What to choose? Letter of Interest vs Cover Letter.

Letter of Interest vs Cover letter, what is the difference? How to use them correctly?

Gerrard Green
2 min readApr 3, 2022
Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash

The Essentials of a Letter of Interest

In terms of the format for a letter of interest, it’s pretty much similar to a cover letter as it’s made up of the following:

  • Header section
  • Opening paragraph
  • Main body
  • Closing paragraph
  • Signoff

What makes it different from a cover letter though, is the contents within each section.

You’re not writing for an available vacancy. Instead, it’s tailored towards a specific position that isn’t currently being advertised or promoted. Therefore, there should be more emphasis on why you’re interested in working for them specifically and what makes you a good company fit.

The Essentials of a Cover Letter

The format of a cover letter includes:

  • Header section
  • Opening paragraph
  • Main body
  • Closing paragraph
  • Signoff

Compared to a letter of interest, you’re purely focusing on what makes you the best-suited applicant for the job. Therefore, there’s usually more emphasis on the job values rather than the company values.

Despite having no professional experience, it doesn’t necessarily stop you from being a competitive candidate.

Should You Use a Cover Letter or Letter of Interest?

If you’re applying for a specific position in the company that isn’t currently available but you’re open to future opportunities, use a letter of interest. But if you’re applying for an open job vacancy, use a cover letter. Even if they’re not requested by your employer, you can still send them along with your resume.

Key Takeaways

The biggest difference between a cover letter and a letter of interest is their purpose.

One is used for available job openings whereas the other is used for a job posting that isn’t currently being advertised.

That being said, they’re still pretty similar in terms of what they’re trying to accomplish. Both will usually highlight the following:

  • Goals and objectives
  • Qualifications
  • Accomplishments
  • Relevant work experience
  • Hobbies and interests

When you are thinking about how to start, consider using an online cover letter and resume builder like this one.

The source of citation is can be found, rezi.ai (2022), Online:

www.rezi.ai/posts/cover-letter-vs-letter-of-interest#:~:text=Letters%20of%20interest%20focus%20on,job%20you're%20applying%20to.

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