How to Start a Cover Letter: Five Openings That Work
The first line has one job: name the role and give a reason to read on. Five openings that do it, six that do not, and why you should write it last.
The short version
- Name the role in the first sentence, then say something only someone who read the advert could say.
- Address a person by name if fifteen minutes of looking produces one. Otherwise “Dear Hiring Manager”.
- Delete “I am writing to express my interest”. It is four words of throat-clearing.
- Write the opening last, once you know what the letter argues.
The first line of a cover letter is where most people spend most of their time and get the least return. It stalls writers because it feels like it has to do something dramatic, and it disappoints readers because it almost always does the opposite: a formal announcement that you are applying for the job you are obviously applying for.
It has one job. Tell the reader which role this is, and give them one reason to read the next paragraph.
The salutation first
Spend fifteen minutes looking for a name. The advert sometimes has one. So does the company’s team page, the profile of whoever posted the vacancy, and the signature on the automated acknowledgement if you have already applied elsewhere there.
If you find one: Dear Ms Okafor. Surname, with a title, unless the culture is obviously first-name.
If you do not: Dear Hiring Manager. It is neutral, current and completely acceptable. Avoid To Whom It May Concern, which reads as a form letter, and Dear Sir/Madam, which reads as 1994.
Never guess a gender from a name. If you have a name but no idea, use the full name: Dear Sam Achebe.
Five openings that work
1. The detail from the advert
I am applying for the Operations Manager role at Northgate. The line in your advert about the depot consolidation is what made me read it twice — I spent two years on the other side of exactly that at Marden.
Best all-round opening. It names the job, proves you read the advert, and sets up the evidence paragraph.
2. The single strongest fact
In my last role I took a ward from the bottom quartile for medication documentation errors to the top in fourteen months. I would like to do the same kind of work as a Senior Staff Nurse at St Anne’s.
Lead with the result when it is genuinely strong and genuinely relevant. Do not use this if the fact needs three sentences of setup.
3. The honest connection
I have been a customer of yours for six years, which is why I noticed when the returns process changed last autumn. I am applying for the Customer Operations Lead role because that change is the kind of problem I like.
Only if true, and only if the connection is specific. “I have always admired your brand” is not a connection.
4. The referral
Priya Raman in your finance team suggested I apply for the Management Accountant role. We worked together at Bryce & Co for three years.
The most effective opening there is, when you have it. Ask permission first.
5. The plain one
I am applying for the Teaching Assistant post at Fieldhead Primary, advertised on the council’s jobs page. I have four years’ experience in Key Stage 1, including two supporting children with EHC plans.
Unexciting and perfectly fine. A plain, accurate opening beats a clever one that does not quite land.
Openings to avoid, and why
| Opening | Problem |
|---|---|
| “I am writing to express my keen interest in…” | Announces that a letter is a letter. Four wasted words. |
| “My name is…” | It is at the top of the page and in the file name. |
| “As a passionate and dedicated professional…” | Adjectives about yourself carry no information. |
| A quotation from a famous person | Tells the reader about Maya Angelou, not about you. |
| A rhetorical question | “Are you looking for a self-starter?” invites the answer “not like this”. |
| “Please find attached my CV” | They can see the attachment. Say something they cannot. |
Write it last
The reason the opening is hard is that you are trying to introduce an argument you have not made yet. Write the middle of the letter first — the paragraph with the evidence in it — and the opening becomes a much smaller problem, because you now know what it is introducing.
The four-paragraph structure sets out the rest of the letter, and cover letter versus resume explains what the letter should be doing that the resume cannot.
Two sentences in, and then what
The opening buys you the second paragraph. Do not spend the rest of the first one on preamble. Once you have named the role and given a reason, move straight to the evidence — the situation, what you did, what happened.
A useful test: read only your first two sentences and ask whether a stranger now knows which job you want and one true thing about you. If yes, the opening has done its work.
Email subject lines, while we are here
If you are applying by email, the subject line is the real opening. Keep it factual:
- Operations Manager application — Priya Raman
- Application: Senior Staff Nurse (ref 4821) — Sam Achebe
Include a reference number if the advert gives one. Never leave the subject blank, and never write “Job application” alone.
A structure you can start from
Every template on this site comes with a matching cover letter document, laid out in the same type as the resume, with the four paragraphs marked out and a prompt in each explaining what belongs there — including two or three opening lines written for that specific job title. See what is included, or pick a title: customer service representative, registered nurse, graphic designer and 495 more, browsable by industry.
Common questions
How do I start a cover letter without saying “I am writing to apply”?
Name the role and follow it with a detail from the advert that you can speak to. “I am applying for the Operations Manager role. The line about the depot consolidation is what made me read it twice.”
Should I use the hiring manager’s first name?
Surname with a title is the safe default. Use a first name only where the organisation clearly writes that way, such as a small agency or a startup whose advert is written informally.
Is “Dear Hiring Manager” acceptable?
Yes. It is the standard neutral salutation and nobody has been rejected for it. It is far better than guessing a name or a gender wrongly.
How long should the first paragraph be?
Two or three sentences. Its only job is to name the role and give a reason to keep reading; the argument belongs in the paragraph after it.
Can I open with a story?
Only if it is two sentences long and directly about the work. A three-paragraph anecdote before you name the job spends the reader’s attention before you have earned it.
Start from a file that already does this
Every template is written for one job title, in a single column, with no tables and no text boxes, and the bullet points are already drafted at 1, 2, 5 and 10+ years. Edit it in Word, Google Docs or Pages.
Keep reading
How Long Should a Cover Letter Be? Word Counts That Work250 to 400 words on half a page, and shorter in an email. What to cut when it runs long, what to…Read it
How to Write a Cover Letter for a Job, in Four ParagraphsStart with the advert, not the opening line. What goes in each of the four paragraphs, with worked examples, and six lines…Read it
Cover Letter vs Resume: What Each One Is Actually ForA resume is a record; a cover letter is an argument. What only each one can do, the mistake that makes letters…Read it