Cover letters get skimmed in under a minute, sometimes less. The job of a cover letter isn't to repeat your CV in sentence form — it's to answer one question convincingly: why this firm, specifically?
The structure that works
Three short paragraphs. Paragraph one: why this firm, with a specific reason, not a generic one. Paragraph two: what you've done that's relevant, even if it's a course or a simulation rather than paid work. Paragraph three: what you want to learn and a simple, confident closing line.
Zero experience? Here's what to write instead
Don't apologise for not having experience — nobody your age is expected to. Replace it with genuine effort: a free course completed (CFA Investment Foundations, a Forage virtual experience), wide reading (FT, The Economist), or a stock market simulation. Concrete effort beats vague enthusiasm every time.
Common mistakes that get letters binned
- Generic openers that could apply to any bank ("I am passionate about your fast-paced, prestigious firm")
- Getting the firm's name wrong — an instant, avoidable rejection
- Copy-pasting the same letter to every firm with only the name changed
- Focusing on what the firm can give you rather than what you bring or want to learn
What actually gets noticed
Specific reasoning tied to that firm's actual business — a recent deal, a particular division, something from their own website or a recent news story. Recruiters read hundreds of these; the ones that stand out show the applicant actually did their homework on that one firm, not finance in general.
Length
Half a page to three-quarters. Longer isn't more convincing — it's usually a sign the writer didn't know what to cut.