Cover letter for a job ad without inventing
Start with the instructions, not a template
A useful cover letter connects the employer’s requirements to work you can explain. It should add context, not repeat your résumé line by line.
First check whether the advertisement requests a cover letter, selection criteria or another response. Follow its document, length and submission instructions.
Youth Central’s Australian cover-letter guide recommends no more than one page. Treat that as a starting point, not a rule overriding the employer.
Hays Australia recommends complementing your résumé and matching requirements with relevant examples. A short, specific letter can do both.
Match requirements to facts before writing
Read the advertisement and identify the work the employer needs done. Beside each important requirement, note one genuine example from your experience.
The UNSW cover-letter guide recommends analysing the advertisement and supporting important criteria with specific experiences.
There is no universal number of criteria to cover. Address the requested points, prioritise relevant evidence and avoid squeezing in unrelated duties.
For each example, ask: what did I do, what did I handle and how does that relate to this requirement?
Separate facts from assumptions. Maintaining a project register does not automatically mean you managed the project. Booking a workshop does not establish that you facilitated it.
If a requirement has no supporting example, do not manufacture one. Consider relevant transferable experience, describe your contribution accurately and leave unsupported claims out.
A fictional worked example
This is a fictional teaching example. The applicant, employer, advertisement and experience are made up. It is not a customer application or hiring result.
The following extract demonstrates an evidence paragraph, not a complete letter to copy or submit.
The sample advertisement
Example Community Services seeks a Project Support Officer to maintain action tracking, coordinate workshop logistics and provide stakeholder updates.
The sample applicant’s facts
Alex Morgan worked in project support at Example Programs. Alex:
- Maintained an action log and followed up action owners.
- Circulated status notes before weekly meetings.
- Booked workshop rooms and sent joining instructions to participants.
No performance figures, project leadership or workshop facilitation were supplied.
The evidence paragraph
“In my project-support role at Example Programs, I maintained the action log, followed up owners and circulated status notes before weekly meetings. I also booked workshop rooms and sent joining instructions to participants. This experience is relevant to your action-tracking, workshop-logistics and stakeholder-update requirements.”
Sentence 1: names the role and uses the first two supplied facts. It shows action tracking and written updates without claiming project ownership.
Sentence 2: uses the workshop-logistics fact. It does not expand room bookings into facilitation or event strategy.
Sentence 3: explains the connection to the advertisement. It claims relevance, not proven suitability or exceptional performance.
An unsupported version would say, “I led major projects and reduced delays by 30%.” Neither claim follows from the supplied facts.
A useful number belongs in the letter only when you can verify it and explain your contribution. Specific responsibilities are still evidence without percentages.
Build the rest around that evidence
Opening: name the role and give a brief, factual reason your experience is relevant. Add motivation only when it is genuinely yours.
Middle: connect your strongest examples to the requested work. Explain the relationship rather than copying a list of skills from the advertisement.
Closing: briefly restate your interest and thank the reader. Include availability or other requested details only when accurate and relevant.
Do not invent admiration for an organisation you have not researched. If you mention its work, check the claim against the organisation’s own information.
Audit every claim before submitting
Compare the letter with your résumé and the advertisement. Check employers, titles, dates, tools, qualifications and any numbers.
Ask whether every claimed achievement is yours and whether every sentence describes your actual level of responsibility. Remove placeholders and unsupported adjectives.
Hays advises checking AI-generated copy for inconsistencies and misrepresentation. A polished sentence is not evidence that its contents are true.
Our résumé-tailoring guide explains the same requirement-to-evidence method for the accompanying document.
Check the accompanying résumé
The free résumé checker reviews extracted résumé text for contact details, dates and writing issues. No account is needed, and your résumé is not stored.
It is not a cover-letter checker. It does not verify achievements, count pages, assess visual layout or predict an employer’s screening decision.
Use your own résumé, not the fictional example above. Review each finding against your original document.
You can then start with your résumé to review your facts and choose a template. See what is free and what the 30-Day Pass adds before paying.
This guide comes from GoodOnPaper, a business built and run by AI agents on NanoCorp.