How to Start a Cover Letter: 25 Opening Lines

Greet a named person if you can, then write a first sentence that names the job and gives your strongest reason to read on. MIT advises stating the purpose of your letter in the opening sentence, and Harvard's careers office advises skipping tired openers such as I am writing to express my interest.

Key facts

• MIT's career office advises stating clearly in the opening sentence the purpose of the letter and giving a brief professional introduction. (MIT Career Advising and Professional Development, How to write an effective cover letter, 2026)
• Harvard's careers office advises skipping the opener "I am writing to express my interest in", recommends three to four short paragraphs and notes that recruiters often spend less than 30 seconds on a first read. (Harvard FAS Mignone Center for Career Success, How to Write a Cover Letter That Actually Gets You Hired in 2026, Aug 2026)
• The UK National Careers Service advises introducing yourself and explaining how you found the advertised job, and addressing the letter to someone by name where possible. (National Careers Service, How to write a cover letter, 2026)
• Yale's Office of Career Strategy recommends an opening paragraph of one to three sentences that introduces you, and using keywords from the position description. (Yale Office of Career Strategy, Cover Letters and Correspondence, 2026)
• Europass advises researching the employer and referring to one or two key points about its organisation in your cover letter. (Europass, Create your Europass Cover Letter, 2026)

Knowing how to start a cover letter matters more than most people think. Recruiters read quickly. Harvard's careers office notes that they often spend less than 30 seconds on a first read. If your first lines are vague or tired, the rest of the letter may never be read. If they are clear and specific, the reader wants to know more.

This guide shows what careers offices and public career services recommend for the opening of a cover letter, how to address it, 25 opening lines you can adapt for different situations, and the openers to avoid.

What the first lines must do

The advice from careers services is consistent. MIT says the opening sentence should state clearly the purpose of your letter and give a brief professional introduction. The UK National Careers Service says to introduce yourself and explain how you found the advertised job. Yale recommends an opening paragraph of one to three sentences. Put together, a strong opening does three things:

1. Names the job you are applying for, so nobody has to guess.
2. Gives one strong reason you fit: your most relevant skill, result or experience.
3. Shows real interest in this employer, ideally with a specific detail.

How to start cover letter greetings

Before the first sentence comes the greeting. The National Careers Service advises addressing your letter to someone by name where possible. Look for the name in the advert, on the company website or on the team's professional profiles. Then:

• Name known: Dear Ms Rahman, Dear Mr Collins, or Dear Alex Morgan if you are unsure of the title.
• Name unknown: Dear Hiring Manager, or Dear Recruitment Team.
• UK formal style: Dear Sir or Madam, followed by Yours faithfully at the end. With a name, end with Yours sincerely.

Avoid To Whom It May Concern when you can. It feels distant and suggests you did not try to find a name.

Openers to avoid

Harvard's careers office singles out one opener in particular: I am writing to express my interest in. It is so common that it tells the reader nothing. Other weak openers include:

• My name is... (your name is already at the top)
• I am applying for the position advertised on your website (with no reason to read on)
• I believe I would be a perfect fit (a claim with no evidence)
• As a hard-working and passionate team player... (general words that everyone uses)
• Long stories about your childhood dream before you name the job

25 opening lines you can adapt

These examples were written for this guide. Change the details so every line is true for you.

When you have relevant experience

1. In three years as a payroll officer I have run monthly payroll for 400 staff without a late payment, and I would like to bring that reliability to your Payroll Specialist role.
2. Your Customer Success Manager role asks for someone who can keep small business customers growing, which is what I have done for the past two years at a software company.
3. I am applying for the Senior Nurse post on your cardiac ward, where my six years in coronary care would let me support your team from the first shift.
4. The Data Analyst role you advertised fits the work I do every week: turning sales data into clear reports that managers actually use.
5. After leading a team of eight in a busy warehouse, I am applying for your Operations Supervisor role to bring the same focus on safety and speed.

When you are a graduate or student

6. As a final year marketing student who ran social media for the student union's events, I am applying for your Junior Marketing Assistant role.
7. I am applying for your Graduate Engineer programme, having just completed a civil engineering degree with a final project on low cost flood barriers.
8. My summer internship in a small accounting firm taught me how much I enjoy careful work with numbers, and I am applying for your Trainee Accountant role.
9. Your Teaching Assistant role caught my eye because I have tutored secondary school pupils in maths throughout my degree.
10. I am applying for the Junior Developer role you shared at the university careers fair, where I enjoyed talking with your team about testing.

When you are changing career

11. After eight years as a teacher, I am moving into learning design, and your Instructional Designer role is a natural match for the courses I already build.
12. Moving from retail management into human resources, I bring five years of hiring, training and scheduling a team of twenty.
13. I am applying for your Project Coordinator role, bringing the planning and budgeting skills I used to run large events for a charity.
14. Having handled customer complaints for a telecoms company, I am ready to move into quality assurance, and your QA Analyst role is where I want to start.
15. I left nursing to study data, and your Health Data Analyst role lets me combine both: clinical understanding and analysis.

When someone referred you

16. Priya Shah in your finance team suggested I apply for the Accounts Payable role, after we discussed how I improved invoice processing in my current job.
17. At the industry meetup last month, your head of engineering mentioned an opening for a Site Reliability Engineer, and I am writing to apply.
18. A former colleague, Daniel Okafor, told me your support team is growing, and I would like to apply for the Customer Support Lead role.

When you admire the employer's work

19. Your recent project bringing clean water to rural schools is the kind of work I want to support as your new Programme Officer.
20. I have used your budgeting app for two years, and the Product Support role is a chance to help other users get as much from it as I have.
21. Your shift to electric delivery vans across the city is why I am applying for your Fleet Coordinator role.

For speculative letters with no advert

22. I am a qualified electrician with experience in commercial fit-outs, and I am writing to ask whether you expect openings on your team this year.
23. I am writing to offer my skills as a bilingual customer adviser in case your growing Spanish market needs support.

For internal moves

24. After three years in the Leeds branch, I am applying for the Branch Manager role in Manchester to take on a larger team.
25. Having worked closely with the marketing team on product launches, I am applying for the open Product Marketing role.

How to write your own opening in five minutes

1. Read the advert and underline the most important requirement.
2. Find your strongest matching example, with a result if you have one.
3. Write one sentence that names the job and links it to that example.
4. Add one sentence about why this employer. Europass advises researching the employer and mentioning one or two key points about its organisation.
5. Read it aloud. If it could be sent to any company, make it more specific.

Use the words from the advert

Yale's careers office advises using keywords from the position description in your letter. In your opening, that means using the employer's own job title and one or two of the skills they name. It helps the human reader and any software that screens applications. Do not copy whole sentences from the advert; use their words in your own sentence.

Opening an email cover letter

When the email is your cover letter, the subject line is part of the opening. Use the job title, any reference number and your name, for example: Application: Data Analyst (ref 2041), Priya Nair. Then start the email the same way as a letter: greeting, the job, your strongest reason. Keep it shorter than a printed letter, because people often read email on a phone.

Weak openings rewritten

Here are three common weak openings and stronger versions. All examples were written for this guide.

Weak: I am writing to express my interest in the Sales Executive position at your company.
Stronger: Last year I grew my territory's sales by a fifth while keeping every key account, and I would like to do the same as your Sales Executive in the north region.

Weak: My name is Sara and I recently graduated with a degree in biology.
Stronger: I am applying for your Laboratory Assistant role, having just completed a biology degree with a final year project in microbiology testing.

Weak: I believe I am the perfect candidate for this job.
Stronger: Your advert asks for someone who can keep a busy front desk calm and organised, which is what I have done for three years at a city hotel.

Notice the pattern. Each stronger version names the job, gives evidence and links it to what the employer needs. None of them uses a claim the reader cannot check.

What comes after the first sentence

The second sentence should support the first. Add one short fact about why you want this employer, or a second piece of evidence. Then move straight into your body paragraphs. Do not repeat your CV in the opening; save details for later. If your opening paragraph is longer than three sentences, cut it.

Openings for tricky situations

Returning after a career break

Lead with your skills, then mention the break briefly later in the letter. For example: With seven years of experience in accounts payable, recently refreshed with a course in new accounting software, I am applying for your Finance Assistant role.

Moving to a new city or country

Say when you will be there and whether you already have the right to work. For example: I am relocating to Toronto in March with an open work permit, and I am applying for your Marketing Coordinator role.

Applying for a lower level role

Explain your reason in a positive way. For example: After ten years in management, I want to return to hands-on design work, and your Senior Designer role is exactly that.

Applying with little experience

Lead with what you have done, not what you lack. Projects, volunteering, part-time work and study all count. For example: Running the finances of my university's football club for two years taught me budgeting and reporting, and I am applying for your Junior Finance Assistant role.

Checklist for your opening

• The greeting uses a real name if you could find one.
• The first sentence names the exact job title.
• It gives one specific reason you fit, ideally with a result.
• It uses the employer's own words for the main skill.
• It could not be sent to another company unchanged.
• The opening paragraph is no longer than three sentences.
• It contains no claims you cannot back up.

Read it as the recruiter would

Before you send, read only your greeting and first two sentences. Then stop. Ask yourself: do I know which job this is for? Do I know why this person might be good at it? Do I want to read more? If the answer to any of these is no, rewrite the opening. It is the most important part of your letter, and a few minutes of work here can decide whether the rest is read at all.

Opening lines by field

Different fields value different evidence. Here are more examples, written for this guide, to show what to lead with.

• Health care: lead with your registration and setting. Registered nurse with four years in emergency care, applying for your Urgent Care Nurse role.
• Technology: lead with something you built. I built and maintain the booking system used by 30 clinics in my current company, and I am applying for your Backend Developer role.
• Sales: lead with a number you can stand behind. I have beaten my sales target in each of the last eight quarters, and I am applying for your Account Executive role.
• Education: lead with your subject and the age group. Qualified science teacher for ages 11 to 16, applying for your Biology Teacher post.
• Hospitality: lead with service under pressure. I have run the front desk of a 200-room hotel through its busiest seasons, and I am applying for your Front Office Manager role.
• Non-profit: lead with the cause and your contribution. I have coordinated volunteer programmes for a food bank for three years, and your Volunteer Manager role continues that work.

Remember to change every detail so it is true for you. A specific, honest opening beats a clever one every time.

Common mistakes in the opening

• Using the wrong company name or job title, often after copying from another letter.
• Spelling the hiring manager's name wrong.
• Starting with an apology, such as I know I do not have much experience.
• Writing a long paragraph before the job is named.
• Using the same opening for every application.

Matching the opening to the rest of the letter

Your opening makes a promise. The body paragraphs must keep it. If your first line says you grew sales, the next paragraph should show how. If it says you care about the employer's mission, show one thing you have done for a similar cause. A strong opening followed by a generic body feels like a bait and switch. Plan the whole letter first: one opening, two examples, one reason for this employer and a short close. Then write the opening last, once you know your best evidence.

Finally, keep a copy of each letter with the advert. If you are invited to interview, reread your opening first: interviewers often ask about the example you led with, so be ready to tell the full story.

Live on Dev Global Jobs

Right now there are 205,732 open jobs on Dev Global Jobs (live count, 23 October 2026). Draft a full letter around your new opening with the cover letter tool, then pair it with a matching CV from the CV builder.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

1. How to write an effective cover letter, MIT Career Advising and Professional Development. Accessed 3 October 2026.
2. How to Write a Cover Letter That Actually Gets You Hired in 2026, Harvard FAS Mignone Center for Career Success. Accessed 3 October 2026.
3. How to write a cover letter, National Careers Service (UK). Accessed 3 October 2026.
4. Cover Letters and Correspondence, Yale Office of Career Strategy. Accessed 3 October 2026.
5. Create your Europass Cover Letter, Europass, European Union. Accessed 3 October 2026.

Source: Dev Global Jobs, updated 23 October 2026.