Quick Answer: What is a cover letter? It is a one-page letter sent with your CV that explains why you are applying for one specific job and why you fit it. The CV lists what you have done; the cover letter selects the parts that matter for this role and connects them to the employer's needs. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland it is called the Anschreiben (or Motivationsschreiben in Switzerland) and follows a formal business-letter layout.
A CV is a record. A cover letter is a reason.
What Is a Cover Letter? The One-Line Definition
A cover letter is a short, addressed letter that accompanies a job application and makes the case for one candidate in one role.
Three words in that definition carry the weight:
- Short: one page. Anything longer stops being a letter and becomes a second CV.
- Addressed: written to a specific employer, ideally a named person, about a specific vacancy.
- Case: it argues. It does not list.
The name comes from its original job: it was the letter that "covered" the documents in the envelope, telling the reader what was enclosed and why. The envelope has mostly gone. The job of explaining has not.
How Recruiters Actually Use a Cover Letter
Recruiters do not all read cover letters, and they do not read them the same way. What they look for, when they do, is consistent.
| What the recruiter checks | Weak signal | Strong signal |
|---|---|---|
| Intent | Generic interest in "a role like this" | Names this role and this employer |
| Selection | Repeats the CV in sentences | Picks the one or two experiences that matter here |
| Context | Leaves gaps for the reader to guess | Explains a relocation, a career change or a gap in one line |
| Communication | Long, vague, formal filler | Clear, specific, easy to verify |
The logic behind the table: the CV answers "what has this person done?" The cover letter answers "why does that matter for us?" When a letter only repeats the first question, recruiters learn to skip it. When it answers the second, it changes how the CV is read.
For international candidates, the context row carries extra weight. A CV from another country leaves open questions: work authorisation, language level, why this move. The cover letter is the only document where you can answer them in your own words.
The Parts of a Cover Letter
Every standard cover letter has the same building blocks, even when the layout changes by country.
- Header: your name and contact details, and in formal formats the employer's address and the date.
- Subject or reference line: the role title, and a reference number if the ad has one.
- Greeting: to a named person where possible.
- Opening: the role you are applying for and your core reason to be considered.
- Evidence: one or two concrete results from your experience that match the job's main requirements.
- Fit: why this employer, shown through something specific in the ad or the company's work.
- Close: a clear next step, plus availability or salary expectations if the ad asks for them.
- Sign-off and signature.
That is the anatomy. How to fill each part with the right content is a separate skill, covered step by step in our guide on how to write a cover letter.
Cover Letter vs CV vs Motivation Letter
These three documents are often confused, and the confusion costs applications.
| Document | Purpose | Format | When it is used |
|---|---|---|---|
| CV / résumé | Complete, structured record of experience, education and skills | Sections and bullet points, usually 1-2 pages | Every job application |
| Cover letter | Argument for one role at one employer | Letter, one page, prose paragraphs | Most professional applications, unless the employer says otherwise |
| Motivation letter | Explains personal motivation and goals | Letter, often one to two pages | Degree programmes, scholarships, some trainee schemes; in Switzerland also the usual name for the job cover letter |
The practical rule: a CV is reused and updated; a cover letter is written fresh for each vacancy. A motivation letter leans on personal goals; a cover letter leans on evidence the employer can use.
A fourth format has joined them: the short message in an online application form or in the body of an application email. It is still a cover letter in function. It simply has to do the same job in fewer lines.
What a Cover Letter Is Called, and Expected, in DACH
If you are applying into Germany, Austria or Switzerland, you will meet the same document under different names and with stricter conventions than in English-speaking markets.
- Germany: the Anschreiben. It is formally part of a complete application, together with the Lebenslauf (CV) and, usually, Arbeitszeugnisse (employer references) and certificates. It follows a business-letter layout, often based on DIN 5008: sender block, recipient block, place and date, a bold subject line, a formal greeting, and "Mit freundlichen Grüßen" before the signature.
- Austria: also Anschreiben or Bewerbungsschreiben, with the same logic. Academic titles are used in the greeting when known, for example "Sehr geehrte Frau Mag. Huber".
- Switzerland: usually Motivationsschreiben, even for ordinary job applications. Swiss spelling uses "ss" instead of "ß", so the sign-off reads "Freundliche Grüsse".
A few conventions surprise people coming from other markets:
- The photo and date of birth, where used at all, belong on the Lebenslauf, not in the letter.
- The formal "Sie" is the default, even for start-ups, unless the ad itself uses "du".
- If the ad asks for a salary expectation (Gehaltsvorstellung) or an earliest start date, the letter is where you answer it, briefly.
- Length is strict: one page.
Some DACH employers, particularly larger ones with online forms, now make the Anschreiben optional or replace it with a few screening questions. Optional does not mean useless. For an international candidate, it is still the best place to explain what the CV cannot.
What a Cover Letter Is Not
Part of understanding a genre is knowing its edges. A cover letter is not:
- A second CV. If a paragraph could be replaced by a bullet list from your CV, it is in the wrong document.
- A life story. Where you grew up and why you chose your degree belong in the letter only if they explain your fit for this job.
- A list of adjectives. "Motivated", "flexible" and "reliable" describe almost every applicant, so they describe none.
- A request for any job. A letter that asks to be considered "for any suitable position" tells the reader you have not chosen.
- A place for claims you cannot support. Every sentence may come up in the interview. Write only what you can explain there.
When You Need a Cover Letter, and When You Can Skip It
A cover letter is worth writing when:
- the ad asks for one, explicitly or by listing "complete application documents" (in German: "vollständige Bewerbungsunterlagen");
- your CV needs context: a move to another country, a career change, a gap, or a non-obvious fit;
- you are applying directly to a person rather than through a form.
You can usually skip it when:
- the employer states that no cover letter is needed;
- the form has no upload field and no free-text box;
- the role is filled through a recruiter who has asked only for the CV.
When in doubt, a short, specific letter costs you one page and rarely hurts. A generic one costs you credibility.
Why You Cannot Judge Your Own Letter Objectively
Knowing what a cover letter is does not make it easy to recognise a weak one, especially your own.
You know the context behind every sentence, so your letter always reads as specific to you. The recruiter only has the page. A sentence like "I bring international experience" feels concrete when you remember the projects behind it. On the page, it is a phrase that appears in thousands of letters.
The test is simple: could this sentence appear, unchanged, in someone else's letter? If yes, it is not doing work yet. Reading your letter next to the job ad, or asking someone outside your field to read it cold, shows the gaps faster than rereading it yourself.
Some platforms, TalentVP among them, keep cover letter examples by role next to the writing tools. Comparing your draft against a finished letter for the same kind of role is often the quickest way to see the genre clearly.
Your 5-Step Check Before You Send One
- Confirm it is expected. Read the ad for "cover letter", "Anschreiben", "Motivationsschreiben" or "complete application documents".
- Name the role and the employer in the first two lines. If either is missing, the letter is still generic.
- Keep one or two proofs, not ten. Choose the experiences that answer the ad's main requirements.
- Answer the open question your CV raises. Relocation, work authorisation, language level, or a change of field: one line each, if relevant.
- Apply the local format. In DACH: business-letter layout, subject line, formal greeting, one page, and a signature.
Related Guides
- How to write a cover letter recruiters read, the four-paragraph structure, step by step
- Cover letter examples by role, finished letters for common roles
- German CV rules and format, the Lebenslauf that goes with the Anschreiben
- CV examples by role, the document your cover letter points to
