The opening sentence of your cover letter: how to start convincingly
„Hiermit bewerbe ich mich auf die ausgeschriebene Stelle“ appears in almost every German cover letter and says nothing. The first sentence decides whether anyone reads on.
Recruiters rarely read a cover letter in full. Usually the opening decides whether the text is skimmed or taken seriously.
A good opening answers two questions: which role you mean, and why you fit it. Everything else comes later.
This article shows wording patterns for typical situations – from first job to moving from abroad.
What a strong first sentence does
The job title already appears in the subject line. So the first sentence must not simply repeat it – it should create a substantive link.
- a clear reference to the advertised position
- one concrete hook: experience, qualification, specialist area
- a link to the company or the task, not to your own wish list
- active language without clichés and without the conditional
- two lines at most
Weak versus strong openings
| Instead of | Better |
|---|---|
| „I hereby apply for the advertised position.“ | „As a registered nurse with four years on an internal medicine ward, I am applying for your position at the Centre for Internal Medicine.“ |
| „I read your advertisement with great interest.“ | „Your posting for process optimisation in series production matches exactly what I have focused on for the past three years.“ |
| „I would be delighted to join your team.“ | „What you are looking for – experience in SAP MM and supplier communication – I most recently owned at a supplier with 300 employees.“ |
| „I am a motivated team player.“ | „In my current role I look after 15 corporate clients daily and onboard new colleagues.“ |
The difference is not style but information: a concrete activity instead of a declaration of intent.
Examples for typical situations
Adapt the patterns with your own details – figures and technical terms make the difference.
- Experienced: „For five years I have run payroll for 120 employees – exactly the task you are advertising.“
- First job: „With a bachelor's degree in business informatics and a six-month internship in SAP support, I am applying as a junior consultant.“
- Career change: „From hospitality I bring what your customer service needs: complaint handling, shift planning and confidence with clients.“
- Applying from abroad: „As a doctor with a recognition procedure under way in North Rhine-Westphalia and German at C1, I am applying as a resident physician.“
- Internal move: „After two years in customer service I would like to move into team leadership internally, having already onboarded six colleagues.“
- Referral: „Ms Keller from your department pointed me to the open position in quality assurance.“
Before/after: a concrete opening
Before
„Dear Sir or Madam, I hereby apply for the position of electronics technician you advertised. I read your advertisement with great interest and would be pleased to hear from you.“
Problem: no information, interchangeable with any role.
After
„Dear Ms Bauer, for four years I have maintained production equipment in a three-shift operation – including fault analysis on PLC controls. That is precisely the experience you need for your plant engineering team.“
Benefit: links to the ad, verifiable experience, the right technical terms.
Find the named contact
„Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren“ is acceptable, but a name works better. It is often in the ad, the imprint or the company's career network profile.
Reuse terms from the job ad
The opening is the best place to pick up the key terms from the posting – the exact job title, a piece of software or a method.
This helps human readers and automated screening, where the letter is parsed too. Do not invent anything: only use terms your experience genuinely covers.
How to identify the right terms: CV keywords
Telling must-have from nice-to-have requirements: How to read a job ad
Openings you should delete
- „I hereby apply …“ with nothing else
- „I read your advertisement with great interest.“
- retelling your CV in prose
- conditional phrasing: „I would like to …“
- praise without substance: „Your company is a market leader.“
- your own wishes before the value you bring
- the wrong job title copied from an earlier application
- sentences over four lines with no concrete statement
Align cover letter and CV
Frequently asked questions
How long should the opening sentence be?
One or two lines. It should establish the link, not tell the whole application.
Can I start with „I hereby apply“?
It is not wrong, but empty and extremely common. A concrete reference to your experience works far better.
How do I start without work experience?
With the specialist focus of your studies or training, ideally linked to an internship, project or thesis related to the role.
Should I address a named contact?
Yes, if the name is known or can be researched. Otherwise „Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren“ is correct.
Can I open with a question?
Better not in conservative industries. A factual statement linked to the position is the safe choice.
Does the first sentence need keywords?
It should pick up the exact job title and ideally one key technical term from the ad – but only if that reflects your experience.
Read on
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