How To Write A Cover Letter With No Experience

Writing a cover letter can be intimidating, especially if you don’t have any experience. Not knowing which skills to put down and what the company is looking for can deter anyone. But don’t worry, it can be pretty easy to write and sell yourself as the best candidate for the position.

Luckily for you, we’ve collected all the information you need to write a stellar cover letter for a job you have no experience in so that you can improve your chances of getting that coveted interview.

Key Takeaways:

• Brainstorm and highlight transferable skills from previous experiences and jobs.

• Showcase deliverables from school and work projects and how those successes can be transferred to the new job.

• Detail how the company fits you well as a person.

What Is a Cover Letter?

Cover letters are often required parts of the application process. They may seem tedious and boring, but hiring managers take them seriously. Cover letters are important because they give voice to you as a worker and as a person.

Essentially, cover letters exist to prove that you are not a robot. You have a personality, and you did your homework about the company/job profile and this gives you the chance to show hiring managers what you think is the most important takeaway to remember about you.

You might be feeling concerned about this process because you don’t have any experience in the field of the job you are applying for. But remember, cover letters are not the same thing as resumes.

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Why Cover Letters Are Important

Cover letters are where the personality comes in on paper. When writing a cover letter for a job with no experience, you will be selling yourself as the perfect person for the job versus the ideal worker.

What do we mean by that, exactly? Remember that every worker started in your position. At some point, everyone has applied for a job with no experience. So how did they land the gig?

• For many entry-level positions, hiring managers are not so worried about the experience as much about the person they are hiring and their ability to adapt and learn to fit the position.

  That’s why it’s called entry-level. You have some kind of background or transferable skills, but more than anything else, you are a worker ready to be molded into the perfect employee for that specific company — hiring managers would love that.

• So your job when writing this cover letter is to explain how you, as a person, fit well into the company and how you have a track record to show you can adapt well to new challenges and use transferable skills in this new role.

• That’s why before you start writing this cover letter, think about why you, as a person, should be hired and how that will make you into a great worker for the company.

What to Include in a Cover Letter if You Have No Experience

When planning to write this cover letter, you should brainstorm two major ideas: what skills you have from other industries and experiences that are transferable to this job and why you would fit in well with the company.

For example, if you are applying for a position as a sales representative and have worked in a clinic check-in desk position, there are a ton of transferable skills you can use. You can talk about customer service skills, communication skills, and organization skills.

You can talk about how learning new coding and insurance rules each year has made you comfortable with adapting to new work environments.

No matter where you have worked in the past (or collaborated in group projects at school), you probably have had to use organization and communication skills, both of which are crucial for many jobs.

How to Structure a Cover Letter

Once you’ve brainstormed how your old jobs and experiences can relate to the new job you are applying for and have decided how you best could fit into the company, it’s time to sit down and write the cover letter.

1. Header. This is where you list your contact information and for the person you’re reaching out to. This should inlucde:

   • Your email

   • Phone number

   • LinkedIn URL

   • Date

   • Address of the company

   • Name of hiring manager

   • Company phone number

   • Hiring managers email

   Example:

   [Your name]
   [Your email address]
   [Your phone number]
   [Your mailing address]

   [Date]

   [Hiring Manager’s name]
   [Company address]
   [Company phone number]
   [Hiring Manager’s email address]

2. Greeting. You should greet the person who you are sending the letter to if known. Do some research to find the name of who the letter is going to. If not known, you can use generic greetings. Try to keep the greetings as gender neutral as possible if you do not know the gender of who you are sending it to. You never want to assume you know just because a name is typically used by one gender.

   To Whom It May Concern is pretty typical, and it’s not the best approach. It can come as stuffy and awkward.

   Examples:

   • Dear [Company Name] Recruiter

   • Dear [Department] Team

   • Dear Hiring Manager

   • Dear Human Resources Manager

3. First paragraph. This is where you should introduce yourself. You can talk about your educational history, your overarching interests related to the job, and your interest in the position itself.

4. Second paragraph. This is where you should discuss your skills and related experience. Mention include skills and accomplishments. You can include the related skills and experience that can be transferable to the current job position you brainstormed earlier. Make sure to showcase any deliverables you’ve accomplished from previous experience.

5. Third paragraph. This is where you should discuss your qualities and why you’d be a good fit for the company. Make sure to highlight why you are the perfect fit for the job and company and explain other assets you have to bring to the position. Again, your brainstorm comes in handy.

6. Closing paragraph. This completes your cover letter, and it’s commonly known as the call to action. That is where you will talk about the next steps. The purpose of this paragraph is to remind the reader why you’re interested in the position, that you will follow up (unless it says you cannot on the application), and thank the reader.

   Examples:

   “Based on my track record to adapt to new work environments and my transferable skills outlined above, I believe I’d make an excellent addition to (Name) company. Thank you for your time in reading my application, and I look forward to speaking with you soon.”
   OR
   “Thank you for taking the time to read my application. I believe my keen interest in (subject), as demonstrated by my commitment to (experience) would make me a strong addition to your team. Please let me know if I can provide you with any further details, and I look forward to speaking with you soon.”

7. Sign off. Then sign off with a polite and professional close and follow it by your name. You can put your email and phone number under your name so they can get in touch with you immediately.

   Examples:

   • Respectfully Yours

   • Sincerely

   • Best Regards

   • Thank You

Cover Letter Tips

• Research the company before. Before writing your cover letter, do a little research. Try to figure out who you are writing the letter to, and try to figure out what kind of company they are. This will help you make a list of the skills that you have that the company is looking for.

• Proofread. Before sending your letter make sure you read over your letter multiple times. This will help you look for any spelling errors or grammar mistakes. Make sure you have the name of who you are sending the letter to correct.

  You can even ask a trustworthy friend to look over it before sending it in to see if they catch anything you missed. Nothing kills an interview faster than having mistakes on your cover letter and resume.

• Save it as a PDF. Double check to see how employers want it saved, but most of the time they want it saved as a PDF. Make sure you save it “[Your Name] Cover letter” to prevent any confusion.

• Send a test message. Before sending your cover letter over email, make sure you send a test message to yourself. This will help you determine if your attachments are working and if the format looks right.

  You can even send it to a friend who has a different email system than you to make sure it looks right that way. Once you know everything is fine, send the message to the hiring manager. You can always Bcc yourself on the email to make sure it was delivered error free.

Final Thoughts

Writing a cover letter can seem daunting if you don’t know how to market yourself — experience or with no experience. With the guide outlined above, we hope you’ll be well on your way to your next job.

Some final tips to keep in mind as you polish off your cover letter is to make each of your cover letters specific for each job — you don’t want employers to think that you are sending the same cover letter out for every job application.

You can consider adding a P.S. to the end of the cover letter to create an even stronger finish. You can add a deliverable from previous experience that you’d like to transfer to the new job.

And with that, we wish you good luck. If you’re stumped on how to write a resume for a job with no experience, you can check out this article.

Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.