Covering letter

How to write it

• Opening — why you are applying for this particular job at this particular employer. Do not write "I am applying for the position of..." — instead show that you have read the advert and know what the company does.
• Middle — answer the industry's hidden question with a bridge: connect your background to the requirements through a real event, not just words (see both below). Choose the part of your experience that is most relevant to this particular advert, not everything you have ever done.
• Closing — what you want to happen next, for example that you would be glad to tell them more at an interview. This is also the place to mention how far you live from the workplace and when you can start, for example: "For your information, I live in [town], 4 km from the workplace, and if you are interested I can start within two weeks."

Length. Half a page to one page. Rarely more.

Tone. Personal but professional. Write the way you talk at your best — not like a form, and not like a chat with a friend.

Hidden questions — what the manager is really wondering, without writing it in the advert

This section is about WHAT you should answer in the letter. The rule behind it: an employer wants to be able to decide as much as possible from the CV and the letter alone, before calling people in for interview. An interview costs time and money — nobody wants to book an hour just to find out something that could already have been in the application: when you can start, whether you can work weekend shifts, whether you already have the right certificate.

A hidden question is exactly that kind of thing: common in the industry, rarely written out in the advert, but decisive for the decision. Answer it in the letter before it is even asked, and it shows immediately.

Hospitals and healthcare: round-the-clock requirements

A hospital runs around the clock. Can you work evenings, nights and weekends? It is rarely stated in the advert, but it is almost always a hidden question there — as in other shift-based industries: boats, aviation, trains, industry.

Weak: "I thought it would be fun to help people and to be on the move a lot."

Strong: "As I understand it, the role involves a good deal of communication with care staff, and I have extensive experience of that from my work as a receptionist at Clarion Hotel. Clarity and service are key to good contact, and I am fluent in both Persian and Swedish. Finding a role with a lot of movement suits me well, since I am an outdoors person in everyday life. You are also looking for someone who can work irregular hours, and I have no commitments outside work — no objections to either evenings or weekends."

The second letter answers the shift-work question before it is even asked, and at the same time connects language and communication skills to a previous role.

Construction: certificates and site access

Many workplaces require ID06 and specific cards — forklift licence, hot works permit — before you can even set foot on the site. If you already have them, the employer does not need to ask, or wait.

Weak: "I have always liked working with my hands and would enjoy working on a construction site."

Strong: "I already hold ID06 and a hot works certificate, and on several sites I have personally been responsible for logging staff in and out of the site register. I can set foot on a new workplace from day one, without anyone having to wait for paperwork."

Schools and preschools: criminal record extract

The law requires a criminal record extract to work with children, and it takes weeks to get from the police. If you already have one, you save the employer exactly that wait.

Weak: "I like children and would be a good fit in a school environment."

Strong: "I already have a current criminal record extract for work with children, ordered and ready, so an employment does not need to wait for it."

Retail: availability during peak season

The real question in retail is rarely weekends in general, but whether you can work exactly when everyone else wants time off — Christmas, sales, summer.

Weak: "I am sociable and enjoy giving customers good service."

Strong: "In my most recent retail role I worked consistently through the Christmas rush and the January sale, when most colleagues preferred to be off. I see no obstacle to weekends or peak season."

Restaurants and hotels: alcohol and hygiene knowledge

Serving alcohol requires knowledge of the alcohol act, and anyone handling food needs a grasp of food hygiene. If you already hold a certificate, the employer does not need to send you on the course first.

Weak: "I enjoy social work and would fit in nicely in the restaurant industry."

Strong: "I already hold STF training in the alcohol act and a valid hygiene certificate from my most recent job, so I can start serving and handling food from day one without waiting for a course."

Warehouse and logistics: cold storage and shifts

Cold storage means working below freezing and tight shift patterns, often early mornings. If you already have experience of the physically demanding work, the employer knows it right away, instead of having to ask.

Weak: "I am strong and enjoy physical work, so warehouse work suits me."

Strong: "I have worked two years in a freezer warehouse at minus 25 degrees, with early morning shifts five days a week, and have never had a sick day linked to it."

Home care and elderly care: bicycle, not car

Home care often means getting between clients by bicycle, even in winter — a common mistake is to assume a car or moped will do, when it is really year-round cycling that is needed. Many people cannot actually cycle and assume something else will work just as well. Read the requirement carefully, and answer with an example that shows you can handle exactly what is being asked for.

Weak: "I am caring and would like to help elderly people."

Strong: "I cycle all year round, even in snow and cold, and am used to getting between several homes during a shift by bike — just as in my most recent home care job."

The bridge — connecting traits to real events

This section is about HOW you write the answer. Did you notice how all the strong examples above did the same thing? They connected a trait or an answer to a real event, instead of just stating it. We call that technique a bridge, and it works even when you are not answering a hidden question, just want to show a trait that is relevant.

"Thorough" and "efficient" mean nothing until they are connected to something you have actually done. Two letters for the same cleaning-services role:

Weak: "I am efficient and thorough, enjoy talking to customers and have an eye for detail."

Bridge: "In my previous role, I was the one who made sure all the work actually met our standard. I carried out many checks every week, and part of the task was of course also to fix the faults that turned up. As a person, the assignment suited me because I don't like doing things by halves — you want to be able to stand behind your work once you're actually in contact with the customer."

The same traits in both — but one shows that you understand the task and that you genuinely want a job with those conditions, the other just states them. The manager wants to feel that they are hiring someone who won't struggle with the ordinary parts of the job, and if you don't express that, it is not something they will simply read between the lines.

Why AI so often gets it wrong

Many people think an AI will automatically write a good letter. That is rarely true: a letter written entirely by AI is often generic, and recruiters recognise the tone straight away — unusually polished sentences, packed with glowing adjectives like "committed", "driven", "passionate", without a single bridge or hidden question.

What actually convinces is your own, specific examples — the things AI does not know about you. Let AI be a sounding board for structure, but never the one who chooses your examples or your voice; you need to be able to stand behind every sentence at an interview.

Checklist

• The letter names the company and the job by name.
• At least one bridge is included — a trait connected to a real event, not just a word.
• The letter answers the industry's hidden question, if there is one.
• The opening shows that you have read the advert, not just that you are applying for a job.
• The closing is clear — what should happen next. End, for example, with your location and availability: "For your information, I live in [town], 4 km from the workplace, and if you are interested I can start within two weeks."
• The letter is one page at most.
• The file has a clear name, for example "Application_Warehouse_Zoegas.pdf" or "Covering_Letter_2026.pdf".
• No spelling mistakes, and the company name is correct throughout.

A short example

A covering letter does not need to fill a whole page to work. Here is a made-up example of around a hundred words, for a retail assistant role — no real person or employer. Same hidden question as in the retail example above: availability during peak season.

"I am applying for the retail assistant position at Solkusten Livs, because the advert calls for someone comfortable with customer contact who does not shy away from physical work — both come naturally after three years in retail.

In my most recent job I was responsible for restocking, the till and part of the scheduling during the Christmas rush and the January sale, when most colleagues preferred to be off. I see no obstacle to weekends or peak season.

For your information, I live in Kävlinge, ten minutes from the shop, and can start within two weeks' notice. I would be very glad to hear from you for a chat."

Prompt to use together with AI

The prompt below is built so it can be pasted in anywhere, even by someone who has never read this page — it explains for itself what a bridge and a hidden question are. The point is not a finished letter, but to force out questions about your own experience and the industry's hidden questions, before anything is written. Copy it with the button below.

You are helping me write a covering letter for the position of [job title] at [company/industry]. Do not write the letter yet. Instead, ask me questions, one at a time, until we have enough material.

Two terms you should use: a bridge is a link between a trait I claim about myself and a real event that proves it — not "I am thorough", but a concrete situation that shows it. A hidden question is an industry-specific concern the employer has but rarely writes in the advert — for example whether I can work weekends, already have the right certificate, or can get to the workplace. If I answer it in the letter, they do not need to call me in just to find out.

Ask questions until you find: (1) at least one concrete event from my background that builds a bridge to the requirements in the advert, and (2) at least one likely hidden question for this industry, with my answer to it. Do not write the whole letter until you have answers to both — then just summarise the structure (opening, middle, closing) with my answers filled in, so that I write the final version myself.

More examples of bridges and hidden questions by industry are available at syvarna.com.