Quick Answer:
Writing a cover letter with no experience is challenging when applying for a job. A well-written cover letter can give you an edge over other candidates and help you stand out. Highlight your transferable skills, achievements, and knowledge of the company to create an impressive entry-level cover letter. Emphasize your soft skills and extracurricular experience to demonstrate your motivation, and don't forget to research the company. Remember, you have many personal qualities and skills that you can showcase.
Finding the perfect job is a challenge for many professionals. Now imagine what a struggle it is for a person with no experience.
Writing a cover letter with no experience is one of the biggest challenges when applying for your dream position.
Probably some of you are thinking:
“I have no experience, why should I bother with a cover letter, too?”
We believe that a well-written cover letter can open many doors for you, much so than just a resume.
So stay with us and make your cover letter perfect.
Meanwhile, you can steal a couple of ideas from our Cover Letter Examples.
When do you need to write a cover letter without experience
Upload & Check Your Resume
Drop your resume here or choose a file. PDF & DOCX only. Max 2MB file size.
When applying for a job, it is not enough to just attach your resume.
Recruiters want to know more about you.
They want to understand what you are proud of, what are your achievements and goals. They want to know your strengths and weaknesses.
The Hiring Managers know how challenging it is to write a cover letter without experience when changing a job or starting your career.
Be ready to impress them.
Career change cover letter
Have you decided to change careers?
That’s awesome.
However, at first, it would be a little bit hard to find a job.
Don’t worry.
We will help you make a killer cover letter with no experience.
Focus on transferable skills
Use your last career skills and transfer them to your new job. Sharing how they are going to help you in your new position will be only in your advantage.
Let’s say, you have worked in a hotel’s reception and now you want to work in Human Resources.
Tell the Recruiter about your communication and people skills. Explain that the guests always gave you a tip and left the hotel in a good mood after talking to you.
But don’t lie.
Tell your real abilities.
If you have used MS Word once or twice, don’t write that you are a master in it.
You can transfer almost all of your skills and have them work for you.
This is one great example from Housten Schneider on how to benefit from your abilities. She used her old job activities to explain how she could improve the company’s results.
What is more, Housten made it clear that she has researched the company and knows it’s main projects and desired goals.
You can also read Housten Schneider’s whole cover letter with no experience.
Performance and results
What are the two things that every company is most interested in?
Success and profits.
To have that, they need self-driven employees to help them through the process and achieve their goals.
Write about your success stories. They could be closed deals with clients, doubling the orders, or website visits.
No matter which career path you have chosen, there are always suitable achievements to tell.
Reinforce why you want to apply for the given company
You shouldn’t forget that, in the end, it’s another person reading your cover letter.
The Recruiters need to know why you want to work in the company.
Do your homework and read a little bit about the company, their goals, their impact, and their main projects.
Show them that you actually care about the company and they are not just the “next one” for which you have applied today.
Don’t start with ”I apply everywhere because only a few firms reply”.
They actually reply if you invest some time in researching the company.
Show them that you have what they need, you will receive an invitation for an interview for sure.
Entry level cover letter
Show you've researched the company and the industry
Researching the company for your cover letter is not only good when changing careers.
If you are an entry-level candidate, you have little experience, which is mostly part of your university life. Knowing what the company is looking for in a candidate, you could use it to underline your strengths. Even though you have no professional background.
What’s more, you can tell why you like the company and why you want to work there. Be absolutely honest.
Mac Kelly makes this reinforcement very smoothly. He explains how he has learned about the BMW Group and what made an impression on him. Also, there is a little boost in the ego for the Hiring Manager, because you know… not every company has an exceptional Business Culture.
Recruiters appreciate that.
Do you want to know more? You can read Mac Kelly’s and one more cover letter with no experience.
Stress on your soft skills
Even without experience, you can always stress your soft skills.
They are an important part of your character and they could help you make a good first impression.
For example, if you want to work in a customer service job, most of the companies are searching for people who are good in:
- Listening
- Negotiation
- Nonverbal communication
- Persuasion
- Reading body language
- Storytelling
- Verbal communication and others.
Every position has particular soft skills set and most of the time they are written in the job description.
Include those which describe you best and give examples. Write situations in which these skills have helped you overcome a difficult situation. Here’s a guide we wrote about including skills on your resume, but it’s worth a read for the cover letter, too.
Talk about your extracurricular activities and volunteer experience
Focus the Recruiter’s attention to your experience outside of school or university. It could be any extracurricular activity or volunteer work related to the position you are applying to.
For example, you could have been part of your local Red Cross team and participated in their yearly initiatives such as spreading out the word on important health subjects.
Or you could have been part of a student organization or a club and made your school and university a better place to study in.
Adding this experience in your cover letter tells the Recruiter that you have organizational skills, you are motivated and driven, and also you want to help others.
What is more, NGOs help you develop yourself and bring greater purpose to your life.
Conclusion
So remember, when you’re trying to write a cover letter with no experience, it is a real challenge to convince the Recruiter that you have what it takes to handle the job.
But it only takes several key considerations to ace it.
Always remember, that you have many skills and personal characteristics – as well as a history of accomplishments outside of the university.
Highlight those strengths and create a cover letter that can help you get that all-important interview.
Now it’s your time. Go and write one.
Of course, if you’re looking for help to write truly professional cover letters that will help you get noticed, you can always use our Cover Letter Builder.
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Do you have any questions on how to write a cover letter with no experience? Not sure how to show you’re the right candidate? Get back to us in the comments below, and we’ll answer your questions.
Make one that's truly you.
