On this page you’ll find examples of extracts from real cover letters that were submitted with job applications for different positions. We hope to increase our library of examples soon, and would be grateful of any donations for this page.
Jump to: freelance writer (1) – freelance writer (2) – lawyer – legal job – science job
Cover letter example: freelance writer
[Unfortunately we have had to remove some content from this letter as it was plagiarised elsewhere online and we did not want it to harm our website rankings]
I’m fully aware of the importance to meet deadlines and I never plagiarise my work. I use Harvard referencing for everything, unless alternative referencing is required. I have access to most of the online empirical research on top of owning an extremely large library of academic literature at home. I’m online 6 days a week and never away from my mobile phone.
I know: Eviews, Stata, SPSS, MatLab
Cover letter example: freelance writer (2)
I have masters degrees in creative writing and professional development, and a lot of experience in large scale qualitative projects at masters level in health, management and organisational studies. I do like larger projects. I have many years experience in health, nursing and midwifery writing, and so can address most health subjects, but CANNOT complete work in very specialist health sciences subjects (for example, technical sciences or technical aspects of diagnostic radiology; pharmacology, and the like). I have skills, knowledge and expertise in sociology, human biology, english literature, and qualitative methodologies, and am particularly good at critiquing primary research (both qualitative and quantitative).
I have a strong history of developing research projects and proposals, and can develop proposals at all levels. I also have a good history of using particularly qualitative methodologies, such as Grounded Theory and Phenomenology. I am accustomed to marking HE work right up to PhD level, and so have a keen eye for detail and the ability to clearly discern between different levels of work and quality of work.
I have an interest in a wide range of subjects, and can turn my hand to a wide variety of nursing specialisms, including mental health nursing, childrens nursing, midwifery, health visiting, public health, intensive care, community nursing, hospital nursing, transcultural nursing.
I have a strong feminist background and can write using feminist frameworks and other theoretical frameworks.
I also have experience in writing about Arabic cultures and international business and globalisation.
I have written large scale projects on transcultural business and transcultural nursing, amongst other things. I prefer projects over 2000 words in length, but I am happy to do whatever is available. I can usually do urgent projects depending on other commitments.
I usually plan to complete projects the night before the due date, and I manage my workload proactively so as not to miss deadlines.
I am happy to be contacted by telephone with urgent projects or queries.
Cover letter example: lawyer
I have been a professional writer, researcher and creative consultant for the past 12 years. My writing and research interests are supported by my prior 17 year career as a criminal and civil litigation lawyer, a period most notable for my work as a successful criminal prosecutor.
As a prosecutor (an assistant Crown Attorney in the Canadian system), I prosecuted four homicide cases, and several hundred serious matters over a period of 10 years, including rape, home invasions, armed robberies, serious motor vehicle offences, fraud, and organised crime related proceedings. In my civil litigation career that represented my work upon my admission to the Bar, I specialised in tort and property law cases.
My legal work had a common thread. My cases demanded my complete attention; my work required a multi-dimensional, ‘outside the box’ mentality to achieve success for my private clients or in my prosecutorial career, the public.
I am a person with many interests outside of law. I have written with authority on numerous UK, Anglo-American and European Union current event and social questions that often have no particular legal slant.
Cover letter example: legal job
I am 31 years old and a freelance writer. I studied English at university and following that studied Law. I obtained very high 2:1 results for each degree. My favourite area of law were contract and personal injury. I worked for a few years as a paralegal in personal injury, dealing with fast track claims, negotiation and court work, writing advice to clients, and managing and leading trials at court.
I took a career break to have children and I now write on a freelance basis from home, on various topics from parenting to legal work and have been published both in magazines and online. I am very lucky to be able to use both my degrees in my work, and enjoying reading, researching and writing on a range of topics. In the future I hope to turn my attention to writing my first novel.
I am actively involved in various volunteer activities – I volunteer at a church creche and in the Sunday School and I am on the fundraising committee of our church. In the last two years we have raised thousands of pounds through grants and other events towards an extensive building and renovation project.
I also run my own successful online business, retailing handmade baby and child home decor and accessories. Through this I have learnt a massive amount about web design and social media.
In my spare time I enjoy reading, watching films and exercise. I enjoy spending time with my family and enjoy sewing and crafts when I get a spare moment!
Cover letter example: science/health job
After finishing my A levels, I initially completed a year’s placement as a trainee teacher in 2001 then attended the University of [xxx] and completed my degree in Biomedical Science, in which I achieved a 1st class degree with honours. On graduation I spent a period in a work placement in the NHS. However on completion of this placement I decided that working in a laboratory was not for me and spent a number of years travelling the world, as this is my main passion, and have spent time in many different countries across Europe, Asia, Africa and Australasia. This was how I first came to work for the company, as I was looking for something which I would be able to do to fit in with this type of lifestyle. As a result I have worked for the company since 2006, during which time I have completed work for a wide range of different clients. I specialise in science and health subjects, but my knowledge of health care subjects accumulated during my university degree and five years of working as a HCA in the NHS have placed me in a position to be able to write in most areas of health and I have completed work for a large number of clients in many areas of health and nursing. I most enjoy working on large dissertation projects in health and other science subjects, as these often give me the opportunity to develop my knowledge on current research in a new area while applying the more generic theoretical knowledge base and research skills which I have developed over the years. While travelling I also attempted to flex my brain muscles by studying with the [xxx] University, completing courses in mathematics and statistics, including modules in business. I am therefore adept at using most statistical programmes which are available, but specialise in the use of SPSS, which I have used in multiple large research projects. I am also able to use Stata and Minitab, as well as Excel. However after a number of years travelling became less of an attractive lifestyle and I have decided to pursue my lifelong dream of becoming a doctor, so I now study at medical school, writing for the company on a part-time basis. This has further improved my knowledge of health-related subjects, enabling me to better write from multiple different medical and health care perspectives.
While my background is predominantly in the health and medical fields, I have undertaken significant numbers of briefs across all areas of science, as this is my main interest even outside of work and study. I also have extensive experience of writing in education, social science and business, where I developed extensive knowledge and writing skills on top of those initially gained in undertaking qualifications in these areas.
You may also like: How to write a winning cover letter which has two further examples of cover letters.
