How to Write a Cover Letter: Telling Your Story with Purpose

Applying for roles in the creative industries; whether in film, design, publishing, theatre, advertising, gaming, or the arts, often means competing with people who are just as talented and enthusiastic as you. A great portfolio or CV is essential, but there’s one document that can shift the balance in your favour: a well-crafted cover letter.

In any sector, but especially the creative-industries, a cover letter isn’t just a formality; it’s your first opportunity to demonstrate your voice, your values, and your creative thinking. It’s also where you connect the dots between your experience, the role, and the organisation’s mission. Here’s how to write one that stands out for the right reasons.

Start with the Job Pack

In creative work, responding to a brief is half the job. In this case, the job pack (or job description) is your brief.
Before you write anything, break down the job pack into three key areas:

1. What the role requires (skills, knowledge, responsibilities)
2. The organisation’s history, impact, and values (their tone, mission, creative style)
3. What the organisation is trying to achieve (projects, audiences, challenges)

Make a shortlist of the skills and experiences you have that correspond with each area. This becomes the spine of your cover letter. Being explicit about how you meet the brief shows that you understand the assignment and can translate it into clear, purposeful writing; an essential skill in almost every creative job.

Complete a Creative Skills Audit to help with this step for future cover letters.

Tailor Your Skills and Experience, don’t Just List Them

Rather than just listing your skills, a cover letter is your chance to elaborate. Shout about your achievements, and provide evidence of how you’ve used each skill or context about how you’ve developed it. Be as specific as possible; this all helps to build the recruiter’s trust in your ability to do the job.

Instead of:

“I have strong communication skills.”

Try something like:

“In my role as a production assistant, I coordinated weekly cross-department meetings, translating technical updates into exactly what staff and crew members needed to know each day; an approach that strengthened collaboration and helped the project stay on schedule.”

This turns a generic skill into a concrete example, giving your reader a story rather than a statement. It also subtly demonstrates problem-solving, teamwork, and clarity; all highly desirable in creative settings.

Show Your Transferable Skills (They Matter More Than You Think)

Creative industries often attract candidates from diverse backgrounds. Even if you’re pivoting from a different sector—or you’re early in your career—your transferable skills are far more relevant than you might realise.

Think about the core competencies creative teams rely on:

• Resourcefulness
• Organisation
• Collaboration
• Critical thinking
• Storytelling
• Adaptability
• Empathy

You can have gained these from hospitality, retail, volunteering, education, admin work, side projects, or hobbies. What matters is how you connect those experiences to the job pack.

For example:

“Working in a Front Of House role at The Little Theatre taught me how to stay calm under pressure and problem-solve in real time, working to balance customer safety and ensuring that the show could commence on time. These are skills I’d bring to the fast-moving environment of a live production team for Beacon Festival.”

Transferability isn’t about stretching the truth; it’s about recognising the value of what you’ve already done.

Explain Why You Want This Job (Not Just Any Creative Job)

One of the biggest missed opportunities in cover letters is vague enthusiasm:

“I’ve always wanted to work in the creative industries.”

Instead, be specific. Think of this section as a pitch that answers:

• What about this organisation excites you?
• What creative values do you share with them?
• Why do you want to contribute to these projects?
• How does this role fit into your creative journey?

Maybe you admire their storytelling approach, their audience focus, their bold design language, or their commitment to a particular mission. Maybe the role gives you the chance to build skills you’ve been developing independently. Show them this opportunity isn’t random; it’s intentional.

A practical note:

If any logistical details aren’t readily apparent from your CV, be sure to list them in the cover letter (and in the initial application form/email). E.g. if your CV shows only Manchester experience but you’re looking to relocate to Leeds, make sure you specify this. Otherwise, a recruiter might think you just haven’t read the job pack properly.

Articulate What You Hope to Learn

Creative industries value growth. They know that curiosity drives great work.

When you express what you hope to learn, you’re showing:

• Self-awareness
• Drive
• Teachability
• A long-term investment in the field

For example:

“I’m eager to deepen my experience in editorial writing, especially in shaping content for young audiences; an area your team excels in and one I’m excited to learn from.”

This positions you as someone who will both contribute and evolve, which is compelling for employers.

Talk About Your ‘Why’: The Creative Spark Behind the CV

Here’s where many cover letters fall flat: they tell an employer what someone has done, but not why they create in the first place.

Your “why” is your creative identity. It’s the emotional centre of your letter.

Ask yourself:

• What motivates me to make things?
• What themes, values, or ideas run through my work?
• Why do I choose this medium, this industry, this audience?
• What do I want my creative contribution to be?

Then weave it into a short, authentic insight. For example:

“Storytelling has always been how I make sense of the world; whether through short films, community projects, or the way I visually document everyday moments. I’m drawn to work that helps people feel seen, understood, or inspired.”

This isn’t a bio; it’s a glimpse into who you are as a creative person. Employers aren’t just hiring skills; they’re hiring people who have emotions and interests.

Offer Enough Personal Insight—But Keep It Relevant

Creative industry cover letters allow more personality than corporate ones, but balance is crucial.

A few tips:

• Share personal experiences only if they relate to the role or your creative motivation.
• Show passion without oversharing.
• Use a friendly, human tone; but maintain professionalism.
• Let your creative mindset shine through your word choices and structure, not gimmicks.

A good cover letter feels like a conversation where the reader gets a sense of both your competence and your character.

In Summary:

Your Cover Letter is a Story About You + the Role. A strong creative-industry cover letter answers three big questions:

1. Can you do the job? — skills, examples, transferable experience
2. Do you understand this job? — tailored responses to the job pack
3. Who are you as a creative person? — your values, your “why,” your ambitions

When these come together, the result is a cover letter that is personalised and showcases the best of you.