This cover letter is an ideal example of how to balance professionalism with humor: Employers appreciate seeing some personality shine through in your cover letter. Ultimately, this updated cover letter is much more likely to hook the hiring manager and help the candidate score an interview. And it highlights the candidate’s passion for the specific position they’re applying to fill. The redone version, on the other hand, has concise paragraphs and an impactful opening line, making it much easier to read. It simply repeated bullets from their resume’s work experience and didn’t show their interest in the position. The candidate’s original cover letter was difficult to read because of its length and unimpressive content that didn’t highlight their qualifications. The result? Their cover letter now does a great job of selling their passion for the job, despite a lack of experience: If you have time and money, pay an expert to improve your cover letter. The applicant discovered it in their email outbox years after submitting it, and sent it to experts to rewrite it as an experiment. The most-improved cover letterīelow is an improved version of a wordy cover letter. We don’t recommend you send a cover letter like this to employers, but it’s an excellent example of how, in the right circumstances and with enough confidence, a cleverly written cover letter can get you hired. Kenny’s clever take on the traditional cover letter caught the attention of ESPN executive John Walsh, and landed Mayne his dream job in sports media. But sometimes a little (or in this case, a lot) of confidence can go a long way. Submitting a cover letter like this one is a bold move, and wouldn’t work in most situations. This clever cover letter from former ESPN anchor Kenny Mayne is one of the best examples of how to land a job with a joke: Sometimes all you have to do to get a job is make the right person laugh. This list makes the candidate look perfect for the specific role they’re applying to fill. Doing so shows the hiring manager that the candidate did their research and cares about the needs of the company.įollowing a great introduction, the candidate includes a list of job-relevant accomplishments. Then, the candidate introduces some of their basic qualifications, and establishes a personal connection to the organization.
Their cover letter is also highly professional and easy to read, making it ideal for more formal industries.įrom the start, the applicant knows how to address a cover letter properly, referring to the hiring manager by name, rather than using the generic “ To Whom It May Concern.” The writer of this cover letter doesn’t add much flair, but they do an excellent job packing in all the relevant information that employers are looking for, like achievements and skills. In this great cover letter example, the applicant landed a job by proving they had the required project management skills and experience with highlights from their career: Include hard numbers in your cover letter to impress the employer. Using these resources to write your own cover letter will improve your chances of landing an interview (and hopefully the job too).
Then copy (or download) the best cover letter template, and learn about how to write the best cover letter and the best cover letter format. So take inspiration from these unique cover letter examples. While these cover letters might not work in every situation, they all have standout features that are easily adapted to any cover letter. Below are eight of the best cover letters our team has seen so far this year.