The honest starting point: at many banks the cover letter barely gets read, and at some it is optional. But when it is required — most UK and European applications, many boutiques — it is screened fast and binned faster. The goal is not to impress; it is to give a tired screener zero reasons to reject you and one or two concrete reasons to keep reading.
The four-paragraph structure
- Paragraph 1 — who you are and what you are applying for, in two sentences. Name the programme and division precisely (a wrong programme name is an instant bin).
- Paragraph 2 — why this bank, specifically: a deal it advised on, a platform strength, a person you spoke to (by name and takeaway, not just "I spoke to someone"). Generic praise that fits any bank signals a mail-merge.
- Paragraph 3 — why you: two or three pieces of evidence (internship, project, society role) with concrete detail, each tied to what the job actually requires (analytical work, stamina, teamwork under deadlines).
- Paragraph 4 — close in two sentences. Availability, thanks, no drama. Do not restate the whole letter.
What to cut
- "I am passionate about finance" and every variant — passion is demonstrated by the evidence in paragraph 3, never asserted.
- Your life story in chronological order — the resume already does that.
- Flattery paragraphs about the bank's prestige — screeners at prestigious banks are the least impressed by being told they are prestigious.
- Anything that pushes the letter past one page. One page is a hard ceiling; 250-400 words is the working range.
The mistakes that get letters binned
- Wrong bank name or programme name anywhere in the letter — it happens constantly with mail-merged applications, and it is fatal.
- Claims with no evidence ("strong analytical skills" with nothing behind it).
- Typos — in an industry where the job is producing error-free documents under pressure, a typo in a one-page letter is read as a work-quality preview.
- Repeating the resume line by line instead of selecting and expanding the two or three most relevant points.
A note on tone
Write like a junior professional, not a supplicant and not a salesperson. Short sentences. Concrete nouns. The register you would use in a well-written email to a senior colleague. If a sentence would make you cringe reading it aloud to a banker across a desk, cut it.
Frequently asked questions
How long should an investment banking cover letter be?
One page maximum, and in practice 250-400 words. Screeners give it roughly thirty seconds; length beyond that works against you.
Do banks actually read cover letters?
It varies: some screen them seriously (more common in the UK and Europe and at boutiques), others barely look. Since you rarely know which, write a tight one whenever it is required — a bad letter can hurt even where a good one only mildly helps.
Should I mention specific deals in a cover letter?
Yes, if you can say something specific about why the deal interests you — one sentence of substance beats a list of deal names. Naming deals without a reason reads as keyword stuffing.
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