Cover letters: when you need one and how to write it in 250 words
Not every application needs a cover letter, but when one is requested, or when your CV alone can't explain your situation, a short, specific letter can decide whether you get an interview.
When to send one
- The posting asks for it. Always follow the instruction.
- You are changing career or applying from another country, and need to explain why.
- You have a referral or spoke to someone at the company.
- The application is for a small company, where the manager reads everything personally.
- In France, a lettre de motivation is still widely expected for many roles.
When you apply by e-mail, the body of the e-mail is your cover letter: keep it short and attach your CV as a PDF.
A four-paragraph structure
1. Why you are writing. Name the role, where you saw it and one line on why you fit.
2. What you bring. Two or three strengths linked to the job's main requirements, each with a short proof. Don't repeat your CV; pick the most relevant evidence.
3. Why this company. One or two sentences showing you know something specific about the employer: a project, a value, a market.
4. Close. Availability, notice period or location if relevant, and a polite request for an interview.
Aim for 200 to 300 words, one page at most.
Example
Dear Ms Al-Mansoori,
I am applying for the IT Infrastructure Engineer position advertised on your careers page. With eight years of experience running Azure and Windows Server environments in Qatar, I believe I can help your team deliver the cloud migration described in the posting.
In my current role at Gulf Tech Services, I led the migration of 120 workloads to Azure with no unplanned downtime and reduced monthly cloud costs by 30% through automation. I also rolled out Entra ID and Conditional Access for more than 2,000 users across four entities, working closely with security and compliance teams.
Your recent expansion into healthcare clients interests me in particular, as I have supported regulated environments that require strict access control and audit trails.
I hold a transferable Qatar residence permit and can start after a one-month notice period. I would welcome the chance to discuss how I could contribute.
Kind regards,
Sami Haddad
Country notes
- Gulf: a polite, direct tone works; mention visa status and notice period in the closing paragraph.
- France: the lettre de motivation follows a similar logic ("vous, moi, nous": the company, you, your future together) and is usually a little more formal.
- UK: keep it concise and evidence-based; British readers dislike overstatement.
- USA and Canada: short and confident; many employers now accept a few lines in the application form instead.
Mistakes to avoid
- A generic letter that could be sent to any company.
- Repeating every line of the CV.
- Talking only about what you want from the job.
- The wrong company name: check it before every send.
- Personal information the country doesn't expect (age, religion, family details).
Write the letter after your CV is final, and reuse the strongest achievements from it, phrased as a short story rather than a list.