Writing a cover letter with no work experience

The hardest part of a first cover letter is the feeling that you have nothing to put in it. You do. Coursework, final year projects, internships, part-time work, volunteering, and student organisations are all real evidence of how you work. What matters is presenting them as work rather than as a list of activities.

A structure that works

• Opening: state the role you are applying for and one specific reason you want this company in particular. Not "I am passionate about your mission", but something that shows you actually looked.
• Middle paragraph one: your strongest relevant experience, described with what you did and what came of it.
• Middle paragraph two: connect that to the requirements in the posting. Name the requirement, then show the evidence.
• Close: a short, direct statement that you would welcome the chance to discuss it, and thanks.

Keep it to one page and about four paragraphs. Recruiters read a great many of these, and length is not read as effort.

What to use instead of job experience

• A final year project, described the way you would describe a work project: the problem, your approach, the outcome.
• An internship, even a short one, with a concrete contribution rather than a description of the department.
• Part-time or casual work. Retail and food service teach scheduling, conflict handling, and working under pressure, and hiring managers know it.
• Student organisations, especially anything where you were responsible for a budget, an event, or other people.
• Self-directed work: a portfolio, an open source contribution, a small business, a well-documented personal project.

Things worth avoiding

• Restating your CV in paragraph form. The letter should add context, not duplicate.
• Apologising for inexperience. Never write that you lack experience but are a fast learner. Show the evidence and let it speak.
• Sending an identical letter to every company. If the company name is the only thing that changes, it reads that way.
• Opening with "To whom it may concern" when the hiring manager is findable. Use their name when you can.

Before you send it

Read it aloud. Anything that sounds unlike you when spoken usually reads as stiff on the page. Then check the company name, the role title, and the hiring manager spelling. Sending a letter addressed to the wrong company is the single most common self-inflicted rejection.