Key takeaways
  • A cover letter should fit on one page and be specific to the company.
  • Start with why this role, not with your name and degree.
  • Prove one or two claims with concrete results.
  • End with availability and permit situation in one line.

Most cover letters I read could be sent to any company. That is why they fail. Here are three structures, with example lines you can adapt.

1. Experienced professional

  • Opening: "Your team is moving its payments platform to event driven services. I have done exactly that at a bank in Pune, for 4 million users."
  • Proof: two short paragraphs with results that match the ad.
  • Why this company: one specific reason, such as a product, a market or a value.
  • Close: availability, notice period and permit, for example EU Blue Card eligible.

2. Career changer

  • Opening: the bridge. "After six years in mechanical design, I moved into data analysis, and I now build the dashboards my old teams needed."
  • Proof: projects, courses with real outputs and the skills that carry over.
  • Close: what you bring that a typical candidate doesn't.

3. Fresher or graduate

  • Opening: a project or internship that matches the role.
  • Proof: what you built, learned and delivered, with links.
  • Close: start date and willingness to learn the local language.

Rules for all three

  1. One page, three to five short paragraphs. Recruiters read on phones.
  2. Name the role and the company. And the person, if you know who reads it.
  3. Mirror the ad's language. Use its main keywords naturally.
  4. Proofread. Errors in the cover letter are noticed more than in the CV.

Common questions

Can I use AI to write cover letters?

As a draft, yes. Then rewrite it with your own results and voice; generic AI text is easy to spot.

Is a cover letter needed if the form doesn't ask?

If there is an optional field, use it for roles you really want.

Should I write about my visa?

One line at the end is enough.

Sources

Written by Swapnil (Samadhan Mule)

I moved to Germany for my master's, collected more than 1,000 rejections, and then got multiple job offers within six months. I work in digital marketing in Germany and help international professionals get hired in Europe. Read my story.