments, and education.
• Closing paragraph. To end your cover letter, you need a professional closing paragraph. You can mention that you will be following up the cover letter, wrap up anything you couldn’t in the previous paragraphs, or just simply thank the recruiter for their time.
• Formal salutation. Formal closings include salutations such as “best regards,” “kind regards,” “sincerely,” and “thank you.”

How to Write an Entry-Level Cover Letter With No Experience (Tips & Examples)

Ready to get into the knits and grits of writing an entry-level cover letter? 

Great! Let’s get to it.

#1. Write a Strong (But Professional) Opening

The first thing you want to do is write an attention-grabbing opening paragraph. 

Recruiters receive hundreds of applications daily, so you can probably imagine how limited their time is. This leaves you with one goal—to make your cover letter worth reading, right from the get-go. 

One thing is for sure, you’ll never achieve this by writing a generic, one-fits-all kind of introduction, like the one below: 

My name is Samantha and I’d like to apply for the Sales Representative entry-level position at your company. I am a recent Marketing graduate, so I believe I would be a great fit for the role.

See, you could use this kind of introduction to apply for any entry-level position in sales. And though it’s not bad, per se, it’s not memorable either. 

Instead, you want your opening paragraph to be custom-made for the entry-level job you’re applying for. Bonus points if you can mention an achievement or two in the opening paragraph to show the recruiter how you stand out from the rest of the candidates.

Here’s what a well-written entry-level cover letter would look like:

My name is Samantha and I’d like to become part of XYZ Inc. by applying my newly acquired marketing knowledge to your Sales Representative position. I am confident that my excellent university results and the practical knowledge gained during my academic internship at Company X, where I was trained in sales, make me the right candidate for the job.

#2. Include Relevant Employee Skills

After you prepare the ground with an attention-grabbing introduction, you should use the body of your cover letter to show exactly how your skills, achievements , and education make you the right fit for the job. 

In light of your limited work experience, your skills are your second-best chance to prove your worth and showcase your strengths. 

Start by listing skills that are relevant to the job by doing the following:  

• Scan the job description to find what the required skills are for the position. 
• Explain how your skills can benefit the company. 
• Optionally, you can mention that you are eager to learn required skills that you may not have to get better at the job. 

For example, an entry-level journalism position may require that you:

• Know how to apply the AP Stylebook rules
• Are up to date with media law and ethics
• Are an effective communicator
• Can meet deadlines. 

Here’s how you could highlight those skills:

As a recent Journalism and Mass Communication graduate from X University, I am up to date with the 55th Edition of the Associated Press Stylebook and all media law and ethical reporting standards. Being Editor-in-Chief of the university’s newspaper taught me how to be an effective communicator while being in charge of publishing the newspaper each week improved my attention to detail and ability to meet deadlines. 

#3. Do Some Research

Research is one of your best friends when it comes to cover letters, as it can give you valuable information on what the recruiters are looking for in a candidate. 

After thoroughly researching the company’s history, products/services, goals, and even challenges, you can mention exactly how:

• You fit in the position
• You stand out from your competition 
• You can be of use to the company

Say, for example, that you’ve previously worked as a proofreader and you’re now going into magazine editing. After some research, you find out the magazine you’re applying to puts great attention to producing quality content. 

Here’s how you can work that to your advantage: 

I have read the content your magazine produces and I think it’s extremely well-researched, reader-friendly and grammatically correct.

During my 5-year experience as a proofreader, I have mastered editing and writing and I am confident that this experience can further improve your magazine quality. 

#4. Quantify Your Achievements (When Possible)

The best practice, whenever achievements are involved, is to quantify them and back them up with concrete examples. 

Imagine you’re a recruiter and you’re on the fence about two candidates for an entry-level customer service position. They have almost-identical resumes in terms of education and they claim to have customer support experience from past internships.

 So, you jump to their cover letter. This is how each candidate has described their achievements:

Candidate 1

As a Client Services intern, I was required to contact and ask clients for feedback daily, I supported the management team in improving customer services based on clients’ comments and I provided suggestions to teams from other departments to improve overall client satisfaction.

This is not horrible. However, compared with the second candidate’s much more detailed description, it lacks substance. Take a look for yourself. 

Candidate 2 As a Customer Services intern at Company X, I helped raise customer satisfaction by speaking to and collecting our clients’ feedback and working with teams from different departments to address their dissatisfaction and implement relevant suggestions. After one year, we ran a survey that showed customer experience had improved by 50%. This result was backed by a 30% increase in profit within that same year. 

Sure, the first candidate “improved customer services,” but this opens up a lot of questions:

• How well did they improve the customer services?
• Over what timeframe?
• What kind of impact did this have on the company’s bottom line?

The 2nd candidate, though, mentions all this information, and as such, their cover letter is a lot more impactful. 

#5. Highlight Your Education

Your education can very well replace what you lack in work experience when it comes to entry-level jobs. It can convincingly back up your skills and achievements, as well as help you demonstrate some of your strengths. 

Now, when we tell you to highlight your education, we don’t mean mentioning the title of your diploma and calling it a day. 

Instead, what you need to do to reinforce your skills and strengths is to mention relevant group projects and classwork, extracurricular activities and school clubs, published work, or independent research. 

Highlighting your education can be just as effective if you’re changing career paths. 

Did you take classes on your newly-found passion when you were in college? Or maybe you got to practice it as part of a club. No matter the case, make sure to highlight it, as this is exactly the part of your education that will make a difference in your cover letter. 

Now, let’s say you’re a college senior thinking ahead and looking for a graphic design job for when you graduate. To improve your chances of getting that entry-level job, here’s how you can highlight your education: 

My passion for visually communicating a message began alongside my work at InFocus Magazine, our university’s photography and graphic design magazine, where I am Head of Design. I mainly work with Adobe InDesign and Illustrator, but I am now also learning to use Canva and Crello in my Design & Illustration class. 

#6. Don’t Forget a Call to Action 

Finally, it’s time to wrap up your entry-level cover letter with a conclusion. 

For your entry-level cover letter’s final paragraph, you want to do the following: 

• Mention anything you couldn't during the previous paragraphs. If you think you left something important out (something that could help you get hired), this is your chance to say it. 
• Thank the recruiter. You can use the closing paragraph to thank them for their time. This is a chance to be formal, but make sure you don’t sound like you’re trying to get to the recruiters’ good side. 
• Include a call to action. As a call to action, you can mention to the recruiter that you will be following up (if they haven’t specified the interviewing procedure) to inquire about the application or ask them to take some action. 

And here’s what this would look like on a cover letter:

To conclude, let me first thank you for considering my application. I believe I can help your company improve its customer satisfaction by putting to use all the experience I’ve gained from my past jobs in customer service. I’d love to discuss in length how I can help you improve one-on-one customer service at your stores.

#7. Conclude with a Professional Closing

Once you’ve written your closing paragraph, all you have to do is sign off your cover letter.

Your “goodbye” should be formal and include only your name and signature. 

Any of the following is an acceptable way to sign off your cover letter:

• Best Regards,
• Kind Regards,
• Sincerely, 
• Thank you, 

Want to know other ways to conclude your cover letter memorably? Head over to our guide on how to end a cover letter for additional info! 

#8. Proofread Your Letter

And you’re finally done! 

Make sure to proofread your cover letter before attaching it to your job application. Any effort you might have put into it will lose value if your cover letter has mistakes. 

You can either give it to a friend to proofread it or use editing software like Grammarly and Hemingway .  

Want to Make Things Easy? Use a Cover Letter Builder

The way you design your cover letter matters!

Sure, you can go for a generic text in a Word Document, but having a well-designed cover letter that matches your resume in style will help you stand out much more in a sea of applicants. 

Well, Novoresume makes that easy for you! Just pick any of our matching cover letters and resume templates and leave a lasting impression!

[First Name and Last Name]

[Email Address]

[Phone Number]

[LinkedIn/Website]

[Date of Writing]

[Manager’s Name]

[Manager’s Job Title]

[Company Name]

[Company’s Street Address]

[City, State, ZIP Code]

[Addressing the hiring manager]

[Write your attention-grabbing opening paragraph]

[Write 2-3 paragraphs where you include skills that are relevant to the position you are applying for, where you quantify your achievements (when possible), and where you highlight your education.]

[Conclude by saying thank you and by making a call to action.]

[Sign off your letter professionally]

Key Takeaways 

And that’s a wrap! We hope that you feel more confident about your entry-level cover letter knowledge and writing after reading this article. 

Now let’s go over the main points we covered:

• An entry-level cover letter is a cover letter that you write for an entry-level job. You may need to use it as a college senior or recent college graduate or as a professional changing career path. 
• Your entry-level cover letter should follow the following format: header, addressing the recruiter/company, opening paragraph, body, closing paragraph, formal salutation. 
• To write a good entry-level cover letter you should write an attention-grabbing opening, include some relevant skills, highlight your education, and make a call to action.
• Use a cover letter builder to make sure your cover letter meets recruiters’ standards and to save your time.

Related Readings

• How to Write a Cover Letter
• How to Start a Cover Letter  
• Cover Letter for Internship  

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How To Write An Entry-Level Cover Letter (With Examples)

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Find a Job You Really Want In

If you’re an entry-level jobseeker, your cover letter is your best friend.

Your cover letter is an opportunity to stand out as an entry-level candidate – because sadly, your resume probably won’t. Most people applying for the position will have fairly similar resumes, trying to make the best out of their limited experience .

And like their similarly limited work experience and resumes, many of those other entry-level candidates make a lot of the same mistakes in their cover letters.

But a cover letter that’s tailored to the specific position you’re looking for will open doors for you – even when your resume alone won’t.

Key Takeaways:

Entry-level cover letters should be between 250 and 300 words. Do not go over 400 words.

Entry-level cover letters should be crafted for a specific position.

Address what position you’re applying for, how you will fulfill the job’s responsibilities, and a bit of your personality.

Specifically address your cover letter if you can and avoid generalizations in your opening.

Make your cover easy to read and quantify your accomplishments.

What Is an Entry-Level Cover Letter?

How to structure an entry-level cover letter, elements of an entry-level cover letter, common mistakes in entry-level cover letters, entry-level cover letter tips, examples of entry-level cover letters, entry-level cover letter faq, final thoughts.

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An entry-level cover letter is a document expressing your interest and qualifications for a job that qualifies as “entry-level.” Entry-level jobs typically don’t require much (if any) prior experience, so job-seekers can be at a loss for how to summarize their suitability for a job they have no background in.

Alongside your resume , your cover letter is the first impression a hiring manager or recruiter will have of you. Unlike a resume, a cover letter gives you a chance to explain why you’re interested in the role and how you’ll perform it.

The best cover letters will land you interview requests , so make sure you’re hitting your most impressive skills , experiences, and qualities.

Even without formal experience, everyone has a background that served to prepare them for success. The trick is understanding how your background fits into what the employer wants .

The average amount of time hiring managers spend reading cover letters is six seconds. That means that they’ll spend as much time reading your cover letter as you spent reading this two-sentence introduction.

We’re even giving you the benefit of the doubt here on your reading speed.

You want to get their attention quickly and spend 250 words – but no more than 400 – showing the hiring manager:

What position you’re applying for

How you will fulfill the job’s responsibilities

A bit of your personality

Meanwhile the structure of a cover letter should be:

Contact information

Closing and signature

Contact Information

There’s not too much to say here, except don’t get it wrong. You wouldn’t be the first person to accidentally leave old company information and dates on a reworked cover letter.

Your contact information goes near the top left margin. Put a space between theirs, space then the date, and then a space and the salutation. That’s how to address your cover letter :

City, state, zip code

Phone number

Break it up with a space, then:

A big caveat here is that if you’re sending an email cover letter, you put your personal contact info in the email signature. Also, remove the contact information for the person you’re contacting.

You should make your subject line informative and brief, something like “Bilingual Creative Writer seeks content creation position.” Or just use your name and the position title.

Salutations

Keep in mind that they’ll be skimming, so anything that screams “this is from a template” gets the boot pretty quickly.

No “Dear Sir or Madam:” and no “To Whom It May Concern:” – this just shows that you didn’t figure out who you’ll be addressing the letter to .

You may have forgotten, but “Mrs.” indicates marriage, so play it safe on the title – “Dear Mr./Ms. [Last Name]”

If you can’t figure out someone’s gender based off of their name, don’t guess. “Dear [Full Name]” is the safest road

You can use either a comma or colon – we prefer commas.

Do what you can to figure out who will be reading your letter. If it’s not in the posting, try searching the company website and LinkedIn . You might have success calling and asking the human resources department .

But if you’ve truly exhausted your search options, don’t fret. Some companies keep it on the down-low to keep people like you from spamming their inboxes with follow-up emails – “Dear Hiring Manager” or one of its variations will do.

The Opening Sentence(s)

Hiring managers read a lot of cover letters, and plenty of those are from people who don’t care much about landing that particular job.

So don’t open with “My name is [name] and I am applying for the [position] at [company] because [I need money].” You’ve given them your contact info and you’re applying for a job – they already know all of that. Start your cover letter off right.

Remember that you’re fighting to get noticed at this stage, so anything that they’ve already read from you – and other applications – makes their eyes glaze over.

Examples of Opening Sentence(s)

A solid opening statement can accomplish the three goals from earlier in one move:

Tell them what you want

How you’ll do it

Show them personality

Let’s look at some examples:

“I’ve wanted to work in broadcast journalism since a reporter interviewed me for winning my third grade spelling bee. The realization that I’m responsible for thousands of people’s “truths” resonated with me then, even if the truths were just how to spell prestidigitation.”

Why it works: So here the writer has announced that she wants a job as a broadcast reporter, she was an academic achiever (sort of), and that she has an appreciation for the solemnity of the profession. And it’s kinda cute.

Cute’s good; just don’t be too cute.

‌“My approach to management was drilled into me during my military training: be the kind of leader you want to follow.”

Why it works: This example identifies the job, obliquely mentions military experience , and also tells the reader that the writer knows what separates good bosses from bad ones.

“It didn’t land me on the cover of Forbes, but my college laundry delivery startup did teach me this: in sales, if you don’t measure it with reliable data, you can’t manage it reliably. Also, raise your prices before student loan checks arrive.”

Why it works: And here we know the writer is applying for a sales position, appreciates the value of metrics, is entrepreneurial, and has a sense of humor.

Be careful with the jokes though. You don’t have any idea what your hiring manager’s sense of humor is going to be like. If your joke doesn’t land, you’ll waste precious space and seem nonsensical – or worse, you’ll be deemed unfunny.

These examples have two important things in common: you don’t need experience to write them and they don’t explicitly state the job title.

Describing the job in the first sentence is a convention that can be done without — odds are that the reader will know what position you’re applying for, and if they don’t then you can more or less tell them in the introduction .

The Cover Letter Body

The biggest offense entry-level candidates make is handing over another version of your resume minus the bullets. Think of your resume as the “who-what-where-when” and the cover letter as the “how and why.”

The goal in the body of your cover letter isn’t just to tell them that you’re qualified; it’s to tell them that you’re the most qualified. And like the introductory statement, implication is a key element to the rest of the body. You’ll presumably have done research on the company and the job description – resist the urge to list them off in paragraph form.

The goal is to connect the dots for the reader without writing a sentence that sounds like this: “I’m a recent graduate of [your university] with [skill from posting #1], [skill from posting #2], and [skill from posting #3] skills.”

If the job posting describes someone who is a multi-tasker that meets deadlines, mention your time writing for your school paper while balancing a part-time job and schoolwork.

If they want someone who’s detail-oriented and a team player , bring up that fundraiser you organized for your fraternity. If they want someone who takes the initiative, tell them you unplug the thing and plug it back in before you call IT.

Volunteer experiences , internships , related classes , projects, leadership experience, extracurricular activities, and your skills that pertain to the position you’re applying for all can be mentioned in your cover letter. Just make sure to relate them to the job.

Don’t beg and don’t be overly effusive in your thanks. Even if it’s your dream job , you still want to make it seem like they’re offering you a business deal, not charity.

We’re fans of a standard closing :

I’d love to discuss the role with you further, and I appreciate the opportunity to tell you how my skills and ideas can benefit [company]. Thanks again for your consideration and I hope to hear from you soon. Many thanks, [Sign here if it’s a hard copy] [Name]

If it’s an email, just close with your email signature that includes contact information.

And after all of that stuff that you should do, here’s a big list of things you shouldn’t do – because I hate to break it to you, but hiring managers normally have so many applicants that they look for reasons not to advance past cover letters.

Don’t send generic cover letters. You shouldn’t give employers an easy reason to move you into the reject pile. It’s not your fault that you don’t have much experience, but it is if you don’t look like you’re even trying.

Don’t forget about the reader. It might be your cover letter, but it’s their job to fill. Make it about how you’ll do the job well.

Don’t use too much jargon or difficult vocabulary. Give them something that they can read naturally and easily.

Don’t be too modest. This isn’t the time to sell yourself short .

Don’t go over 400 words. Ideally, your cover letter should be between 200-300 words. Just remember, keep it short , honest, and ­– of course – real.

Now that we’ve got the basic cover letter formatting down, let’s turn to some tips that apply to every entry-level cover letter:

Include universally-important skills. It’s good practice to incorporate skills from the job description into your cover letter. However, you should also take time to note your strongest transferable skills . These are mostly soft skills , like your interpersonal abilities, communication skills , and attention to detail.

You can also incorporate skills you’re learning or discuss areas where you have a baseline knowledge but wish to develop further.

Research the company. While you’re researching to find the hiring manager’s name, also look into the company. Identify their values, their way of doing things, their competition, and their primary short and long-term goals . Then, you can use that information to make your cover letter pop by showcasing what a great cultural fit you are.

Emphasize education. This one holds more true for recent college graduates than career-changers, but it’s important nonetheless. Without much formal, professional experience, you’ll need to rely on your educational excellence to carry your application.

You can mention relevant coursework, but it’s even better if you can discuss specific projects you worked on and had an impact on. Group projects, research, and any relevant extracurriculars are all fair game, as long as they tie into the job’s duties somehow.

Quanitfy accomplishments . This goes for school and any professional experience you have. If you don’t think you can quantify your achievements, try harder; think of things like frequency, scale, time, money, percentage changes, time saved, etc.

For example, instead of saying “answered phones,” say “responded to an average of 25 customer inquiries each day.”

Proofread. This is probably the most important tip for all of your professional correspondence. Use a spell-check tool, read your cover letter aloud, and have a trusted friend look it over for you. If you have the time, let your cover letter sit for a day so you can read it with fresh eyes.

A cover letter with even a single error tells recruiters and hiring managers that you don’t care very much about this job prospect.

John Brown 123 Brook Ln. Towne, MD 123-456-7890 [email protected] 08/24/2020 Ashley Smith Senior Analyst 456 Technology Way Landon, MD Dear Ms. Smith, As a senior sports management student at Roothers State College, I was excited to see your posting for equipment interns. Within my degree program, I have been able to gain experience working with athletes across football, basketball, and baseball. I have been one of only four students to successfully complete rotations in all three sports in four semesters. I have maintained a 3.8 cumulative G.P.A throughout my academic career, while also being active in several campus recreational leagues. I have found that participating in sports gives operations staff a unique perspective when it comes to working with athletes. This has also helped me to interact with diverse groups of people and maintain a working knowledge of each sport. I know how to organize, coordinate, and assist with all aspects of equipment management due to my experience. It has been a dream to work for a professional sports team, but the Maryland Tigers is a franchise that I truly believe in. I have watched as the organization supports young players and always gives back to the local community. Being that I have also volunteered with little league teams, I know that the core values of the organization align with my own. I am confident that I would make an ideal candidate for the equipment intern role. Whether assisting coaches with drills or maintaining inventory, I can be an asset to the team. I look forward to learning more about the internship and discussing my qualifications in detail. I have provided my contact details for your convenience. Best regards, John Brown

Subject Line: Amy Grant – Junior Copywriter Dear Mr. Jones, At a recent Job Fair, I had a great conversation with ABC’s recruiter Doris Kelly about the Junior Copywriter positions opening up. As a graduating student of English, I was ecstatic to learn more about the content marketing strategy ABC is currently implementing. As an English student at UVM, I have strong written communication skills that I have developed through writing 10 undergraduate research papers for the Honor’s program, including my 20,000-word undergraduate thesis that won an award for excellence. I’ve also worked as a team to develop marketing for three different English-department-sponsored fundraising drives. Additionally, I’ve mentored fellow students by working at UVM’s writing center since my sophomore year. Since the Junior Copywriter position involves working together with the product, design, and marketing teams, my background working with people from different backgrounds would be an asset. I also know the importance of deadlines, and never missed an assignment deadline in my undergraduate experience. I’m proficient with Microsoft Office and Google Suites and have a working knowledge of WordPress developed from working on my personal blog and UVM’s writing center website. I appreciate you considering me for the role of Junior Copywriter at ABC, and I look forward to speaking more with you about the position. Sincerely, Beverly Brown [email protected] 555-654-3210 www.bevbrownwrites.com

Do entry-level jobs require cover letters?

Yes, entry-level jobs require cover letters. Crafting a cover letter for an entry-level job is especially important because it can help you stand out to your potential employers and help you land your first job after school.

What do you write in a cover letter if you have no experience?

When writing a cover letter with no experience, be sure to highlight the soft skills you may have acquired through hobbies, educational courses, or volunteer work. Soft skills are especially important to discuss in your cover letter with no experience because they can be difficult to teach.

These skills are typically naturally developed throughout your life, whereas hard skills can be taught on the job. Additionally, it’s a good idea to include how passionate you may be to learn new skills for the job you’re applying for.

Do employers read cover letters?

Yes, employers read cover letters. This is especially true when a cover letter is specifically required for your application.

A recent Career Builder study suggests that almost half of HR managers consider a cover letter the second best thing to give your resume a boost during the candidate selection process.

How do you start an entry-level cover letter?

Start an entry-level cover letter by enthusiastically describing why you’re interested in the role. The first paragraph of your cover letter is your opportunity to make a strong impression on the hiring manager.

Writing a cover letter without much experience can be difficult. Just remember that everyone has skills, passions, and success stories. The important part is distilling those things down into a half-page document that paints you as the ideal candidate for a job.

Follow these cover letter tips, and you’ll have hiring managers and recruiters calling you for interviews in no time.

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David Luther was the Content Marketing Editor for the Zippia Advice blog. He developed partnerships with external reporting agencies in addition to generating original research and reporting for the Zippia Career Advice blog. David obtained his BA from UNC Chapel Hill.

Matt Warzel a President of a resume writing firm (MJW Careers, LLC) with 15+ years of recruitment, outplacement, career coaching and resume writing experience. Matt is also a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Certified Internet Recruiter (CIR) with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Marketing Focus) from John Carroll University.

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• How to write an entry-level cover letter

Entry-level cover letter template

Entry-level cover letter example.

A well-written entry-level cover letter will complement your resume by expanding on your skills and experience that are relevant and making a sales pitch for why you are the best candidate for the position. Rather than using one generic letter, you should spend some time customizing your cover letter for each particular open job. This article explains how to write an entry-level cover letter so you can stand out from the other applicants.

An entry-level cover letter is a document that you prepare when applying for your first job or an internship program. A cover letter is usually submitted alongside a resume for a job application, and it explains your credentials and your interest in the open position. Given that a cover letter can serve as your introduction to a hiring manager, it can impact whether you will be invited for an interview. 

How to write an entry-level cover letter 

To create an entry-level cover letter that will grab the attention of the reader, be sure to follow these steps:

1. First, include your contact information and a pleasant custom greeting

Although your contact information may already be included in your resume, you should be sure to add it to your cover letter. Also, your cover letter should include the name of the individual who is hiring for the position you are applying for. This could be the HR or department manager. Be sure to have prior information on who the hiring manager is by either calling in or checking the website of the company. This way, you will be able to open the letter with a proper salutation.

2. Next, write a winning opening paragraph

It will help if you use the first paragraph of your cover letter to mention what sets you apart from the crowd. You can mention a reference whom you think your reader knows personally at this point.  

3. Then, include a second paragraph that outlines your value

Use the second paragraph to give details that highlight your strengths as a candidate. Specify what your employer needs, and you feel you will be able to offer. Also, prove that your qualifications and the employer’s hiring requirements are a match. 

4. Next, write subsequent paragraphs that outline your relevant experience

In these paragraphs, you should explain how your experience makes you a strong candidate. If you have experience working in a family business, a background in volunteer work, or good grades, you should describe it here. Also, you can flaunt your soft skills in one of the paragraphs. You should display your personality as well as the character traits that make you a preferred candidate. 

It might be challenging to demonstrate these soft skills on your resume. You should, therefore, take advantage of the cover letter to highlight them. For instance, your communication skills and your writing ability can both shine through in your cover letter. 

5. Finally, include a closing paragraph 

As you end your letter, express your hope for the next step. This may include moving on to an interview or reading your attached resume. Express your enthusiasm and conclude by thanking the reader for their time. 

Use this template   when drafting your own entry-level cover letter: 

[Your name] [Physical address] [Your phone number] [Date] [Hiring manager’s name] [Hiring manager’s title] [Name of the company] [Address]

Dear [Hiring manager’s name].

[Cover letter opening statements]

[The body of the letter]

[Closing statement]

[Closing], [Your signature]

Here is an example of an entry-level cover letter:

Michael Sanford 12345 Gallagher St. Lansing, MI 12345 555-555-5555 [email protected]

October 30, 2019

Anthony Klein Branch Manager Midwestern Credit Union 123 Grand River Blvd. Lansing, MI 12345

Dear Mr. Klein, 

My name is Michael Sanford, and I recently graduated from Great Lakes University with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a minor in Finance. I am highly interested in the teller position with Midwestern Credit Union because I would be an excellent fit for your branch. 

I realize that you are looking for a candidate with proficiency in accounting packages as well as excellent interpersonal skills and strong work ethics. As a student leader at Great Lakes University, I was in charge of controlling the budget and helping to develop strategic plans for various activities to be sponsored by the Student Activities Board on campus. This position required me to use financial planning skills, excellent customer service skills, good work ethics and strong interpersonal skills.

During my internship program at Tailgate Bank, where I served in the position of a teller, I was tasked with reconciling discrepancies and maintaining and balancing cash drawers, informing clients about the services and products of the bank, handling confidential information responsibly and using accounting software to generate reports and track bank information. I’m sure the experience I gained in performing these tasks is equally relevant to your institution. 

With the combination of accounting software competency and excellent work skills, I am confident I would make an excellent fit for a teller in your credit union. 

Thank you for taking the time to read my application and consider me as a candidate. Please see my attached resume. Should you need more information, please do not hesitate to contact me. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best regards, Michael Sanford