How to Write a Cover Letter (With a Full Example)

The structure of a cover letter

1. Your details: name, phone, email and city, matching your CV.
2. The employer's details and the date. In Germany and France, the place and date go above the letter (“Berlin, 31.10.2026”).
3. A subject line naming the job and, if there is one, the reference number. This is standard in Germany, France and much of Central Europe.
4. Salutation to a named person (“Dear Ms Novak”). If you can't find a name, use the local neutral form (“Dear Hiring Team”, “Madame, Monsieur”, “Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren”).
5. Opening paragraph: the role, and one strong reason you're a fit.
6. One or two middle paragraphs: the job's main requirements, each matched with evidence from your experience.
7. Why this company: something specific about them, not praise you could send to anyone.
8. Closing paragraph: ask for an interview and say when you're available.
9. Sign-off and your name (“Kind regards”, or the local formal closing).

How to write each paragraph

• The opening: skip “I am writing to apply for…”; the subject line already says it. Lead with your strongest fact for this job: “After four years leading a 12-person customer service team at a logistics firm, I'd like to bring that experience to your Customer Operations Lead role.”
• The middle: pick the two or three requirements the job ad stresses most, and give one piece of evidence for each, with a result. This is where the letter does work your CV can't: it connects your experience to their needs.
• Why them: one or two sentences that show you looked. A product you use, a market they're entering, a value they state that matches how you work.
• The close: confident and short. “I'd welcome the chance to discuss how I could help your team. I'm available for an interview from next week.”

A full cover letter example

Subject: Application for Customer Operations Lead (ref. CO-2026-14)

Dear Ms Novak,

After four years leading a 12-person customer service team at a mid-sized logistics company, I'd like to bring that experience to the Customer Operations Lead role at Quillbrook Freight. Your ad asks for someone who can raise service quality while volumes grow, and that is exactly what my team did over the past two years.

When our order volume rose by about 40%, I reorganised shifts around demand peaks and introduced a shared knowledge base in Zendesk. Average first-response time fell from two days to four hours, and our customer satisfaction score rose from 78% to 91%. I also trained six new team members, two of whom now lead shifts themselves.

You also mention working closely with warehouse and transport teams. In my current role, I set up a weekly call with our two warehouses to fix the causes of late deliveries rather than only answering complaints about them; complaints about delays dropped by a third within six months.

Quillbrook's move into same-day delivery in the Benelux caught my attention, because faster delivery promises put customer service under new pressure, and that is the problem I enjoy solving. I'd welcome the chance to discuss how I could help your team. I'm available for an interview from next week.

Kind regards,

Ana Ionescu

Cover letter conventions across Europe

• Germany, Austria, Switzerland: the Anschreiben is expected in almost every application. It's a formal one-page business letter with a subject line, place and date, and “Mit freundlichen Grüßen”.
• France: the lettre de motivation is expected for most roles, in French, often in the “vous, moi, nous” order: the company, what you bring, then the fit between you, ending with a formal closing.
• Netherlands and Belgium: the motivatiebrief is standard but shorter and more direct; half a page to a page.
• UK and Ireland: commonly expected, concise and specific, usually three to four paragraphs.
• Nordic countries and startups everywhere: often optional, and when you send one, short and plain beats formal.
• Spain, Italy, Portugal: a carta de presentación, lettera di presentazione or carta de apresentação is common, polite and to the point.

Mistakes that cost interviews

• One generic letter for every job. Recruiters spot it in the first line.
• Repeating your CV in paragraph form instead of connecting it to this job.
• Opening with “My name is…” or “I am writing to apply for…”.
• Talking only about what you want, not what you'd bring.
• The wrong company name or job title, left over from the last application.
• Going over one page.
• An AI-written draft sent unedited: generic phrases and claims you can't back up are easy to spot. Use AI for a first draft, then make every sentence yours and true.