Most hiring managers spend under 30 seconds reading a cover letter. Some don't read them at all. But when a cover letter is good — genuinely good — it gets you the interview over a candidate with a stronger resume. The bar is low because most cover letters are terrible.

Here are the seven mistakes that make yours easy to ignore, and how to fix each one.

Mistake 1: Starting with "I am writing to apply for..."

This is the single most common cover letter opening and the fastest way to signal that yours will be forgettable. Hiring managers have read this sentence ten thousand times. It says nothing.

Fix: Open with something specific to the role or company. "The engineering team at Razorpay just shipped a feature I've been following closely" or "I've spent the last three years building exactly the kind of B2B payment infrastructure your job description is looking for" — anything that makes the reader want to keep going.

Mistake 2: Summarizing your resume

A cover letter that lists your job history is just a worse version of your resume. The hiring manager already has your resume — they don't need a paragraph version of it.

Fix: Your cover letter should answer one question your resume can't: Why this company, why this role, why now? The resume shows what you've done. The cover letter explains why you're here.

Mistake 3: Not addressing anyone specific

"Dear Hiring Manager" is fine when you genuinely don't know the name. But at most companies, five minutes of LinkedIn research will tell you who the hiring manager or team lead is. Using their name makes the letter feel personal rather than batch-processed.

Fix: Check the job posting, LinkedIn, and the company's team page. If you find a name, use it. If you can't find one, "Dear [Team Name] Hiring Team" is better than the generic alternative.

Mistake 4: Vague company flattery

"I've always admired [Company] for its innovative culture and commitment to excellence" could apply to literally any company. It reads as filler and makes it obvious you didn't research the role.

Fix: Say something specific. A product feature you use and have thoughts on, a recent company announcement, a technical blog post they published. One specific detail outweighs a paragraph of generic praise.

Mistake 5: Writing too much

Cover letters should fit in one screen without scrolling. Three to four short paragraphs. If yours is longer, it won't be read in full — and the parts they skip might be the most important.

Fix: Aim for 250–350 words. Write a draft, then cut anything that doesn't directly serve the hiring manager's evaluation of you. Every sentence should earn its place.

Mistake 6: No specific ask or next step

Many cover letters end with "I look forward to hearing from you" — which is passive and forgettable. You want the hiring manager to do something after reading yours.

Fix: End with a direct, confident ask: "I'd welcome the chance to discuss how my background in distributed systems maps to what your team is building. Happy to make time this week." It's assertive without being aggressive, and it moves the conversation forward.

Mistake 7: Not matching the tone of the company

A cover letter for a Series A startup should sound different from one for a large bank. Startups often appreciate directness, personality, and unconventional openers. Enterprises usually prefer a more formal register.

Fix: Spend 10 minutes reading the company's about page, job description, and a few LinkedIn posts from employees. Let that inform your tone. The goal is to sound like someone who already understands the culture.

The Structure That Works

Once you've avoided the mistakes, here's a reliable structure:

  • Paragraph 1 (hook): Why you're writing, why this role, one specific thing about the company that resonates
  • Paragraph 2 (value): Your most relevant experience, with one concrete example or metric
  • Paragraph 3 (fit): What you'd bring to this specific team or problem
  • Paragraph 4 (close): Confident ask for a conversation

If you want AI help writing and refining your cover letter, HireRaft's cover letter tool generates tailored drafts from your resume and the job description — then lets you edit before downloading.