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I was staring at a blank Google Doc at 1:12 a.m., trying to write a cover letter for an internship I did not even really want. Three sentences in, it already sounded like every other student on LinkedIn had written it for me.

Here is the blunt version: traditional cover letters are mostly dead for students and early career roles. What matters more now is a tight, targeted packet of proof that you can do the work: a short note, a portfolio or work sample, and signals that you are serious about that specific team, not just “any opportunity.”

Cover letters have shifted from “formal essay” to “evidence packet.” The question is no longer “Can you write a page about yourself?” but “Can you prove you can help this team within 30 seconds of reading?”

Why the classic cover letter stopped working

During a careers workshop, I realized something painful: the recruiter on stage spent more time talking about referrals and portfolios than about resumes and cover letters combined. That was the moment the “Dear Hiring Manager” template in my brain started to disintegrate.

Here is what actually broke the old-school cover letter for student roles:

• Recruiters skim hundreds of applications in minutes.
• Many portals do not even show your cover letter in the main view.
• AI and templates made most letters sound identical.
• Real proof (GitHub, decks, prototypes, writing samples) tells a much stronger story.

Recruiters are not thinking: “Who wrote the most eloquent page?” They are thinking: “Can this person do the job, and are they likely to stay if we hire them?”

If your cover letter can be copy-pasted for ten different roles, it is not helping you. It is just noise between your resume and your work.

Here is the shift in mindset:

So if the classic letter is fading, what replaces it?

What to send instead of a traditional cover letter

During an internship search, I tested three approaches:

• Standard cover letter attached as PDF.
• No cover letter, just resume and LinkedIn.
• Short targeted note + tiny portfolio + proof of interest in that specific team.

The third option won by a ridiculous margin. Fewer applications, more callbacks.

Here is the modern “cover letter replacement” you should think about sending:

1. A short, targeted note that fits in an email or text box

Think of this as a mini-brief, not a mini-novel. It should:

• Fit in the “message to employer” box or the body of an email.
• Be readable in under 20 seconds.
• Connect your work to their needs in 2 to 3 specific ways.

Structure:

1. One sentence: who you are and what you are applying for.
2. Two to three sentences: direct match between your work and their role.
3. One sentence: link to proof (portfolio/GitHub/docs) and your contact.

Template you can adapt:

I am a second-year computer science student focused on backend development, and I am applying for the Software Engineering Intern role on the Payments team. In my campus club, I built and shipped a microservice that reduced our API response time from 900ms to 200ms, and I maintain a small Go service used by 120+ students. I attached my resume and included links to my GitHub and a short write-up of that project below; I would be glad to discuss how my experience fits your team.

Notice what this note does:

• States role and context clearly.
• Shares one concrete metric and one codebase.
• Points to deep proof without wasting words.

2. A role-specific portfolio or “evidence page”

During a lecture, our professor said: “The best way to get a job doing X is to already be doing X, even at a small scale.” That sentence basically describes what a portfolio is.

Your portfolio does not need to be fancy. It needs to be:

• Relevant to the role.
• Easy to skim.
• Honest about what you did and what you learned.

Think of one “evidence page” per type of role you target:

The biggest mistake students make is sending the same generic portfolio to every role. The second biggest mistake is having no portfolio at all.

Practical tactic: create one master portfolio (Google Doc, Notion page, or simple site) and clone it for each role type, then adjust the top 30 percent to match the posting.

3. A work sample tailored to the company

This is what quietly replaces the “I am passionate about your company” paragraph. You show it instead of saying it.

Some examples by field:

• Software: fix a small open issue on their public repo; build a tiny clone of a feature; write a 1-page tech note suggesting an improvement.
• Product: draft a one-page product brief for a recent feature they shipped; record a 3-minute Loom walking through a user journey and 2 things you would test.
• Marketing: design a 7-day content plan aimed at one of their user segments; write 5 email subject lines and 3 social posts.
• Design: redesign a small part of their landing page; run a quick heuristic review and capture 3 UX fixes in screenshots.
• Ops / Biz: sketch a basic process for campus outreach; outline a 30-day playbook for a student ambassador program.

You do not need to guess their secret roadmap. You just need to show that your brain is already working on their problems.

How to reference this sample in your note:

I attached a one-page teardown of your onboarding flow with 3 low-cost experiments I would run over a 4-week sprint. Even if my suggestions are off, I hope it shows how I approach problems and measure results.

This shifts the conversation away from “Why should we pick you?” toward “Here is how I already think like a member of your team.”

4. A signal of connection: referrals and warm context

The part nobody likes hearing during job search panels: who knows you often matters more than how pretty your resume looks. That sounds unfair, but there is a productive way to respond.

Instead of writing a long emotional cover letter, invest that time in building light connections:

• Message alumni on LinkedIn who work at that company.
• Talk to older students who interned there.
• Show your draft portfolio to a club lead and ask for feedback.

Then, reflect that context in your note:

I learned about this role from Sarah Kim, who was on your data team last summer and suggested I apply because of my work on our campus analytics project.

Short, honest, zero drama.

When you still need a “cover letter” and how to handle it

Some portals still demand an attached cover letter file. Some professors still insist it matters. Rejecting the concept entirely is risky.

The trick is to treat it as an expanded version of your short note, not as a separate literary piece.

Turn your short note into a 3-part, 3-paragraph letter

Structure:

1. Opening paragraph (4 to 5 sentences)
   Who you are, what role, quick context on how you heard about it, and one relevant highlight.
2. Evidence paragraph (6 to 8 sentences)
   Two or three concrete stories that match their requirements, with metrics where possible.
3. Closing paragraph (3 to 4 sentences)
   Re-state fit, link to portfolio, invite them to reach out.

Mini-example for a student product role:

I am a third-year business and computer science student, and I am applying for the Associate Product Intern position on your Student Experiences team. Over the past year, I led two campus projects from idea to launch, both focused on reducing friction for students finding events and resources. I heard about this role from your PM panel at our university, and your emphasis on student-led experiments was very similar to how our club operates.

In my most recent project, I worked with a team of four to ship a simple web app that aggregated events from 7 different student groups into one calendar. I conducted 12 user interviews, turned those into a basic problem statement, and collaborated with our developer to prioritize a minimal set of features. After launch, we tracked weekly active users and event submissions; over 6 weeks, students created 150+ custom alerts and event attendance increased for partner clubs by 18 percent. Before that, I designed and tested a new onboarding email flow for our clubs platform, which led to a 9 percent increase in profiles completed within 3 days.

I have linked a short portfolio that includes screenshots, metrics, and a more detailed walkthrough of my process. I would be glad to share more about how I approach discovery, simple experiments, and working with engineers and designers. Thank you for considering my application.

This still looks like a “real” cover letter to a traditional reader, but the engine inside is evidence, not adjectives.

What to skip in modern cover letters

There are sections that used to be standard but mostly waste space now:

• Overly formal greetings like “To whom it may concern” when you can find a name with 2 minutes on LinkedIn.
• Fluffy claims like “I am a highly motivated, results-driven individual” with no proof.
• Long life stories that do not connect to the role.
• Excessive praise of the company without specifics.

Replace them with:

• Personalized greeting if possible.
• One sentence about why their work matters to you, grounded in something real they shipped or wrote.
• 2 to 3 detailed examples with outcomes.
• Clear links to your strongest work.

If a sentence would still be true for 80 percent of applicants, it is probably not helping you.

Concrete “instead of a cover letter” setups for different roles

At this point, the concept is still a bit abstract. So here are practical setups you can copy, depending on the kind of role you care about.

Setup A: Tech or startup engineering internship

Package to send:

• Short email or portal note (5 to 7 sentences) like the template earlier.
• Resume, focused on projects and languages actually used in the role.
• GitHub with 2 to 4 pinned repos that are not classroom boilerplate.
• 1-page “Engineering Work” doc:
  • Section 1: One project with a diagram, tech stack, and performance or usage metric.
  • Section 2: Two smaller contributions (bug fixes, scripts, small tools).
  • Section 3: One short paragraph about how you learn new tools.

What your short note might look like:

I am a second-year computer science student with a focus on backend development, applying for your Summer Software Engineering Intern role. I spent the last semester building a scheduling API for our campus makerspace; it handles 300+ bookings weekly with authentication, rate limiting, and monitoring via Grafana. Before that, I contributed three bug fixes to an open-source Go project and wrote a small CLI tool that 30+ students use to manage club tasks. I attached my resume and a one-page overview of these projects, and my GitHub is linked below for deeper details.

No long essay. Clear proof.

Setup B: Product, growth, or generalist startup intern

Package to send:

• Short targeted note that mentions a feature, campaign, or user segment you noticed.
• Resume with bullets that show ownership, not just membership.
• Portfolio doc or page with:
  • 1 big project: your role, steps, and outcome.
  • 2 mini experiments: what you tested and what changed.
  • 1 work sample personalized to that startup (teardown, mock roadmap, or launch idea).

Sample snippet for your note:

I am a third-year student running product for a 60-person campus entrepreneurship club, and I am applying for your Growth & Product Intern role. Your recent focus on student creators caught my attention, and I drafted a short 2-page doc with 3 experiments to test engagement during exam season, based on what we saw with our own newsletter and events. I attached my resume and linked the doc and a small portfolio with project breakdowns below.

Here, the “instead of cover letter” piece is that 2-page doc.

Setup C: Design, content, or communication intern

Package to send:

• Short note that points directly to a portfolio section relevant to them.
• Resume with design tools or writing formats clearly listed.
• Online portfolio or a PDF deck:
  • Visual projects: each with a 2 to 3 sentence caption and your role.
  • Content samples: 3 to 5 pieces in the same format they use (blog posts, newsletters, scripts).
  • One small redesign or campaign idea for their brand.

Example of a focused note:

I am a media studies student focusing on brand design, and I am applying for your Design Intern position. I attached my resume and linked a portfolio with 4 projects, including a mini redesign of your pricing page focused on clarity for student users. The last section of the portfolio explains my process and shows a few variations I considered before the final direction.

No need to narrate your passion for art since fifth grade. The work speaks.

How to build your “evidence packet” from scratch

If you are reading this and thinking, “I do not have enough to show,” that is exactly what I thought as a first-year. The solution is not writing a better cover letter, it is building more small proofs.

Step 1: Pick one type of role and one problem space

Scatter is the enemy here. During my first year, I had:

• A half-finished coding project.
• A random marketing internship.
• A club leadership role.

All good experiences, but my cover letters tried to combine them into some vague narrative. Recruiters do not have time to decode that.

Choose:

• Role type: engineering, product, design, marketing, ops, etc.
• Problem space: for example, “student tools”, “creator economy”, “fintech”, “health”, “education”.

This does not lock you in forever. It just focuses your examples.

Step 2: Turn class work and club work into portfolio pieces

You already have more material than you think. You just have not shaped it into clear stories.

Take one project and answer:

• What was the goal?
• What exactly did you do, step by step?
• What changed because of your work? Numbers, behavior, or decisions.
• What would you do differently next time?

Write this in simple language. Add 1 or 2 screenshots. That is already a decent portfolio entry.

If you have zero projects, create your own:

• Build a tool for a student club.
• Run a small growth experiment for a campus event.
• Write a teardown of an app you like.
• Design an alternative poster or landing page for a society.

Your future “cover letter replacement” will lean heavily on these stories.

Step 3: Create one central doc to rule them all

Use a simple tool:

• Notion page
• Google Doc with headings
• Basic portfolio site with a free template

Structure idea:

1. Top section: 3 to 4 bullet snapshot (roles, tools, interests).
2. Main projects: 2 to 4 detailed entries with visuals.
3. Micro projects: 4 to 6 short bullet stories (each 2 to 3 sentences).
4. Link dump: GitHub, LinkedIn, slide decks, content.

Then, when you apply for a role, duplicate this doc and adjust:

• Reorder projects so the most relevant is on top.
• Add one custom work sample for that company.
• Remove any project that is not relevant.

You do not need a portfolio that impresses everyone. You need one that makes one specific hiring manager think, “This person already thinks like us.”

How to adapt this for campus startups and student ventures

Student-run startups hire very differently from large companies. Sometimes the “interview process” is literally a late night chat in a common room or a DM on Instagram.

For these roles, your “cover letter” is often just the first message you send.

Message structure for reaching out to campus founders

Keep it short, specific, and anchored in their current struggles.

Basic structure:

1. One line: who you are.
2. One line: what you noticed about their startup.
3. Two lines: how you can help, with a mini proof.
4. One line: link to more detail and a clear ask.

Example:

I am a first-year CS student who has been running events for our AI club, and I have been following your campus delivery startup since the last demo day. It looks like you are trying to expand to two more hostels, and I have experience recruiting and running volunteer teams for events of 100+ people. I wrote a short 1-page idea list about how we could grow your student ambassador program and included two examples from our AI club. If it seems useful, I would love 15 minutes to walk you through it this week.

You are sending:

• Personalized note.
• Concrete proposal.
• Proof that you can execute, not just brainstorm.

Most student founders care more about that than about a formatted cover letter.

Common mistakes students make when cover letters “die” on them

When students hear “cover letters are dead”, many just skip the whole story side of their application. That backfires in predictable ways.

Mistake 1: Sending resume only and hoping the bullets carry the story

A resume is a compressed data sheet. It rarely answers:

• Why this team?
• Why this role now?
• How do you think about the problems they care about?

Fix: Always include a short note and at least one link with context (portfolio, GitHub, doc, or video).

Mistake 2: Treating the “message to employer” box as optional

That box is basically the modern cover letter slot. Leaving it blank is a missed chance.

Use it to:

• Summarize your fit in 3 to 5 sentences.
• Point to the one project you want them to see first.
• Mention any internal connection or context.

Mistake 3: Overcomplicating language to sound “professional”

During an interview, a hiring manager told me: “We are not grading your prose. We just need to understand what you did.” That cured my urge to over-polish sentences.

Plain language wins:

• Short sentences.
• Clear verbs.
• Concrete nouns.

Your writing should sound like a thoughtful student explaining their work to another student, not like a legal document.

Mistake 4: Hiding behind buzzwords instead of metrics

Words like “motivated” or “driven” show intention, not results. They are fine, but they are weak on their own.

Swap them for small, real numbers:

• “I led a team” → “I led a team of 5 volunteers that ran 3 events with 80+ students each.”
• “I improved engagement” → “Click-through rate increased from 2.1 percent to 4.7 percent.”
• “I built features” → “I shipped 4 small features over 8 weeks, each used by at least 50 users weekly.”

Those are the sentences that belong where the cover letter used to live.

Putting it all together: your new default application stack

When you see a role posting now, think in this checklist, not in “Oh no, I need a cover letter.”

Your default stack for most student and early career applications

• Resume: one page, targeted to the role.
• Short note: role-specific, 4 to 7 sentences in the message box or email.
• Evidence page: portfolio / GitHub / doc, linked clearly.
• One small custom work sample if the role is high-priority.

If the portal formally asks for a cover letter file, use:

• Your short note as the base.
• Convert your strongest 2 project blurbs into one “evidence” paragraph.
• Add a brief closing paragraph.

Treat the cover letter as a container, not the product. The real product is the proof that sits inside it: your projects, your thinking, and your results.

At some point, sitting in a crowded lecture hall, I realized that every student around me had some version of “hard-working and passionate” on their resume. The students who kept getting callbacks were the ones who had clearly done work that resembled the job already, at a club, a tiny startup, or just for fun.

The death of the traditional cover letter did not remove a hurdle. It just revealed the real one: can you show, quickly and clearly, how you will help this specific team do better work?