Layout
- Put your name and university in the right hand corner.
- Put the date, and the office address on the left below this. (This helps to signal that you didn't just copy and paste the same cover letter that you sent to another firm.)
- Address the cover letter to the name of the university recruiter (if possible), the company's recruiting team, or their human capital group.
- Sign off with sincerely and then your name.
Requirements
The requirements for your cover letter may differ depending on 1. the industry/role, 2. the firm, and 3. the way in which you're applying.
- Different industries demand different writing styles and content. For tech roles, you may focus more on previous side-projects you've worked on and concrete technical skills. For consulting, your structure and conciseness are particularly important. Think of your cover letter as a writing exercise.
- Different firms may have different cover letter requirements. It's important to read the application carefully, read online forums, go to networking events held by the firm, or speak to a current employee to figure out what these are. For example, Goldman Sachs has a strict 300-word limit and likes to see more eclectic cover letters. Meanwhile, McKinsey only cares about your cover letter in special circumstances, such as if you're applying to an office outside of your home country (to see why you're doing so).
- Cold emails to firms require a different approach to a formal application that requires a cover letter. With cold emails, I would suggest a much shorter, more concise format. You want to ensure that your email is read and show that you respect that the firm is busy. Try and keep the cover letter to 200–300 words and embed it within the email itself.
I would generally suggest that, unless you have something important to explain, if the firm doesn't require a cover letter don't bother writing one (unless it's for a cold application). If they wanted to read one, they would make it a requirement. Submitting one won't put your application over the top.
Suppose you are formally applying to a banking front-office position that requires a cover letter. Your cover letter should be 300–500 words and consist of 4 paragraphs.
Paragraph 1: Statement of your current situation
This should be 1–2 lines maximum, so keep it concise. E.g. My name is John; I'm currently a third-year student studying Economics at the University of [X]. I'm writing to apply for Evercore's Financial Advisory Summer Internship.
Remember to use the same term that the firm uses for the name of the position, e.g. Financial Advisory vs Investment Banking.
If you're low on space, e.g. they ask you to write a 300 word cover letter, I would recommend cutting out this section since they can get all of this information from your online application.
Paragraph 2: Why this industry and this role in particular?
In my opinion, this is the most difficult paragraph to write. Most people fill this paragraph with vague buzzwords and clichés. Don't say that you're interested in investment banking because you're passionate about the intersection between strategy and finance, or that it's fast-paced and intellectually stimulating. Be specific, and tell a story. Connect the dots between the job description and your background. What in your past experience (education, work experience etc.) has led you to apply to this role?
To write a strong story, you must be very clear about what the role you're applying for actually is, and how it is different to other divisions. Make sure that you do your research before writing this paragraph.
For example, in an investment banking cover letter, I wrote about how my father was working for Cadbury's at the time of the Cadbury's-Kraft merger, and I saw how a poor M&A deal could lead to the downfall of a company, indicating the huge industry repercussions of M&A work.
In a strategy consulting cover letter, I wrote about how I was a consultant for a charity project through my university consultancy group, and my recommendations positively affected 1000s of people supported by the charity through COVID-19. My ability to deliver a positive impact and my enjoyment of the role led me to want to pursue consulting.
To fully flesh out these stories, I used precise figures, and indicated results, like on a CV. However, it's important to go beyond your CV with whatever story you tell by linking ideas together.
For example:
'Alongside completing various investment banking online courses, I carried out a 4-week internship with a small media start-up. Working on a 1-1 basis with the founder, I conducted competitor research in the music licensing space to develop new sales strategies and grow affiliate commissions by 150%. Similarly, as an analyst, I will be involved in delivering innovative solutions to clients based on strategic rationale and industry due diligence, working on transformative deals aided by your firm's global presence, a truly exciting prospect to me.'
Another example:
'During my studies in pharmacy, I learnt that around 50% of new life-saving drugs brought to the market by Big Pharma are a result of M&A activities and that capital raising activities are crucial for the operation of biotechs. Therefore, I would like to work in healthcare investment banking to help with these processes impacting the lives of millions of people.'
A poor example:
'I am specifically interested in M&A advisory as I could work on some of the largest billion-dollar deals which have a huge economic impact. The large responsibility given at such an early point of your career is a great motivating factor for me, along with working amongst some of the sharpest, hard-working individuals who would be great to learn from.'
This third example is poor because it's generic. Why do you care about these things? Your reasoning should always be linked back to you. Don't go too radical either: make sure that your story is clearly linked to the role.
Convince the firm that you have an innate drive to learn, intellect, and passion for the subject matter. With these three things, they can teach you everything else you need to know. At this stage, relevant experience is far less important.
Paragraph 3: Why this firm?
If you write a really great standard cover letter for an industry, apart from a few modifications, the only major change required for each application is this paragraph. Do not cheat here: write a new paragraph for every firm. This should be well researched. If it's generic, firms will know that you sent out a bulk of applications, you don't really care about their firms, and they will dismiss you.
The kind of things you might discuss in this paragraph: recent M&A deals the firm has worked on (for IBD), recent case projects (consulting), the future strategy of the firm, statements delivered by senior management, recent press coverage, their use of technology, their culture, their values, diversity and inclusion initiatives etc.
How to research a firm
Finding deals. Some firms will list deals on their website. Otherwise look for news articles by searching for terms such as 'merger', 'acquire', 'advisor', and 'businesswire' along with the firm name. Look on sites such as MergerLinks, Pillars of Wall Street, MergerSight. Choose niche deals since 100s of students will be writing about the same few big deals. Also, choose deals that you specifically find interesting and talk about why.
Finding case projects. This one is a little harder since they tend to be highly confidential. Look for news articles, or speak to consultants at the firm you're interested in.
Read the company's annual report. This is key. I do this for every application, and it takes about 15 minutes when you know what you're looking for. It should have a statement from the CEO, their plans for the future, their results for the year, use of technology, recent changes, culture, values, specialisms, and diversity and inclusion initiatives.
Go to networking events, webinars, and message people that work at the firm on LinkedIn. This paragraph is one of the ways in which your networking efforts will come in handy. You can then quote what people say about the firm, using it to describe the culture. Name dropping people in this way helps to signal that you have spent time researching this firm. It is a true differentiator on an application, and it particularly helps for smaller firms.
Embedding your research
Firstly, don't use the easiest to obtain information, i.e. generic information from the company's website. This includes things like the number of offices worldwide, total revenue and the number of employees. Too many cover letters will include the same information.
Secondly, don't just name drop things and put in lots of research for the sake of it. Make sure that everything is clearly linked back to a personal reason for why you want to apply to that firm. For example, rather than, 'the Institute of Economic Affairs is the world's oldest free-market think tank' you might say 'as a free marketer myself, I identify with the values of the Institute of Economic Affairs.' If you mention an award or a deal, why was it significant, or why did you find it appealing? Link everything back to you.
If you're applying for an international office, or an office that isn't an obvious choice from your CV, this is also a good place to explain why you chose that office. Is it the type of deals or projects that they work on there? Do you have a particular interest in that region? Do you want to use some linguistic skills that you have?
Paragraph 4: Why you?
This paragraph should have 2–3 distinct reasons as to why you are a good fit for the role. Don't just state qualities; use examples. Treat it like an interview question using the STARE principle: describe the situation, the task, the action you took, the result, and your evaluation of this, in as few words as possible. Like for your CV, use numbers to provide evidence for your achievements. Don't just copy bullet points off of your CV. Expand further and if possible, talk about things that aren't on your CV.
You should adjust this paragraph slightly for each position you apply to. Look at the keywords in the job description and use them to describe your skillset. For example, in the BCG role description, they state they are looking for someone with 'drive to make an impact'. You can take this quality and signpost that you can demonstrate this within your cover letter:
'I have the drive to make an impact. As Vice Events Coordinator for the charities committee, I set up a volunteer pool to mitigate low volunteer numbers at events. To incentivise volunteering, I coordinated an incentive scheme through the university, giving certificates to students that had reached 50+ volunteer hours. Through this, I increased the number of volunteers by 93 and bettered my ability to problem-solve.'
Here, they're trying to see if your skills tie up with the role, and whether you suit the culture and values of the firm.
For each firm, just adjust the quality that you state to one within the firm's role description; otherwise, you can keep this paragraph pretty much the same.
Consulting firms really look for structure and conciseness. Consultants have a clear way of speaking, saying things like: I have 3 recommendations. My first recommendation is... My second recommendation is... etc. You should follow this sort of formatting within your cover letter for consulting applications to signal that you can think like a consultant. Feel free to use numbering to do this.
Finishing off
Finally, conclude your cover letter with a line such as: 'I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to learn from and contribute to...; I look forward to hearing from you soon.' If you're sending out a cold email, you might want to suggest some logical next steps such as a telephone conversation, or an in-person/Zoom meeting.
If you have any really major accomplishments, be sure to always include them somewhere within your cover letter.
Once you're done, put your cover letter into Grammarly. Typos could be immediate grounds for dismissal. Then, get other people to read it.
Note: please do not copy any of the examples in this guide. You don't know how many other people are doing/have done the same, which will make your own application generic. It's likely that a single recruiter will read all the applications from one university.
The CV review checks the CV that goes alongside your cover letter, line by line, against what banks and consultancies screen for.