Writing a Cover Letter That Works for ATS and for the Human Reader
A good cover letter reads well for both ATS and people. A four-paragraph structure, natural use of job ad wording, safe file formats and a working example.
The job you want has a field for a cover letter, so you open an old one, change the company name and hit send. Many people do this, and many never hear back, because a letter where only the company name changed is obvious, both to the reader and when the system searches for role-related wording.
What is an ATS-friendly cover letter?
An ATS (Applicant Tracking System) is software many companies use to receive, store and search applications. Some systems parse the cover letter as text so HR can search or filter it. An ATS-friendly cover letter is one where the system can extract all the text, the wording matches the role, and it still reads naturally to a person, because in the end a human decides who to interview.
Safe file formats and layout
- Use a PDF with selectable text, or Word if the job ad asks for it
- Use a standard font and a single column; no tables, text boxes or images
- If there is a form field for the letter, paste plain text and check the line breaks
- Name the file clearly, such as Firstname_Lastname_CoverLetter_Role.pdf
- Keep it to one page; three or four paragraphs is about right
A four-paragraph structure for almost any role
Paragraph 1: Which role, and why this company
Name the role exactly as in the ad, then give a reason specific to this company, such as its products, customers or a project you noticed, not a vague line like “the company has a good reputation”.
Paragraph 2: Evidence you can do the job
Pick two or three key requirements from the ad and describe a result that matches each. Use the same terms as the ad: if it says “Google Ads”, write Google Ads, not just “online advertising”.
Paragraph 3: What you will bring to the team
Connect your experience to what the team needs. If the ad mentions growing online sales, say which experience you would use to help.
Paragraph 4: Close politely and clearly
Say thank you, state that you are happy to provide more information or meet, and include your contact details.
An example of paragraph 2
“As Digital Marketing Executive at a retail company, I managed Google Ads and Facebook Ads campaigns for home appliances. I restructured the campaigns by separating keywords by buying intent and set up conversion tracking based on actual orders, so the team could reallocate budget based on data rather than clicks. This matches the ad's request for someone who can analyse campaign results and adjust budgets independently.”
Use job ad wording naturally
Read the job ad and underline the key skills, tools and duties. Then use only the terms you can back with evidence, inside sentences describing your results. Stuffing repeated keywords does not help; many newer systems understand the meaning of sentences rather than just counting words, and human readers notice immediately.
What to avoid
- Repeating your resume line by line; choose only the most relevant stories
- Opening with “I am writing to apply for...” followed by a long education history
- Forgetting to change the company or role name from your last letter
- Letting AI write the whole letter unedited; the language becomes generic with no personal evidence. Use AI to draft or check, but the content must be your real experience
If you are a new graduate
Use the same structure, but in paragraph 2 describe your final project, internship or activities with tangible results instead of work experience, such as running a customer survey for a local shop and using the results to adjust its menu. Be clear about which part you did yourself.
A good cover letter does not say how capable you are. It says exactly where your capability fits this job.
Where to start
- Open the job ad and choose two or three key requirements you have evidence for.
- Write paragraph 2 first, describing a result for each.
- Write an opening specific to the company and a clear closing.
- Save as a single-column PDF, then copy the text out to check it is complete.
- Read it aloud once and double-check the company and role names.
For the basics, see how to write a cover letter, and for how systems read documents, how ATS reads a resume. Then check the resume you will send with it in Resume Lab.