Opening lines by situation
Each example is fictional; keep the shape and replace the facts with yours.
I am applying for the Saturday sales assistant job advertised in your window. I help run my school's tuck shop twice a week and volunteer at a charity shop till, so I am used to serving customers and handling money carefully.
I would like to apply for the part-time barista role at your Division Street café. Two summers of events waiting at a wedding venue taught me fast, friendly service, and I can work 12 to 16 hours a week during term.
I am applying for the Graduate Environmental Consultant post (ref. GEC-12). My dissertation sampled 18 urban streams for nitrate levels, and a summer placement gave me field and mapping experience your advert asks for.
I am applying for the Project Support Officer vacancy. After seven years running restaurants, where I planned rotas, suppliers and budgets to tight deadlines, I am moving into project support.
I would like to apply for the Office Administrator role. Before a four-year career break to care for my children, I spent eight years running diaries and client files in a solicitors' office, and I have refreshed my Microsoft 365 skills this year.
I am applying for the Senior Healthcare Assistant post on your surgical unit. I have spent three years on an acute medical ward, taking observations and escalating early warning scores, and I now mentor new healthcare assistants.
Amira Hassan, your Research Officer, suggested I apply for the Research Assistant post. I have just finished an MSc in Environmental Policy and have two years of survey research experience.
I am writing to ask whether you have any openings for a junior graphic designer. I have followed your studio's packaging work for local food brands, and my portfolio includes a six-bag coffee range now stocked in 30 shops.
I would like to apply for the Team Leader vacancy in Goods In. I have worked on the night shift for three years, cover the team leader on leave, and know the site's systems and people.
Thank you for sending me the Assistant Accountant role at Chiltern Precision. I am AAT qualified and run month-end journals and VAT returns now, so the role fits the next step I am looking for.
I am applying for the Level 3 Electrical Installation apprenticeship. I have GCSEs in English, maths and science and spent my work experience week with an electrical contractor.
I am applying for the Store Manager role at your Leeds store. I currently run a £3.2 million store with 22 staff, where sales grew 9% last year against a regional average of 3%.
What makes a first line work
The rest of the letter then proves the fact with an example. See the layout guide for the paragraphs that follow.
- It names the exact job and any reference number.
- It gives one specific fact, not a general claim.
- The fact matches something in the advert.
- It is short: one or two sentences.