Cover Letter Mistakes That Get You Rejected (And What to Do Instead)
Most cover letters are a waste of everyone's time. They restate the resume, open with "I am writing to express my interest in," and close with "I look forward to hearing from you." The recruiter has read it a thousand times before. They skim it in ten seconds and move on.
But here's the thing — a genuinely good cover letter can be the reason you get an interview when your resume alone wouldn't have done it. The problem is most people don't know what "genuinely good" looks like, because the advice out there is mostly generic.
Here are the mistakes that actually get cover letters ignored or discarded — and what to do instead.
Mistake 1: Opening With "I Am Writing to Express My Interest"
This is the cover letter equivalent of a dead fish handshake. It tells the reader nothing, wastes their time, and signals immediately that this is a template.
Recruiters decide in the first two sentences whether to keep reading. If your opening is generic, they stop.
What to do instead: Open with something specific. A concrete achievement, a direct statement about why this particular company interests you, or a brief observation that shows you've done your research. For example: "When I saw that [Company] just expanded into enterprise — the exact space where I spent the last three years building sales processes from scratch — I knew I had to apply." That's specific. It shows you know something about them and you have relevant experience. That's enough to keep someone reading.
Mistake 2: Summarising Your Resume
A cover letter that says "As you can see from my attached resume, I have five years of experience in marketing..." is pointless. They have your resume. They can read it.
The cover letter's job is not to repeat what's on the resume. It's to add context, show personality, and make a case for why you specifically are a good fit for this specific role.
What to do instead: Pick one or two things from your experience and go deeper on them. Explain the context, the challenge, the outcome. Give the reader something they can't get from scanning your bullet points. This is your chance to tell a short story — use it.
Mistake 3: Making It All About You
"I want to grow my skills. I'm looking for an opportunity to develop. I'm passionate about this field." None of that tells the employer what you're going to do for them.
Hiring managers are solving a problem — they have a role to fill and work to get done. They want to know how you're going to help them, not how the job will benefit you.
What to do instead: Frame your experience in terms of what it means for them. Instead of "I have experience managing social media," try "I've grown social followings from under 5k to over 50k twice — I'd bring that same approach to your brand." You're still talking about yourself, but you're connecting it to their outcome.
Mistake 4: Writing Three Full Paragraphs When Three Sentences Would Do
Recruiters are busy. A cover letter that runs to 500 words is not going to get read carefully. It's going to get skimmed, and if nothing jumps out in the first few lines, it gets closed.
What to do instead: Keep it to three short paragraphs. Opening that hooks them. Middle that makes your case with one or two specific examples. Close that's confident without being desperate. The whole thing should be readable in under a minute.
Mistake 5: Ending With "I Look Forward to Hearing From You"
This is the passive, forgettable ending that every cover letter uses. It puts the ball entirely in their court and leaves no impression.
What to do instead: End with something slightly more confident. "I'd love to talk through how my experience in [X] maps to what you're building — happy to jump on a call whenever works for you." It's a small change, but it signals confidence and makes it easy for them to take the next step.
Most of your competition is sending generic templates. A cover letter that actually addresses the company, references the role, and gives one or two specific examples of relevant work will stand out — not because it's exceptional, but because the bar is genuinely that low.