What is the letter supposed to add?
Use the letter to explain a connection that may not be obvious from the CV alone. That might be why a project fits the team’s work or why you want to move into a particular kind of role. It should help the reader understand your application rather than retell every job in your history.
Read the employer’s instructions before writing. Some applications ask for a specific question to be answered, while others make the letter optional. A generic attachment can miss the point of a required prompt. If no letter is requested, decide whether you have a useful, specific reason to add one. Do not write merely to fill space.
How should I open it?
Use the role title and a direct reason for your interest. That reason should come from the real work described in the post or public information you checked. “I am applying for [role] because [specific work] connects with my experience in [relevant area]” gives you a plain starting structure.
Replace the brackets with details you can support. If you do not know the hiring contact’s name, a neutral greeting to the hiring team is fine. Do not guess a name from an unrelated employee profile. Avoid praise that could apply to any employer. The opening should show that you understood this particular role.
Which example should I choose?
Pick an example that answers a real need in the job description. Explain the task, your contribution and what happened or what the work was for. Use an outcome only if you know it. If the work belonged to a team, be clear about your part rather than presenting the entire result as your own.
You do not need to invent a polished success story. A practical example of supporting customers, fixing a problem, checking data or improving a process can be useful when it fits the role. Keep private details out. If you cannot describe the work without exposing confidential information, choose a different example or explain it at a safer level.
How do I discuss a gap or a career change?
Explain the relevant connection without pretending the gap is absent. Name the transferable work you have done and distinguish it from what you are still learning. A project can show a useful skill, but it should be labelled as a project. A course does not become employment experience because the subject matches the role.
Keep the explanation focused on what the employer needs to understand. You do not owe a detailed personal history in a cover letter. If a change in direction matters, explain the reason briefly and return to your evidence. Avoid promises about mastering a missing skill by an invented deadline. Show the steps you have actually taken.
How should I close the letter?
End with a simple expression of interest in discussing the role and a thank you. There is no need to demand a call or promise when you will contact the reader again. If the employer asks about availability or a required detail, answer it accurately through the requested channel.
Make sure your contact information agrees with the application. Check that links open and that the attached filename belongs to this employer. Read the letter aloud to catch awkward phrases. Remove repeated points and claims that make you sound more senior than your evidence shows. A short letter should still feel like a person speaking clearly.
How can I use a draft without losing my voice?
Draft from your own notes first, even if those notes are rough. If you use an AI tool, give it only the facts needed for the letter and review its output sentence by sentence. Pay attention to invented enthusiasm, inflated ownership and claims about the company that you did not verify.
Bao can prepare a letter draft alongside a job-specific CV and highlight draft wording for you to check. You still need to decide whether each sentence is true and useful. Save the final version you submit so you can refer to it later. The letter should match your CV, your form answers and the work you can discuss honestly.