By AI Resume Craft Team · Published 8 August 2026
A good Australian cover letter does one job well: it connects your specific experience to the specific role you're applying for, in a way your resume alone can't quite do. This guide covers exactly how to structure one.
1. Opening. State the role you're applying for, where you saw it advertised, and one clear sentence on why you're a strong fit.
2. Body (one to two paragraphs). Connect two or three of your most relevant achievements or experiences directly to what the job ad is asking for — this is the persuasive core of the letter, not a restatement of your resume.
3. Why this company. A brief note on why you're genuinely interested in this specific employer or role, not just employment in general. Generic enthusiasm ("I am passionate about excellence") reads poorly; specific interest reads well.
4. Closing. Thank the reader for their consideration, reference your attached resume, and invite them to get in touch.
Aim for half a page to one page — roughly 250 to 400 words. Australian cover letters are generally professional but not overly formal; a natural, confident tone reads better than stiff, old-fashioned corporate language.
Dear Ms Nguyen,
I'm writing to apply for the Marketing Coordinator role at Bright Collective, advertised on SEEK. With three years' experience managing multi-channel campaigns for a similar mid-sized agency, I was drawn to this role's focus on data-led campaign strategy — an area I've built real depth in over the past two years.
In my current role, I manage a $50,000 annual campaign budget across social, email, and paid search, and led a campaign redesign that increased engagement by 22% over two quarters. I'm confident these skills would transfer directly to the kind of integrated campaigns your team runs.
Bright Collective's recent work for local hospitality clients particularly stood out to me — I'd welcome the opportunity to bring that same attention to campaign performance to your team.
My resume is attached, and I'd be glad to discuss my application further. Thank you for your consideration.
Kind regards, [Name]
Notice the specific numbers, the named campaign result, and the genuine reference to the employer's actual work — all details that separate a tailored letter from a generic one.
Restating the resume line by line. A cover letter should add context and connect your experience to the role — not repeat your work history in paragraph form.
Generic enthusiasm with no specifics. "I am a hard-working, motivated team player" says nothing a panel hasn't read a hundred times. Back every claim with something specific.
Starting with "My name is..." The employer already has your name from your application — open with the role and your fit instead.
Excessive length. More than one page risks losing the reader's attention and usually signals that the letter needs editing for focus, not more content.
Not every application requires a cover letter — see our guide on when you don't need a cover letter for when it's safe to skip it, and our breakdown of common cover letter mistakes for a fuller list of what to avoid.
The best cover letters are tailored to the specific job ad, which is exactly the kind of task that's easy to shortcut when you're applying to multiple roles. Our AI cover letter generator reads the job description you paste in and drafts a letter built around it, so tailoring doesn't mean starting from scratch every time.
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