cover letter american english

Cover Letters

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The purpose of a cover letter, when required by an employer, is to introduce yourself and compel an employer to learn more about you through your resume. Capture an employer's attention by following the actions below.

Personalize

The statement "To Whom it May Concern" is concerning! Always try to address your letter to a specific person. If you do not know who should receive your letter, research the organization's website or call the main number and ask for the appropriate person's name and title.

In addition to determining the recipient's name and title, research the organization so that you can convey an appreciation for its mission and an understanding of the duties and qualifications of the position for which you are applying.

Articulate how your skills and experiences uniquely qualify you for the position and demonstrate why you are a good fit for the organization. Be clear and concise and limit your cover letter to one page. Additionally, maintain a confident, professional tone while providing insight into your personality so that your letter leaves an employer with a sense of wanting to learn more about you.

A poorly written or error-laden letter is a surefire way to end your candidacy. If you want an employer to spend additional time reviewing your resume, you must make time to proofread your letter and ensure that your grammar and spelling are perfect.

Cover Letter Format

Your street address City, state, zip code

Date Recipient's first and last name Title Organization name Street address City, state, zip code

Dear first and last name (address to someone specific or Dear Hiring Manager):

Paragraph 1: State what you are applying for and why you are applying to XYZ organization or position. Introduce yourself by saying something about yourself (i.e., I am a senior studying communications at American University). Note how/where you learned about the position. If you are writing at the suggestion of someone who knows the recipient, say so. Introduce 3-5 skills or strengths that you offer to the position/organization that you will give an example of in the following paragraphs.

Paragraph 2: Share your first story to demonstrate your skill or skills. Have a succinct beginning, middle, and end to the story. Follow the CAR method -- Context, Action, Result to tell a full story.

Paragraph 3: Share your second story following the CAR method.

Paragraph 4: Summarize what you bring to the organization and include any logistical information (when you are available, how they can contact you). Thank them for their consideration.

Sincerely, Your name

How to Write a Cover Letter in 2024 + Examples

After weeks of heavy job search, you’re almost there!

You’ve perfected your resume. 

You’ve short-listed the coolest jobs you want to apply for.

You’ve even had a friend train you for every single interview question out there.

But then, before you can send your application and call it a day, you remember that the job ad requires a cover letter.

Now you’re stuck wondering how to write a cover letter ...

Don’t panic! We’ve got you covered. Writing a cover letter is a lot simpler than you might think. 

In this guide, we’re going to teach you how to write a cover letter that gets you the job you deserve.

• What’s a cover letter & why it’s important for your job search
• How to write a convincing cover letter that gets you the job (step-by-step!)
• How to perfect your cover letter with the Novoresume free checklist
• What excellent cover letter examples look like

New to cover letter writing? Give our resumes 101 video a watch before diving into the article!

So, let’s get started with the basics!

What is a Cover Letter? (and Why It’s Important)

A cover letter is a one-page document that you submit as part of your job application (alongside your CV or Resume). 

Its purpose is to introduce you and briefly summarize your professional background. On average, your cover letter should be from 250 to 400 words long .

A good cover letter can spark the HR manager’s interest and get them to read your resume. 

A bad cover letter, on the other hand, might mean that your application is going directly to the paper shredder. So, to make sure this doesn’t happen, it’s essential to know how to write a convincing cover letter.

How does a good cover letter look, you might ask. Well, here’s an example:

Keep in mind, though, that a cover letter is a supplement to your resume, not a replacement. Meaning, you don’t just repeat whatever is mentioned in your resume.

If you’re writing a cover letter for the first time, writing all this might seem pretty tough. After all, you’re probably not a professional writer.

The thing is, though, you don’t need to be creative, or even any good at writing. All you have to do is follow a tried-and-tested format:

• Header - Input contact information
• Greeting the hiring manager
• Opening paragraph - Grab the reader’s attention with 2-3 of your top achievements
• Second paragraph - Explain why you’re the perfect candidate for the job
• Third paragraph - Explain why you’re a good match for the company
• Formal closing

Or, here’s what this looks like in practice:

How to Write the Perfect Cover Letter (And Get Hired!)

Now that we’ve got the basics out of the way, we’re going to guide you through the process of writing a cover letter step by step. 

Step #1 - Pick the Right Cover Letter Template

A good cover letter is all about leaving the right first impression.

So, what’s a better way to leave a good impression than a well-formatted, visual template?

You can simply pick one of our hand-picked cover letter templates , and you’ll be all set in a jiffy!

As a bonus, our AI will even give you suggestions on how to improve your cover letter on the go.

Step #2 - Start the Cover Letter with a Header

As with a resume, it’s important to start your cover letter with a Contact Information section:

Here, you want to include all essential information, including:

• Phone Number
• Name of the hiring manager / their professional title
• Name of the company you’re applying to

In certain cases, you might also consider adding:

• Social Media Profiles - Any type of profile that’s relevant to your field. Social Profiles on websites like LinkedIn, GitHub (for developers), Medium (for writers), etc.
• Personal Website - If you have a personal website that somehow adds value to your application, you can mention it. Let’s say you’re a professional writer. In that case, you’d want to link to your blog.

And here’s what you shouldn’t mention in your header:

• Your Full Address 
• Unprofessional Email - Make sure your email is presentable. It’s pretty hard for a hiring manager to take you seriously if your email address is “[email protected].” Whenever applying for jobs, stick to the “[first name] + [last name] @ email provider.com” format.

Step #3 - Greet the Hiring Manager

Once you’ve properly listed your contact information, you need to start writing the cover letter contents.

The first thing to do here is to address the cover letter to the hiring manager .

That’s right, the hiring manager! Not the overly popular “Dear Sir or Madam.” You want to show your future boss that you did your research and are really passionate about working with their team.

No one wants to hire a job seeker who just spams 20+ companies and hopes to get hired in any of them.

So, how do you find out who’s the hiring manager? There are several ways to do this. 

The simplest option is to look up the head of the relevant department on LinkedIn. Let’s say you’re applying for the position of a Communication Specialist at Novoresume. The hiring manager is probably Head of Communications or Chief Communications Office.

So, you do a quick lookup on LinkedIn:

And voila! You have your hiring manager.

Or let’s say you’re applying for the position of a server. In that case, you’d be looking for the “restaurant manager.”

If this doesn’t work, you can also check out the “Team” page on the company website; there’s a good chance you’ll at least find the right person there.

Here are several other greetings you could use:

• Dear [Department] Hiring Manager
• Dear Hiring Manager
• To whom it may concern
• Dear [Department] Team

Step #4 - Write an Attention-Grabbing Introduction

First impressions matter, especially when it comes to your job search.

Recruiters get hundreds, sometimes even thousands, of applications. Chances are, they’re not going to be reading every single cover letter end-to-end.

So, it’s essential to catch their attention from the very first paragraph .

The #1 problem we see with most cover letter opening paragraphs is that they’re usually extremely generic. Most of them look something like this..

• Hey, my name is Jonathan and I’d like to work as a Sales Manager at XYZ Inc. I’ve worked as a sales manager at MadeUpCompany Inc. for 5+ years, so I believe that I’d be a good fit for the position.

See the issue here? This opening paragraph doesn’t say pretty much anything except the fact that you’ve worked the job before.

Do you know who else has similar work experience? All the other applicants you’re competing with.

Instead, you want to start off with 2-3 of your top achievements to really grab the reader’s attention. Preferably, the achievements should be as relevant as possible to the position.

So now, let’s make our previous example shine:

My name’s Michael and I’d like to help XYZ Inc. hit and exceed their sales goals as a Sales Manager. I’ve worked with Company X, a fin-tech company, for 3+ years. As a Sales Representative, I generated an average of $30,000+ in sales per month (beating the KPIs by around 40%). I believe that my previous industry experience, as well as excellence in sales, makes me the right candidate for the job.

See the difference between the two examples? If you were the hiring manager, which sales manager would you hire, Jonathan or Michael?

Now that we’ve covered the introduction, let’s talk about the body of your cover letter. This part is split into two paragraphs: the first is for explaining why you’re the perfect person for the job, and the latter is for proving that you’re a good fit for the company.

So, let’s get started...

Step #5 - Explain why you’re the perfect person for the job

This is where you show off your professional skills and convince the HR manager that you’re a better fit for the job than all the other applicants.

But first things first - before you even write anything, you need to learn what the most important requirements for the role are. So, open up the job ad and identify which of the responsibilities are the most critical.

For the sake of the example, let’s say you’re applying for the position of a Facebook Advertiser. You scan the job ad and see that the top requirements are:

• Experience managing a Facebook ad budget of $10,000+ / month
• Some skills in advertising on other platforms (Google Search + Twitter)
• Excellent copywriting skills

Now, in this section, you need to discuss how you fulfill these requirements. So, here’s how that would look for our example:

In my previous role as a Facebook Marketing Expert at XYZ Inc. I handled customer acquisition through ads, managing a monthly Facebook ad budget of $20,000+ . As the sole digital marketer at the company, I managed the ad creation & management process end-to-end. Meaning, I created the ad copy , images, picked the targeting, ran optimization trials, and so on.

Other than Facebook advertising, I’ve also delved into other online PPC channels, including:

• Google Search

Are you a student applying for your first internship? You probably don’t have a lot of work experience to show off in this section. Learn how to write an internship cover letter here.

Step #6 - Explain why you’re a good fit for the company

Once you’ve written the last paragraph, you might be thinking - I’m a shoo-in for the job! What else do I need to write? I’ll just wrap up the cover letter and hit that sweet SEND button.

Well, no. You’re not quite there yet.

The HR manager doesn’t only look at whether you’ll be good at the job or not. They’re looking for someone that’s also a good fit for the company culture.

After all, employees that don’t fit in are bound to quit, sooner or later. This ends up costing the company a ton of money, up to 50% of the employee’s annual salary . 

Meaning, you also need to convince the HR manager that you’re really passionate about working with them.

How do you do this? Well, as a start, you want to do some research about the company. You want to know things like:

• What’s the company’s business model?
• What’s the company product or service? Have you used it?
• What’s the culture like? Will someone micro-manage your work, or will you have autonomy on how you get things done?

So, get to Googling. Chances are, you’ll find all the information you need either on the company website or somewhere around the web.

Then, you need to figure out what you like about the company and turn that into text.

Let’s say, for example, you’re passionate about their product and you like the culture of innovation / independent work in the organization.

You’d write something like:

I’ve personally used the XYZ Smartphone, and I believe that it’s the most innovative tech I’ve used in years. The features such as Made-Up-Feature #1 and Made-Up-Feature #2 were real game changers for the device. 

I really admire how Company XYZ thrives for excellence for all its product lines, creating market-leading tech. As someone that thrives in a self-driven environment, I truly believe that I and Company XYZ will be a great match.

What you don’t want to do here is be super generic for the sake of having something to write. Most job seekers tend to mess this one up. Let’s take a look at a very common example we tend to see (way too often):

I’d love to work for Company XYZ because of its culture of innovation. I believe that since I’m super creative, I’d be a good fit for the company. The company values of integrity and transparency really vibe with me.

See what’s wrong here? The example doesn’t really say anything about the company. “Culture of Innovation” is something most companies claim to have. 

The same goes for “values of integrity and transparency” - the writer just googled what the values for the organization are, and said that they like them.

Any hiring manager that reads this will see through the fluff.

So, make sure to do a lot of research and come up with good reasons why you're applying.

Step #7 - Wrap up with a call to action

Finally, it’s time to finish up your cover letter and write the conclusion.

In the final paragraph, you want to:

• Wrap up any points you couldn't in the previous paragraphs. Do you have anything left to say? Any other information that could help the hiring manager make their decision? Mention it here.
• Thank the hiring manager for their time. It never hurts to be courteous, as long as you don’t come off as too needy.
• Finish the cover letter with a call to action. The very last sentence in your cover letter should be a call to action. You should ask the hiring manager to take some sort of action.

And now, let’s turn this into a practical example:

So to wrap it all up, thanks for looking into my application. I hope I can help Company X make the most out of their Facebook marketing initiatives. I'd love to further discuss how my previous success at XYZ Inc. can help you achieve your facebook marketing goals.

Step #8 - Use the right formal closing

Once you’re done with the final paragraph, all you have to do is write down a formal “goodbye” and you’re good to go.

Feel free to use one of the most popular conclusions to a cover letter:

• Best Regards,
• Kind Regards,

And we’re finally done! Before sending off the cover letter, make sure to proofread it with software like Grammarly, or maybe even get a friend to review it for you.

Does your cover letter heading include all essential information?

• Professional email
• Relevant Social Media Profiles

Do you address the right person? I.e. hiring manager in the company / your future direct supervisor

Does your introductory paragraph grab the reader's attention?

• Did you mention 2-3 of your top achievements?
• Did you use numbers and facts to back up your experience?

Do you successfully convey that you’re the right pro for the job?

• Did you identify the core requirements?
• Did you successfully convey how your experiences help you fit the requirements perfectly?

Do you convince the hiring manager that you’re passionate about the company you’re applying to?

• Did you identify the top 3 things that you like about the company?
• Did you avoid generic reasons for explaining your interest in the company?

Did you finalize the conclusion with a call to action?

Did you use the right formal closure for the cover letter?

5+ Cover Letter Examples

Need some inspiration? Read on to learn about some of the best cover letter examples we’ve seen (for different fields).

College Student Cover Letter Example

Middle Management Cover Letter Example

Career Change Cover Letter Example

Management Cover Letter Example

Senior Executive Cover Letter Example

Want to discover more examples AND learn what makes them stand out? Check out our guide to cover letter examples .

Next Steps in Your Job Search - Creating a Killer Resume

Your cover letter is only as good as your resume. If either one is weak, your entire application is for naught. 

After all, a cover letter is just an introduction. Imagine going through all this effort to leave an amazing first impression, but flopping at the end because of a mediocre resume.

...But don’t you worry, we’ve got you covered on that end, too.

If you want to learn more about Resumes & CVs, we have a dedicated FREE guide for that. Check out our complete guide on how to make a resume , as well as how to write a CV - our experts will teach you everything you need to know in order to land your dream job.

Or, if you’re already an expert, just pick one of our resume templates and get started.

Key Takeaways

Now that we’ve walked you through all the steps of writing a cover letter, let’s summarize everything we’ve learned:

• A cover letter is a 250 - 400 word document that convinces the hiring manager of your competence
• A cover letter goes in your job application alongside your resume
• Your introduction to the cover letter should grab the hiring manager’s attention and keep it all the way until the conclusion
• There are 2 main topics you need to include in your cover letter: why you’re the perfect candidate for the job & why you’re passionate about working in the company you’re applying to
• Most of the content of your cover letter should be factual , without any fluff or generalizations

At Novorésumé, we’re committed to helping you get the job you deserve, every step of the way! Follow our blog to stay up to date with the industry-leading advice. Or, check out some of our top guides…

• How to Write a Motivational Letter
• How to Write a Resume with No Work Experience
• Most Common Interview Questions and Answers

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Your Cover Letter

When you send your CV to apply for a position, you should also include a short letter. This letter is called a covering letter or (in American English) a cover letter . A covering letter sent with a CV/resume is also called a letter of application . Your letter of application is a sales letter. The product it is selling is your CV.

The reader of your letter may be busy and unwilling to waste time on unnecessary details. You should therefore design your letter to be easy to read. It should be short, concise and relevant. It should not be too formal or complicated.

Your letter should:

• confirm that you are applying for the position
• say where you learned about the position
• say why you want the position
• say why you would be a benefit to the company
• request an interview

The layout of a modern business letter in English is very simple. Your address is at the top, on the right or in the middle. The rest of the letter can be in 'block' format, with each line starting on the left. Try to keep the whole letter on one single page, with plenty of white space.

Here is the typical format for your covering letter:

Should your letter of application be hand-written? Probably not . In some cultures employers require candidates to send letters written by hand. But in the English-speaking world, an employer would usually prefer to receive a letter of application that is word-processed (that is, produced on a computer and printed ). A hand-written letter could be considered unprofessional. You must judge according to the country, culture and tradition.

Sample Cover Letter

Rachel's English

How to Write a Resume and Cover Letter

YouTube blocked? Click here to see the video.

You CAN Have the Perfect Resume and Cover Letter!  (Or CAN’T you?)  Everything you need for the perfect resume and cover letter—plus a lesson on CAN vs. CAN’T in American English.

Video Text:

You found a job that you’re dying to get.   When’s the last time you took a look at your resume?   Maybe you don’t even have one yet.   And what about a cover letter?   The strength of these two materials will determine whether or not you get an interview.

In this video, I’m going to interview two employers who have done a lot of hiring and we’ll figure out the best possible way for you to present yourself with a resume to a perspective employer.   For my non-native English students out there, we’ll also have an English lesson at the end of this video on the word ‘can’t’, and how it’s sometimes pronounced like ‘can’, and how that’s confusing.   This actually happens in one of the interviews and we’ll study that as an example.

  Let’s talk resumes.   You might be surprised to hear that the content of your resume comes second to readability.   That’s right.   The format is actually more important than what you say, because a good format:   someone will read that.   A bad format:   someone might not even read that, so it doesn’t matter what it says.

Cindy was the executive director of a non-profit in New York City.   That nonprofit got a huge grant that required greatly expanding her workforce, and across her career, she has evaluated literally thousands of resumes.   Let’s see what she says about formatting.

Generally speaking, I would say, what I look for in a resume or a CV is that it’s super easy to read, and very clear, and not cluttered.

>> So, formatting.

>> Formatting…

Matters a ton because if I can’t even read it then, it’s hard to figure out what I’m looking for.

I also asked a local small business owner, Steve about this.

Steve, I know you did some hiring recently. What about resumes, stood out for you, when you decided to put someone in the interview pile, what was it about the resume?

Probably the biggest thing then I look at is for uniformity within that resume.

So, for both of these people their first response has nothing to do with content.   They want a format that allows them to easily skim to make a quick determination about whether or not they are interested in someone.   If they can’t do that quickly, they won’t bother with the resume.   It automatically goes to the ‘no’ pile.   We want to make sure yours is in the ‘yes’ pile.

Both Cindy and Steve went on to mention, there’s no need for color on the resume, and don’t put your picture on it, unless that’s required.

The kind of resume you’ll write depends on where you are in your career, and there are lots of examples to find online.   Take a look at the work experience on this resume. It’s consistent.   The position is in bold with the location and dates below in italics.   It’s the same for both positions, and there are bullet points beneath.   Someone can take a look at this and quickly get the content.

So what about the content?   Listen to what Cindy has to say about this.

When you’re applying for specific roles, it is helpful to tweak your resume and use similar language and bullets from the job description on your resume. As long as it’s accurate and true, but if the job description says that you have edited videos, you know, that you’ve got specific type of software editing, or whatever the verbs are they are using to describe what they’re looking for, if you’ve done those things, it is worth tweaking your resume so that it mirrors the job description as much as you can.

That’s a great point. Bring in the verbs specifically.

Yes, like, because there are some cultural things there. Because an organization might use the word ‘drive’ for example and it connects to the organization’s culture, and you see that through their job description, you can incorporate that into your resume and your cover letter to use similar language to show that you, one, are perceptive, but also that you are… Would connect with that culture well.

What a great idea.   Have the job description in front of you and tweak your resume for that exact job.   Look for the action words, the verbs.   Is this something you can truthfully put into your resume?   Do it.

And I was surprised to hear this:

Places that are big companies for entry-level or maybe even mid-level jobs where they’re hiring a lot of one job, or a lot of similar jobs, a lot of those companies use a HR software and will scan resumes, and I look for keywords. And so that is why the matching the resume to the job description. I have not personally actually used any of those kind of softwares, I just know that they’re used at some of the bigger places. And so that matching is also really important.

That’s amazing. So the first look at your resume isn’t even from a human.

In some cases it might not even be a human that does the first evaluation of your resume, so the words you chose to put in are so important.    

Steve has some additional advice.

When I’m looking at the actual resume, I’m going to go down through and see what responsibilities you had. And has that responsibility increased over the years? Have you… Have you advanced in your career through that process?

Responsibilities and growth are big points that employers look at, so really think about what you’ve done at your jobs. If at all possible, find the job description of the jobs you’ve held in the past and currently hold.   That will give you a great starting point for listing the roles and responsibilities you had at the job if you’re not sure how to describe them.

What about the order of your sections?   Should education come before or after your work experience?   Let’s hear what Cindy has to say.

What about moving specific things to the top that is, that would be more relevant to that specific job, that kind of thing, like…

I mean yes, I think that’s… I think that’s useful, people look at resumes very, very, quickly. I think the most important piece is that it’s easy to read and easy to find. I think the further you are in professional career, typically, you move education to the bottom, unless you are applying for roles where it requires phd, perhaps, maybe   put that on the top. I do think it’s worth like making sure that the things that you have in your resume are relevant to what the job is looking, but ultimately, you just want it clean.

Again, clean.   Easy to read – the most important thing about your resume.    

So you’re starting to write your resume.   What should you keep in mind?

So Cindy, what advice would you give to somebody who’s just starting writing their first resume?

So I would, I actually think it’s useful to get a template, because it’s helpful to figure out how you even want to get started. So templates are helpful. The second is to just write out all the jobs you’ve had and what your key responsibilities. If you have your job descriptions, those are really helpful to help pull bullets from a job description that you can pull onto a resume. And then is to review all of your bullets for actionability. So they are all you know starting with an action word, and they are including as much as possible something specific and measurable. So for example, fundraised 1 million dollars in, you know, fiscal year, or year, or whatever that is, like wherever you can add very clear metric. And that they are actionable and if they are not… If it’s not a meaningful bullet, then take it out.

Be clear, be specific.   Rather than saying ‘responsible for fundraising’, say ‘Raised over $1,000,000 a year’.

What if you have no work experience, or none in the field you want to move into?

What would you say, the job requires a resume, so what do you, what do you do with that?

You want to put your, all of your work experience on there, anyway. Majority of it. And you want to try to figure out what are the transferrable skills from those jobs to what you’re trying to move to. So again, I would look at the job description of the role that you’re looking for and figure out what are the things on there that you’ve done in some way, that connect in some way, and do your best to put those bullets underneath the jobs that you’ve held. So if you’ve done a customer service job and you want to move into any job. Right? Customer service is really important. So being able to do it, if it’s a job that requires that you are detail-oriented, I’m sure, you know, but in a totally different capacity, like that’s something that you could know. So it’s figuring out what those transferable skills are, and then use your cover letter to explain why you are moving from wanting to get into a new profession or career that is different from what you were doing it before.

Be savvy about connecting experience you have with the job you want, even if you don’t have direct experience in that actual kind of job.   Now, Cindy mentioned cover letters, another really important part to landing a job interview, and we’ll go over cover letters in the next video.

I asked both Cindy and Steve about ‘bad’ resumes.   What not to do.   We’ve talked about resume ‘do’s’, what about some resume ‘don’t’s’. Have you done any of these?

What are the worst resumes that you’ve seen and why?

I think just recently, one of the worst resumes I saw was no dates associated with their times, if they were at an organization. So they completely left those out. And was just surprised to even see that somebody wouldn’t put in how long they’ve been at an organization. And that one immediately went to the ‘no’ pile. I’ve seen ones that that aren’t consistent, they’ll have you know, their job position, or their description, their title would be above the company that they worked with and then the line down, it would be below it. So some simple things like proofreading. Consistent proofreading, easy to read.

And they’re usually things that have like somebody’s name in the biggest font possible, in various colors, or like something about it that is trying to stand out so much that it just doesn’t land very well.

Write your best resume.   I think you know what to do now.   Keep it clean, simple, and easy to read with consistent formatting.   Use action words, verbs, and be really specific about what you’ve done at each job.   Have the job description for the job you want in front of you and pull out some of those verbs to have in your resume.   Have past job descriptions with you as well, but if they’re not available, take a minute away from the resume to write up what you did at each job you’ve held to use as a reference when you’re adding bullet points to jobs on your resume.   Think about submitting it as a PDF rather than a word document to ensure the formatting will look just the way you want it to.

In the next video, we’ll go over another very important document, one you often have to submit when applying for a job, a cover letter.   After that, we’ll move into the job interview do’s and don’t’s.

For my non-native students, we’re going to get your English lesson in just a minute.   If you haven’t already, be sure to click the subscribe button and the bell for notifications.   I make new videos on the English language and American culture every Tuesday and have over 600 videos on my channel to date, focusing on listening comprehension and accent reduction.   While you’re waiting for next week’s video, a great next step would be to check out this “get started playlist.”

Now, here’s your English lesson.

Let’s take a look at something Cindy said in the interview.   There will be no subtitles for this sentence.

Let’s focus on just the first half of that sentence.   Cuz if I can’t even read it–

Can you tell what she’s saying there?   Did you recognize the reduction of ‘cuz’?   That’s thw word ‘because’ reducing. Cuz–

Cuz if I can’t even read it–    

Really what I want you to notice is the word ‘can’t’.   She didn’t actually say ‘can’t’.   She said ‘can’, but she meant ‘can’t’, and as a native speaker, I heard it as ‘can’t’.   But she did say ‘can’, and if you’re a non-native speaker, that could be really confusing.

With N’T contractions, we almost never say a True T, ttt, can’t.   Don’t.   Won’t.   Doesn’t.   We often make a Stop T, abruptly stopping the air, in this case, in the nose since the sound before is the nasal consonant N.   Can’t, Don’t, nn, nn.   But what i’ve noticed is that sometimes in N’T contractions, native speakers drop the T altogether when the next word begins with a vowel or diphthong.   There’s not even a stop to signify the T.   So ‘can’t even’ becomes ‘can even’.   Can’t even. The N smoothly glides into the EE vowel with no break, no stop, no T sound.

So what’s the difference between ‘can’ and ‘can’t’ if the T is completely dropped?   The vowel.   In these cases, ‘can’ and ‘can’t’, they’re helping verbs. The main verb in Cindy’s sentence was ‘read’ – ‘cuz if I can’t even read it’.   ‘Read’ is the main verb.   So if ‘can’ was a helping verb here, it would’ve been reduced. The vowel changed to the schwa:   can, can, can. I can’t even read it.   Can’t, can’t. But it sounded stressed in her sentence, can, that is longer, clearer, with the up-down shape and the full vowel. Can, can. Because of that, we know what she means is can’t. We know it’s ‘can’t’ but without the T.   ‘cuz if I can’t even read it.’ Can’t–

It’s terrible, I know, and I’m sorry.   I apologize for this way of speaking!   But this is what happens in American English.   Let’s look at a few more examples:

I can’t always get another one.   ‘Can’t always’ will sound like this: can always. I can always get another one. But if I want to say: I can get another one, then I would say: I can always get another one. Can, can. So can’t becomes can and can becomes knn.

I can’t always get another one.

I can always get another one.

One more sentence.

I can’t ask her that.   I can’t ask her– I can’t ask her– Or, I can ask her that.   I can, can, can. I can ask her that.

I hope this tip can help you sometime when you’re feeling confused about what a person means.

That’s it, and thanks so much for using Rachel’s English.

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English Cover Letter Example

Kick-start your career and find ideas for your cover letter with our free, editable English cover letter example. Use this cover letter example for free or modify it in any way using our professional cover letter creator.

English Cover Letter Example (Full Text Version)

Violette Robiquet

Dear Head of Finance,

As an Accounting Analyst with 3 years of experience, I apply with enthusiasm for this opportunity.

I am currently an Accounting Analyst at KR Corporation, where I handle receivable and payable functionalities, as well as assist with in-depth financial reporting and planning. Mirroring your requirements, I:

• Generate and forward invoices and process payments (invoice value ~ $100K monthly)
• Reconcile accounts (~2,500) to ensure all payments are accounted for and properly posted
• Verify discrepancies and resolve billing issues; reduced outstanding invoices from 75+ days/~$85K to <15 days/$13K

In addition to my professional experience, I hold a Bachelor of Accounting & Finance and am familiar with all required software, including QuickBooks, Odoo, and GnuCash.

I have loved every minute of my time at KR Corporation and am proud of my achievements, particularly reducing outstanding payments by such a huge margin. As I recently moved to a new apartment, I am now seeking a stimulating opportunity closer to home.

Please find attached my resume for your consideration. Thank you very much for your time. I look forward to hearing from you regarding next steps.

Yours faithfully,

Milan Šaržík, CPRW

Milan’s work-life has been centered around job search for the past three years. He is a Certified Professional Résumé Writer (CPRW™) as well as an active member of the Professional Association of Résumé Writers & Careers Coaches (PARWCC™). Milan holds a record for creating the most career document samples for our help center – until today, he has written more than 500 resumes and cover letters for positions across various industries. On top of that, Milan has completed studies at multiple well-known institutions, including Harvard University, University of Glasgow, and Frankfurt School of Finance and Management.

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Writing the Cover Letter

What are the objectives of a cover letter.

A good cover letter puts your résumé in context and persuades the prospective employer that you are a good match for the position in question. If your cover letter does its job, the prospective employer will begin to consider your candidacy and go on to review your résumé in detail.

Your cover letter also serves as a sample of your organizational and communication skills. For this reason, it's essential to spend time writing and organizing the content, and to proofread it carefully. The time and care that you devote to constructing and writing your cover letter and résumé will demonstrate to the prospective employer that you're capable of producing high quality work.

Finally, your cover letter expresses your interest in the particular position or particular organization. Cover letters should be individually tailored for each job prospect. Your letter should convey to each prospective employer that you have an understanding of the job, and that you've done some thinking about how you could fit in to the organization and contribute to its goals.

How should I approach the writing task?

Your cover letter is your opportunity to market those aspects of your skills, abilities, education, training, background, and experience which are most relevant to the position you're seeking. This means that you will need to begin by doing some thinking about your skills and background and how these relate to the position for which you're applying. (For more information about skills, visit the Humanities Academic Services Center website .) Your cover letter should reflect your individuality, but remember that you are "introducing yourself" for the first time to a stranger: it's best to err on the side of professionalism.

Read the job announcement carefully. What are the most important qualifications being sought? How can you best demonstrate that you have them? Try to put yourself in the prospective employer's position: What would you want to know about a candidate for this particular job? What information would be most important to you? Include only the most relevant attributes and experiences you possess which specifically match the job for which you're applying.

Research the company or organization: What does the employing organization do? What are its goals? What is its history? How does it fit in to its industry? What characterizes the organization's culture (e.g., is it casual, conservative, highly structured, diverse, traditional, modern, fast-paced, etc.)? Some information, such as the organization's mission, purpose, clients, partners, and a sense of its "style" can be found on its website (if it has one). There are also industry and employer directories available on the web, in the libraries, and at UW Career Center in 134 Mary Gates Hall. Local and national newspapers, industry-related publications and journals, and the Washington Occupational Information System are also good resources.

Address the letter to a specific individual. As with all writing, it's important to identify your audience. Taking the time to find out the hiring party's name and correct title is another way to demonstrate your interest in the position.

How should I format my cover letter?

Your cover letter should be three to four paragraphs in length and limited to one page. Like an essay, its content can usually be divided up into three parts:

The introduction states the position you're seeking, explains how you learned about the position, and indicates your interest. It often also contains a brief statement of your qualifications (education, experience, and skills).

The body highlights the most important qualities you can offer to this particular employer , related to the position that you're seeking. Because you will be attaching your résumé, this is not the place to go into great detail. What you are attempting to do is to get the employer's attention and interest him/her in your candidacy. This is also the place to present other relevant information about your characteristics or background that may not be evident from your résumé. You might provide the employer with some specific examples of how you've demonstrated particular key skills or how you fulfill the most important qualifications listed in the job announcement.

The conclusion should summarize your qualifications and your interest in the position. Be sure to close your letter with a request for action or an indication that you'll be following up. This might include a request for an interview, a statement of your intent to call the employer on a specific date, or the dates you'll be in town for an interview. Finally, always thank the employer for considering your application.

Sample Cover Letters

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Lisa's journalism career spans two decades, and she currently serves as the Americas Day Editor for the Global News Desk. She played a pivotal role in tracking the COVID pandemic and leading initiatives in speed, headline writing and multimedia. She has worked closely with the finance and company news teams on major stories, such as the departures of Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and significant developments at Apple, Alphabet, Facebook and Tesla. Her dedication and hard work have been recognized with the 2010 Desk Editor of the Year award and a Journalist of the Year nomination in 2020. Lisa is passionate about visual and long-form storytelling. She holds a degree in both psychology and journalism from Penn State University.

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