You’ve probably been there. It’s 11 PM, you’ve applied to fourteen jobs, and you’re starting to go a little stir-crazy. You copy, you paste, you change the company name, and you hit send. Then, silence. Total, deafening silence for three weeks straight. It’s frustrating. Honestly, it’s soul-crushing. But if you’re looking at bad cover letter examples to figure out what went wrong, you might realize you’ve been committing some "invisible" sins that recruiters spot in about four seconds.
Recruiters don't read; they skim. If your first sentence is "I am writing to express my interest in the position," you’ve already lost. That’s filler. They know why you’re writing. You’re writing because you want the job.
The "Copy-Paste" Disaster
One of the most common bad cover letter examples involves the dreaded placeholder text. We’ve all seen it—or worse, sent it. You’re moving fast and you leave in "Dear [Hiring Manager Name]" or "I am excited to join [Company A]" when you’re actually applying to Company B.
It’s a death sentence for your candidacy.
Why? Because it tells the recruiter you don’t actually care about their company; you just care about a job. Any job. Career experts like Reed Hoffmann have often pointed out that networking and intentionality beat volume every time. When you send a generic blast, you're essentially spamming.
I once saw an application where the candidate forgot to remove the bracketed instructions from a template they found online. It said: [Insert a time you showed leadership here]. They just left the prompt there. No story. No leadership. Just the bracket. Needless to say, they didn't get the interview. It's kinda funny in hindsight, but it's a tragedy when it's your career on the line.
Writing a Biography Nobody Asked For
Stop telling your life story. Seriously.
A cover letter isn’t a memoir. A massive mistake people make is starting from high school and walking the reader through every minor life choice they’ve made since 2012. "I first discovered my love for marketing when I was ten years old selling lemonade..." No. Stop right there.
Recruiters are looking for a solution to a problem. The "problem" is that they have a gap in their team. Your cover letter should be the "solution."
The "Me, Me, Me" Syndrome
- The Problem: The letter focuses entirely on what the job will do for the candidate. "This role will help me grow my skills" or "I want this job to learn about the industry."
- The Reality: The company isn't a university. They aren't paying you to learn; they're paying you to produce.
- The Fix: Flip the script. Tell them what you will do for them. Use "you" more than "I."
Bad Cover Letter Examples: The Formal Robot
There is this weird thing that happens when people sit down to write a cover letter. They suddenly turn into Victorian-era lawyers. They use words like "henceforth," "utilize," and "to whom it may concern."
It’s stiff. It’s boring. It feels fake.
If you wouldn’t say it out loud, don't write it. Modern business communication is moving toward a more "professional-conversational" tone. Think about how people talk on LinkedIn or in a well-run Slack channel. It’s respectful, but it’s human.
The "Wall of Text" Nightmare
If a hiring manager opens your attachment and sees five dense paragraphs with zero white space, they’re going to close it. Instantly. Our brains are wired to find the path of least resistance.
Break it up.
Use short sentences.
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Use some variety.
Maybe even use a few bullet points to highlight your biggest wins. If your cover letter looks like a legal brief, you’re doing it wrong. You want the reader to be able to glance at the page and walk away with three key reasons why you’re the best fit. If they have to hunt for your value, they won't find it.
Real-World Examples of What to Avoid
Let's look at some specific, illustrative examples of how these mistakes actually look on paper.
The Over-Confident Egoist:
"I am the best salesperson you will ever meet. My track record is legendary, and frankly, you'd be making a massive mistake if you didn't hire me immediately. I expect a call by Friday."
Why it fails: It’s aggressive. Nobody wants to work with someone who sounds like a nightmare in the breakroom. Confidence is good; arrogance is a red flag.
The "I'm Just Happy to Be Here" Apologist:
"I know I don't have the experience you're looking for, and I'm probably not the most qualified, but I'm a really hard worker and I promise I'll try my best if you just give me a chance."
Why it fails: You’re literally giving them reasons to reject you. Never point out your own weaknesses in a cover letter. Focus on your transferable skills.
The Novelist:
(Imagine three pages of text explaining why they moved from Ohio to Florida and how their cat influenced their career path.)
Why it fails: TMI. Keep it under one page. Ideally, keep it around 300 to 400 words.
Focus on the "Hook"
The first two sentences are the most valuable real estate on the page. Most bad cover letter examples waste this space on "I am writing to apply..."
Instead, start with a result.
"Last year, I helped my current company increase their organic lead generation by 40% through a complete overhaul of our SEO strategy. I’d love to bring that same focus on data-driven growth to the Marketing Manager role at [Company Name]."
See the difference? You’ve immediately established value. You’ve mentioned a specific achievement. You’ve shown you understand the role.
The "To Whom It May Concern" Trap
It’s 2026. We have the internet.
Addressing a letter to "To Whom It May Concern" is basically saying, "I couldn't be bothered to spend five minutes on LinkedIn or the company website to find out who the department head is."
If you can't find a name, try "Hiring Manager for [Department] Team" or "Dear [Company Name] Team." It’s slightly warmer. But honestly? Try to find a name. It shows initiative. People like seeing their own names; it's a psychological trick that actually works.
Forget the Skills List
Your resume is for listing skills. Your cover letter is for telling the story behind those skills.
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Don't just say you're "proficient in Python." Tell them about the time you used Python to automate a reporting process that saved your team ten hours a week. Stories are "sticky." Facts are forgettable. When you provide a narrative, you become a real person in the recruiter's mind, not just another PDF in the stack.
Proofreading Isn't Optional
You’ve heard this a thousand times, but people still send letters with "Manager" spelled as "Manger." Or "Role" spelled as "Roll."
Spellcheck won't always save you. It doesn't know you meant "their" instead of "there." Read it out loud. Read it backward. Give it to a friend who isn't afraid to tell you it's bad. One typo can be the difference between an interview and the trash can, especially for roles that require high attention to detail, like copyediting, accounting, or project management.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Draft
If you realize your current draft looks a lot like these bad cover letter examples, don't panic. You can fix it. Here is how you move forward:
- Kill the Template: Delete the generic Word doc you've been using for three years. Start fresh for the job you actually want.
- Research the "Pain Point": Look at the job description. What is the one thing they seem most worried about? Is it growth? Is it organization? Is it technical debt? Address that directly in your first paragraph.
- The "So What?" Test: Read every sentence in your draft. After each one, ask yourself, "So what?" If a sentence doesn't explain how you'll help the company, delete it.
- Quantify Everything: Use numbers. Percentages, dollar amounts, time saved, team size. Numbers pop out in a sea of text.
- Check the Tone: Does it sound like you? Or does it sound like a robot trying to pass a Turing test? If it's the latter, loosen up the language. Use "I'm" instead of "I am." Use active verbs.
A great cover letter is a bridge between your past (resume) and the company's future. It shouldn't be a hurdle. By avoiding the common pitfalls of bad cover letter examples, you position yourself as a professional who is thoughtful, capable, and—most importantly—human.
Stop overthinking the "perfect" corporate jargon and start focusing on how you can actually make the hiring manager's life easier. That's the secret. That's how you get the call back. Once you've cleaned up the fluff and targeted your message, you're no longer just a name in a database—you're the candidate they've been waiting for.