I have no real work experience. What do I even put in a cover letter?

What counts as experience when you've never had a job

Employers filling entry-level roles aren't looking for a past job title. They want evidence that you can do the handful of things the posting lists: turn up on time, deal with people, keep track of details, learn a system. You have probably done each of those somewhere, just not on a payslip.

The University of Arizona's career office recommends sending a cover letter even when it's optional, and names limited experience in a role or industry as one of the main reasons to write one: the letter is where you connect your current skills to the new job. A resume can only list them.

This is where the proof usually comes from, what it shows and a sentence you could adapt.

Part-time, seasonal or family work shows reliability and dealing with the public. “I've opened my uncle's hardware store on Saturdays for two years, so the till, the phone orders and about 40 customers a morning are mine until noon.”

Volunteering shows initiative and organization. “At the Eastside food bank I moved the volunteer rota into a shared Google Sheet, and weekly no-shows dropped from about eight to three.”

A class or group project shows deadlines and coordination. “In our second-year marketing project I ran the survey for a group of five and turned 212 responses into the charts we presented.”

A club, society or team role shows responsibility for money, people or events. “As treasurer of the hiking club I tracked a $1,800 budget across 11 trips.”

Something you taught yourself shows you finish things. “I built a booking page for my sister's bakery, and she now takes about 20 orders a week through it.”

Caring for a relative or running a household shows planning under pressure. Mention it only if you're comfortable, and keep to what you organized: appointments, budgets, schedules.

Pick your two examples with a four-point score

A no-experience letter goes wrong when it tries to use everything. Two examples told with detail beat six mentioned in passing. To choose, give each candidate up to four points:

Two points if it uses a skill the posting names. One point if it has a number or a detail someone could check. One point if you could talk about it for two minutes in an interview.

Here is the score for the administrative assistant request in the box above, plus two things that didn't make it into the request. The posting asks for scheduling, a good phone manner and Google Workspace.

Saturday shifts at the hardware store: phones and customers (2), about 40 customers a morning (1), plenty to say (1). Score 4. The food bank rota: scheduling in Google Sheets (2), no-shows down from eight to three (1), plenty to say (1). Score 4. Typing at 60 words a minute on a test: a skill the job uses (2), a number (1), nothing to talk about (0). Score 3. It belongs on the resume, not in the letter. A good grade in a business module: no skill from the posting (0), a grade (1), little to say (0). Score 1. Leave it out.

Keep the two highest. If two tie, keep the more recent one.

What to cut, with a before and after

Letters from people without experience tend to apologize first and prove nothing after. Cut these:

An opening that leads with what you lack, such as “Although I don't have any professional experience…”. “Willing to learn” and “fast learner” with no story behind them. Adjectives you can't prove on the page: hard-working, motivated, passionate, team player. A list of every course you've taken. Anything that makes an example bigger than it was, such as calling a class assignment “consulting work”.

Before: “Although I do not have any work experience, I am a hard-working, motivated person who is eager to learn and would be a great addition to your team.”

After: “For two years I've run the Saturday shift at a family hardware store, where the phones, the till and about 40 customers a morning are mine until noon. I'd like to bring that to the front desk at Riverside Dental.”

The second version never mentions experience. It simply has some.

What the Career format does with a short history

This page sets Career to the Cover letter type for you. The draft runs 250-350 words: an opening about this employer and this role, two concrete examples in the middle that answer what the posting asks for, and a direct request for an interview. Stock openers such as “I am excited to apply” and unproven claims such as “team player” and “hard-working” are ruled out. Paste the posting into its own field and its key terms are worked in without being copied.

It writes from your notes and nothing else. A number you left out comes back as a placeholder like [N people], never a guess, and you'll see a warning if the letter lands under 200 or over 420 words. A light red pen pass then cuts stock phrases. In English it follows US and UK hiring norms, so it leaves out age, date of birth, marital status, nationality, religion and photos, which matters if you were tempted to explain that you're 19.

It can't make thin experience thicker, and it isn't meant to. What it does is take the two honest examples you picked and give them a clear shape, so you spend your time checking instead of staring at a blank page.