Why This Matters
A strong cover letter helps you make a clear, confident first impression. It’s your opportunity to highlight relevant experience, show interest in the organization, and tell brief stories about how you can positively contribute in the role. The key: write with your audience in mind.
Good cover letters increase your chances of moving forward in the hiring process, especially for roles that value communication, context, and culture fit.
Use this to draft a focused, effective cover letter:
- Decide what to write. Use this three-sentence model to get started:
- Why have I decided to spend my time applying for this specific opportunity and not something else? Write this into a one or two-sentence “connection story” that most other people couldn’t or wouldn’t also have written.
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- What have I done in the past that makes me confident that I could thrive in this role, making positive contributions to the organization? (Often these are patterns or habits, not singular experiences.) Decide on two things, writing a separate “impact” sentence to describe each. Like before, ensure that these sentences are unique and specific enough that most other people wouldn’t or couldn’t have written the same thing.
- Provide a “thesis” statement: Based on what you decide to write from the two questions above, include a cover letter “thesis statement” in your first paragraph introducing the 2-3 ways in which you can positively contribute in this role. Intentionally choose what will matter to the reader
- Show evidence: Highlight 2-3 stories in your middle paragraphs that provide evidence to support your “thesis” statement. Do not rewrite your resume.
- Make it easy to read: Paragraphs should be concise and skimmable.
- Finish clearly: End with a confident, appreciative closing that invites follow-up.
- This downloadable template is available to help you get started.
- This collection of Engineering Master’s cover letter examples can provide inspiration.
