Sample cover letter
[Your Name]
[City] · [Phone] · [Email]
[Date]
[Hiring Manager Name]
[Company Name], [City]
Application for Finance Graduate Trainee
Dear [Hiring Manager Name],
I am writing to apply for the Finance Graduate Trainee position at [Company Name]. As a Finance Graduate Trainee with [X] years of experience in graduate finance programme entry, analysis and rotation across teams, I believe my background matches what you are looking for.
During my internship and studies, I completed rotations in [X] finance teams and contributed to [X] reports or projects. I also built an Excel model for [project] that saved [X] hours of manual work. These results reflect my strengths in financial analysis basics, excel and reporting and rotational learning.
What attracts me to [Company Name] is [a specific reason: a project, product, values or reputation]. I am comfortable working with ERP and planning systems and Microsoft Excel, and I apply governance and controls with care. I would bring the same discipline and attention to detail to your team.
I would welcome the chance to discuss how I can contribute to [Company Name]. Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
[Your Name]
How to adapt this letter
- Replace the company name, hiring manager and reason with specifics from the job advert and the company's website.
- Swap the two achievement sentences for your own best results that match the advert.
- Keep the letter to one page, with three to four short paragraphs.
- Mirror two or three keywords from the advert, but only where they are true for you.