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Cover letter openings: before and after
Five opening lines rewritten across five different jobs — plus the four habits behind every one of them. No signup required; skim it, use whichever parts are useful, and rewrite your own opening with them if you'd rather do it yourself.
Customer service agent
Before
I am writing to apply for the Customer Service Agent position advertised on your careers page.
After
The job ad asks for someone who turns a complaint into a repeat customer — that's the specific skill I bring, not just a wish to work in customer service.
Why it works: The weak version restates the job title back at the reader, who already knows it. The strong version names the one thing the ad asked for and claims it directly, in the first sentence, before the reader's attention moves on.
Software developer
Before
I am a motivated developer with a passion for technology, applying for the open role on your team.
After
Your team is hiring for someone who can own a service end to end — that's the part of the job I'd ask to keep doing, not just the part I'm willing to do.
Why it works: “Motivated” and “a passion for technology” are claims anyone can make about themselves. Naming the actual responsibility from the ad, and which part of it matters to you, gives the reader something to picture.
Marketing coordinator
Before
I would like to be considered for the Marketing Coordinator position at your company.
After
Your posting calls out campaign coordination across two platforms as the main focus of this role — that's the part of my current job I'd want more of, not less.
Why it works: “I would like to be considered” asks for something without offering anything back. Pointing straight at the role's stated focus, and your own interest in exactly that, turns the opening from a request into an offer.
Warehouse and logistics
Before
I am applying for the Warehouse Associate position because I am a hard worker who shows up on time.
After
The ad lists inventory accuracy under pressure as a requirement — that's the part of warehouse work most people avoid talking about, and the part I'd want to be judged on.
Why it works: Being a hard worker who shows up on time is an expectation, not a differentiator — it will not separate one applicant from another. Naming the harder requirement from the ad signals you read it closely.
Registered nurse
Before
I am excited to apply for the Registered Nurse position at your hospital.
After
The posting names a night-shift, high-acuity unit as the assignment — that's the shift and unit type I'm asking to be considered for, not a generic nursing role.
Why it works: Excitement is easy to claim and hard to verify. Naming the specific unit type and shift from the ad shows you read past the job title to the actual working conditions, which is what gets screened for.
The four habits behind every rewrite above
Open with the ad's hardest requirement, not the job title
The reader already knows which job they posted; repeating the title back wastes the first sentence. Naming the part of the role most applicants will avoid or get wrong is what makes an opening different.
Turn a wish into a claim
“I would like to be considered” and “I am excited to apply” ask for something. Naming a specific skill, shift or responsibility from the ad and claiming it directly gives the reader something to evaluate instead of a sentiment.
Never promise what the CV doesn't back up
An opening that claims a skill the CV doesn't support creates a mismatch the reader notices by the second page. Every claim in the opening should be one the rest of the letter and the CV can stand behind.
Cut the line that could open any cover letter unchanged
“I am writing to apply for...” and “I am a motivated professional...” could sit at the top of thousands of letters. If the opening doesn't mention anything specific to this job ad, it hasn't done its job yet.
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