HR Generalist cover letter example
A strong hr generalist cover letter connects your best results to what the employer needs, in under a page. The example below is written from the same sample career as our hr generalist resume example, so you can see how a letter and resume work together. Swap in your own facts.
A fictional, illustrative example - not a real person, employer or result.
HR Generalist cover letter sample
Dear Hiring Manager,
Please accept my application for the HR Generalist opening at [Company Name]. I am an HR generalist with 6 years of experience supporting 450 employees across operations, sales and engineering.
In my current role as HR Generalist at Summit Freight Co., I redesigned onboarding for 120 hires a year, cutting 90-day attrition from 18% to 7%. I also handled 40+ employee relations cases a year, closing 95% within 30 days and none escalating to litigation.
Before that, as HR Coordinator at Bluestem Health Partners, I coordinated benefits open enrollment for 300 employees, answering 200+ questions in a two-week window. The skills I would bring to [Company Name] include Workday and BambooHR; onboarding program design; and employee relations and investigations.
Thank you for reading my application. I would be glad to walk you through this work in more detail and learn more about the role.
Sincerely,
Alicia Moreno
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How to write a hr generalist cover letter
- 1. Open with the role and your strongest match
Name the job and the company, then sum up who you are in one sentence, as the sample does: “I am an HR generalist with 6 years of experience supporting 450 employees across operations, sales and engineering.”
- 2. Prove it with one or two results
Pick the achievements that matter most for this employer and keep the numbers. For a hr generalist, a result like “Redesigned onboarding for 120 hires a year, cutting 90-day attrition from 18% to 7%.” says more than a list of duties.
- 3. Show the skills the posting asks for
Mention the tools and skills from the job description that you genuinely have, for example: Workday and BambooHR; Onboarding program design; Employee relations and investigations; FMLA, ADA and I-9 compliance.
- 4. Close with a clear next step
Thank the reader and say you would welcome a conversation. Keep the whole letter to one page.
Mistakes to avoid
- !Repeating your resume line by line instead of choosing the two results that matter most for this job
- !Opening with "I am writing to express my interest" - start with the role and why you fit
- !Sending the same letter to every employer without naming the company or the role
- !Listing duties like "handled HR queries" without a result
Frequently asked questions
- How long should a cover letter be?
- Between 250 and 400 words on one page: an opening, one or two paragraphs of evidence and a short close.
- Who should I address it to?
- Use the hiring manager’s name when you can find it. Otherwise “Dear Hiring Manager” or “Dear [Company] Hiring Team” is fine.
- Do I need a cover letter if it is optional?
- Yes, when you can tailor it. A short, specific letter is one of the easiest ways to stand out from applicants who skip it.
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