English cover letter for non-native speakers: structure and 3 examples

November 2, 2026 · 18 min read

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An English cover letter, also called a covering letter in the United Kingdom, fits on one page, in three to five paragraphs: the role you want, proof you can do the work, what you bring to the company, then a request for an interview and a closing formula that matches the person you are writing to.

The most common trap, when English is not your language, is to translate your letter from your own language. The result is often too long, too formal, and full of phrases that do not exist in English. A cover letter is rewritten: more direct, more factual, built on examples.

The aim is to raise your chances without dubious shortcuts and without hurting your credibility: an honest letter, written for one specific opening, is worth more than a brilliant text copied from a template. This guide gives you the structure paragraph by paragraph, the differences between the British and American formats, the right ending, and three complete examples.

In short

A motivation letter is called a cover letter (British and American English). British readers also say covering letter.
One page maximum, according to Prospects (United Kingdom), Harvard and Europass, in three to five short paragraphs according to Prospects.
Rewrite, do not translate: short sentences, action verbs, one or two concrete examples from your own path.
The ending depends on the opening: Yours sincerely after a name, Yours faithfully after Dear Sir or Madam (United Kingdom), Sincerely in the United States.
Send a PDF, unless the posting asks for a Word file, and a different letter for each application.

Cover letter, covering letter, motivation letter: what an English-speaking recruiter expects

A cover letter is the document that goes with your CV (or your resume, in the United States and Canada). According to Prospects, the British graduate careers service, it explains to the employer why you are the right candidate, completing the CV without repeating it. Prospects advises attaching one to every application, unless the posting says otherwise.

Three terms circulate, and they are not quite the same:

Term	Where it is used	What to remember
Cover letter	United States, United Kingdom, international openings	The standard term, the one to use by default
Covering letter	United Kingdom	The same document, an older British wording
Motivation letter	University programmes, scholarships, some European companies	Often requested for an admission, more about your project than about a job

The big difference with a letter written in another language is the tone. Harvard recommends a concise, factual letter, without "flowery language", with examples that prove your skills. Formulas such as "I permit myself to send you my application" have no equivalent: you go straight to the point.

For the general vocabulary of an application (application, job posting, internship, work-study), see our guide to a job application in English: it also covers the sending email and how to adapt the CV.

Jobshift drafts an English cover letter tailored to the role — An English cover letter tailored to the role, ready to review before sending.

The structure of an English cover letter, paragraph by paragraph

Prospects splits a cover letter into four blocks. Europass, the European Union tool for the CV and the letter, offers a version in three paragraphs: why you are applying, why you are the right candidate, why the company suits you. The two meet in the middle.

1. The header and the greeting

At the top: your name, your phone in international format (+33 6 …), your email and your city. Then the date and, if you know it, the name and the job title of the recipient.

Prospects and Harvard both advise addressing the letter to a named person. Look for the name in the posting, on the company website or on LinkedIn. Prospects keeps general formulas (Dear Sir/Madam, Dear Hiring Manager) for the case where you truly found no name.

You know…	Greeting
The person's name	Dear Ms Taylor, / Dear Mr Patel,
Only the department	Dear Hiring Manager, or Dear Recruitment Team,
Nothing at all (a very formal letter)	Dear Sir or Madam,

2. The first paragraph: the role and the reason for writing

Prospects recommends stating, from the opening, the role you want, where you saw the posting, and the date you can start. Add a sentence that shows you know who you are writing to: a project, a product, a market of the company.

Example of a first sentence: I am applying for the Junior Product Analyst role advertised on your careers page, and I can start in January 2027.

3. The second paragraph: the proof

This is the heart of the letter. Take two or three requirements from the posting and show, for each one, when and how you have already done it. Prospects advises using the keywords from the advert and backing every claim with a real example.

A good proof sentence follows this pattern: action verb in the past + what you did + result. For example: I built a weekly sales dashboard in Power BI that the team still uses to plan stock.

4. The third paragraph: why this company

Explain what attracts you in this role and what you can bring to the organisation. This is where you show your research. Prospects offers a simple test: remove the employer's name from your letter. If it could be sent as it is to another company, it is not personal enough.

Talk about salary only if the posting asks for it. In that case, Prospects advises placing it between the third paragraph and the last one.

5. The last paragraph and the signature

Restate your interest, ask for an interview, and mention any dates when you are unavailable. The next section details this ending, which non-native writers often miss.

Jobshift's English CV translator converts French diplomas and flags false friends, so the resume matches the cover letter (demonstration data).

How to close an English cover letter: which formula to choose

The end of a cover letter has two parts: a closing sentence, then a sign-off followed by your name.

The closing sentence

Keep it short and turned toward what happens next. A few common wordings:

I would welcome the opportunity to discuss how I could contribute to your team.
Thank you for considering my application. I look forward to hearing from you.
I am available for an interview at your convenience, except from 14 to 18 December.

Avoid promising a precise follow-up inside the letter itself. Prospects suggests sending a follow-up email instead if you have no reply after two weeks.

The sign-off

The British rule, restated by Prospects, depends on the greeting. In the United States, the most common formula is simpler: it is the one used in Harvard's sample letters.

Greeting used	United Kingdom	United States
Dear Ms Taylor, (name known)	Yours sincerely,	Sincerely,
Dear Sir or Madam, (name unknown)	Yours faithfully,	Sincerely,
Letter pasted into the body of an email	Kind regards, or Yours sincerely,	Best regards, or Sincerely,

Under the formula, add your first name and your last name. A scanned handwritten signature is optional. For every other opening and closing formula, and the false friends to avoid (postulate, formation, actually), see the dedicated section of our guide to a job application in English.

British or American format: the differences that matter

The substance stays the same, but a few conventions give away a letter that is "badly localised". Align with the country of the company, not with your own habit.

Element	United Kingdom	United States
Name of the attached document	CV	Resume
Date	2 November 2026	November 2, 2026
Spelling	organisation, programme, analyse	organization, program, analyze
Closing formula	Yours sincerely / Yours faithfully	Sincerely
Courtesy title	Ms, Mr (no period)	Ms., Mr. (with a period)

Pick one variety and keep it from start to finish, including in the CV. If you apply to a European company that works in English, British English is a safe choice, but follow the language of the posting when it is clearly American.

On layout, Europass recommends a simple font, in size 11 or 12, with line spacing of 1 or 1.5. Prospects advises using the same font and the same size as your CV.

3 English cover letter examples to adapt

The three letters below are fictional examples: names and companies are invented for the illustration, and no figure is invented in them. Where a number would strengthen the proof, a bracket shows you where to put your own. Replace each element with a real experience you can defend in an interview. Prospects says it plainly: a template is inspiration, and it must never be sent with only a few words changed.

Example 1: answering a job opening in the United Kingdom

Situation: a candidate with three years of marketing experience applies for a role in London. British format, named recipient, so Yours sincerely.

Léa Fontaine
+33 6 00 00 00 00 · lea.fontaine@email.com · Lyon, France

2 November 2026

Ms Sarah Collins
Head of Marketing
Brightwell Foods Ltd
London

Dear Ms Collins,

I am applying for the position of Marketing Executive (ref. MK-214) advertised on your website. I can start in February 2027 and am ready to relocate to London.

For the past three years, I have managed the email and social media campaigns of a French organic food brand. I rebuilt our newsletter programme around customer segments, which clearly improved our click-through rate ([your measured result, e.g. CTR before → after]), and I coordinated the launch of two product ranges with our retail partners. Your job description mentions campaign reporting and close work with sales teams: both are part of my weekly routine.

Brightwell's move into plant-based ready meals is what drew me to this role. I have followed the same shift in the French market, and I would like to bring that experience to your UK launches, as well as my fluent French for your European distributors.

I would welcome the opportunity to discuss how I could support your marketing team. Thank you for considering my application.

Yours sincerely,

Léa Fontaine

Why it works: the role and the reference in the first line, proof tied to the posting (to quantify with your own result), a precise reason for targeting this company, and an asset the other candidates do not have (French).

Example 2: applying for an internship at an American company

Situation: a master's student applies for an internship in New York. American format, American date, Sincerely.

Karim Benali
+33 7 00 00 00 00 · karim.benali@email.com · linkedin.com/in/karimbenali

November 2, 2026

Mr. David Brooks
Talent Acquisition
Northpeak Analytics
New York, NY

Dear Mr. Brooks,

I am a second-year Master's student in Applied Economics at a French university, and I am applying for your six-month Data Analyst Internship starting in March 2027, which I found on LinkedIn.

During my current program, I led a team project that analyzed several years of public transport data for a regional authority. I cleaned the dataset in Python, built the dashboards in Tableau, and presented our findings to the client's operations team. This work matches the SQL, Python and data visualization skills listed in your posting.

Northpeak's work with retail clients interests me because I want to start my career on consumer data. I would bring a rigorous approach to data quality and the habit of explaining results to non-technical teams.

My internship agreement with my university is ready, and I can work on site in New York. I would be glad to discuss my application at your convenience.

Sincerely,

Karim Benali

Why it works: the length and the start date of the internship are clear, the university project stands in for experience, and the internship agreement is settled in advance. For the French version of this kind of letter, see our guide to a letter asking for an internship.

Example 3: a work-study contract at an international company in France

Situation: a student applies for an alternance (a French work-study contract) in the HR department of a group whose working language is English. No name found despite the search: Dear Hiring Manager, then Kind regards because the letter is sent by email.

Camille Nguyen
+33 6 00 00 00 00 · camille.nguyen@email.com · Paris

2 November 2026

Dear Hiring Manager,

I am applying for the HR Assistant work-study position (apprenticeship, 12 months, from September 2027) advertised on your careers site. My school schedule is three days at work and two days at school.

In my first year of a Bachelor's in Human Resources, I spent two months in the HR team of a logistics company. I updated employee files in the HR software, prepared onboarding packs for new hires, and answered employees' questions on leave requests. Your posting mentions onboarding and HR administration in English, which I practised daily with our UK colleagues.

Your group's internal mobility programme is a strong reason for my application: I would like to grow in a company where HR supports employees across several countries.

I would be pleased to meet you to discuss this work-study opportunity. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Kind regards,

Camille Nguyen

Why it works: the rhythm of the alternance is explained in one sentence (a recruiter from another country may not know it), and the letter ties the experience to the English asked for in the posting. To find this kind of role, browse the alternance openings and estimate the pay with the alternance salary calculator. Our examples of a cover letter for an alternance cover the French version.

Write your English cover letter in 5 steps, without translating word for word

Highlight the posting. Pick out three to five requirements and the exact words used (stakeholder management, reporting, onboarding). Europass recommends reusing these keywords in the letter.
Choose your proof. For each requirement, one precise experience: an internship, a school project, a mission, a student job.
Write directly in English. Starting from a draft in your own language is possible, but rewrite each sentence rather than translating it. Our cover letter generator gives you a first draft from the role, the company and one fact about you: keep the logic and rephrase it in English.
Cut. Prospects advises deleting any sentence that adds nothing and anything that repeats the CV. Aim for one page, no more.
Have it read. By an English speaker if you can, otherwise reread it aloud the next day. A spelling mistake in an English letter is noticed just as much as in any other language.

For the CV that goes with the letter, the English CV translator converts your French diplomas into US or UK equivalents and flags false friends. Then check its readability with the free ATS test.

Mistakes that give away a translated letter

Calques from your own language. I permit myself to send you my application or Please accept the expression of my distinguished salutations: these formulas are incomprehensible or ridiculous in English. Start with I am applying for… and end with Yours sincerely.
A letter that is too long. Letters written in another language often go past one page once they are translated. Prospects, Harvard and Europass agree on one page maximum.
Qualities with no proof. I am dynamic, motivated and hard-working proves nothing. Replace each adjective with an action and its result.
Mixing British and American English. Organisation in one paragraph, organization in the next: pick one variety.
The wrong closing formula. Yours faithfully after Dear Ms Collins is a classic mistake in the United Kingdom.
Talking only about yourself. Prospects lists it among the mistakes that "kill" an application: explain what you bring to the company, not only what it brings to you.
The wrong file format. Prospects recommends PDF, unless the posting asks for a Word document. For an application submitted online, keep a simple layout: according to France Travail, recruitment software reads the cover letter about one time in two.

Checklist before you send your English cover letter

The letter fits on one page, in three to five paragraphs.
The first paragraph cites the exact role, the reference and your availability.
Every skill you name is backed by a concrete example.
Without the company name, the letter could not be sent as it is to another employer (the Prospects test).
The greeting and the closing formula go together (sincerely / faithfully).
The date, the spelling and the titles follow a single variety: British or American.
The font and the size are the same as the CV, in 11 or 12.
The file is a PDF (or Word if the posting asks for it), named "Cover-letter-Firstname-Lastname-Role.pdf".
The sending email is ready. The application email generator helps you structure it.
The application is noted in your application tracker, with a follow-up date two weeks later.

Apply to openings in English with Jobshift

Writing a cover letter for each opening takes time, especially in a language that is not yours. Jobshift is a swipe-based job search app, built in particular for juniors, alternance candidates and people changing career, and it includes openings from European and American companies. Here is how it works:

You import your CV once to create your candidate profile.
You swipe the openings that match your occupation, your level and your search area, in French or in English.
On each swipe right, Jobshift prepares a CV and a cover letter tailored to the opening, then submits the application in the recruiter's ATS (notably Greenhouse and Lever). You can reread, edit or cancel each application before it is sent.
Your applications are saved in your candidate space, with the company, the role and the date.

Once you have the interview, practise with the interview simulator, and start from a solid base with the free CV generator. Also see Jobshift for juniors, Jobshift for developers and the detail on how Jobshift works.

Demonstration account on Jobshift: an opening whose description is in English, before the application is sent.

Jobshift: a cover letter tailored to each opening, in one swipe. Swipe the English openings that match you and reread each application before it is sent. Try Jobshift for free

Let Jobshift apply for you

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FAQ

What do you call a motivation letter in English?

You say cover letter, in British English as in American English. In the United Kingdom, you also hear covering letter. The term motivation letter exists, but it mainly means the letter requested for admission to a university programme or a scholarship.

How long should an English cover letter be?

One page maximum. Prospects recommends three to five concise paragraphs, and Europass and Harvard set the same one-page limit. Delete anything that repeats your CV.

How do you end an English cover letter?

With a sentence that asks for an interview, for example "I would welcome the opportunity to discuss my application", then a sign-off: Yours sincerely if you wrote to a named person, Yours faithfully after Dear Sir or Madam in the United Kingdom, Sincerely in the United States. Then add your name.

Can you translate your cover letter into English?

It is better to rewrite it. A translation keeps formulas from your own language, which have no equivalent, and it often goes past one page. Keep the logic of your letter (the role, your proof, what you bring) and write short sentences directly in English.

Dear Sir or Madam or Dear Hiring Manager?

Look first for the recruiter's name, in the posting, on the company website or on LinkedIn: a letter addressed to a person is always preferable. Failing that, Dear Hiring Manager is more modern and Dear Sir or Madam more formal. With Dear Sir or Madam, end with Yours faithfully in the United Kingdom.

Should you send your cover letter as a PDF or as Word?

As a PDF, unless the posting asks for a Word document: that is Prospects' advice, because a PDF opens the same way on every computer. For an online submission, keep a simple layout and check that the text of the PDF can be selected.