Writing a cover letter as a graduate feels hard when you have little formal work experience — but employers hiring graduates are looking for potential, attitude and transferable skills, not a long CV. Here's how to write one that wins interviews. See also how to write a cover letter.
Reframe "no experience"
You have more evidence than you think: your degree, projects, dissertations, group work, placements, part-time jobs, societies and volunteering. Each demonstrates transferable skills — teamwork, problem-solving, communication, initiative.
What to emphasise
- Relevant academic work: a project or module that maps to the role.
- Transferable skills with evidence: "leading a group project" shows leadership and coordination.
- Genuine motivation: why this employer and this scheme, specifically.
- Enthusiasm to learn: graduate employers expect to train you.
Structure
Open with a specific reason you're excited about the role, use one or two paragraphs to evidence your fit through academic and extracurricular examples, show why this employer, and close confidently. Keep it to one page.
Prove your employability
Graduate schemes increasingly value evidenced skills. Build that evidence with our Career Coach and Career Passport™, and prepare for what follows with our graduate careers resources. Avoid the traps in cover letter mistakes.
Practise what you've learned
Don't start from a blank page. Missiora's Employer-Aligned Cover Letter reads the job advert with Job Intelligence™ and drafts a tailored letter that mirrors what the employer actually asked for — then refine it in your own voice. Build the evidence behind your claims in your Career Passport™.
Leading with potential
As a graduate, your cover letter carries more weight because your CV is shorter. Use it to show initiative, transferable skills and genuine motivation. Draw evidence from projects, part-time work, volunteering and societies — a well-framed final-year project can be as persuasive as a junior role.
A simple, effective structure
Open by naming the role and why it excites you. In the middle, connect two or three specific experiences to the skills the advert asks for. Close by showing you understand the organisation and are keen to contribute. Keep it to one page and free of clichés.
Avoid the graduate traps
Don't apologise for limited experience or list what you hope to learn — employers hire graduates for potential and attitude. Show what you've already done and the skills employers want. Structure it using our how to write a cover letter guide.