This guide is about applying for jobs in the UK.

You found a vacancy you want, the advert asks for a "letter of presentation", and you are not sure whether that is a different document from the cover letter you wrote last time. If your first language is not English, the answer matters, because the format you learned at home does not always travel.

The short version is reassuring: a letter of presentation, a motivation letter and a cover letter are close cousins, and one set of rules covers all three. The longer version, which is where the interviews are won and lost, is about adapting your home format to what a UK or English-language reader expects. That adaptation is what this guide is about.

If you want the full UK template first, our guide on how to write a cover letter covers the standard structure. This piece sits beside it for applicants writing across borders.

What Is a Letter of Presentation?

A letter of presentation is the one-page letter you send with your CV to introduce yourself and argue why you fit a role. It is the same document a UK advert calls a cover letter. The phrase is a near-literal translation of how the document is named across much of Europe, the French lettre de presentation, the Spanish carta de presentacion, the Italian lettera di presentazione, so you meet it most often on non-UK adverts and on roles posted by international employers.

Here is the part worth holding onto: when a UK advert asks for a cover letter and a continental advert asks for a letter of presentation, they want the same thing. The job of the letter does not change with the label. It argues, where the CV only lists.

So the question is rarely which document to write. It is which conventions to follow once you write it, and those conventions belong to the country you are applying in, not the country you trained in.

Letter of Presentation, Motivation Letter or Cover Letter?

Three names circulate, and applicants moving between countries tend to use them as if they were identical. Two of them are. The third has a real difference worth knowing.

Letter of presentation and cover letter are the same document under two names. Use the structure of a UK cover letter for both. If the advert is in English and based in the UK, write to UK convention regardless of which word it uses.

A motivation letter overlaps but tilts differently. A cover letter argues your fit for one specific job and draws its proof from your CV. A motivation letter explains why you want this role, this programme or this move, and it appears most in academic applications, scholarships, traineeships and EU institution roles. For a normal company vacancy, write a cover letter. When the advert genuinely asks for a motivation letter, lead with your reasons and your direction rather than a duty-by-duty match.

The practical test is simple. Ask what the reader most needs to be convinced of. A hiring manager filling a vacancy needs evidence you can do the work. An admissions tutor or a scholarship panel needs to understand why you, why this, and why now. Write to whichever question the advert is really asking.

Writing the Letter for a UK or English-Language Role

Whatever your advert calls the document, the same four-paragraph spine carries it. The difference for an applicant from abroad is less the structure and more the small conventions around it, the greeting, the sign-off, and what to leave out. We will take the structure first, then a worked example.

A Four-Paragraph Structure

Open the job posting before you write a word. The advert is your marking scheme, and every paragraph answers a question it raises.

Who you are and the role you want. Name the exact job title from the advert in your first line. Skip "I am writing to apply for", which spends your most-read sentence saying nothing. Lead with one reason you fit instead.
Why this employer. Name one specific, real detail about the organisation, a product, a market, a recent move. Generic admiration reads as no research at all.
Your evidence. Pick the two or three requirements where your proof is strongest, and answer each with a concrete result. Mirror the advert's own wording for skills, so both the reader and any screening software find the terms they are scanning for.
The close and sign-off. Restate your fit and availability, ask for a conversation, then sign off to British convention.

The British sign-off rule is strict and catches many applicants from abroad: use "Yours sincerely" when you address a named person, and "Yours faithfully" when you opened with "Dear Hiring Manager" or similar. "Kind regards" fits when the letter sits in the body of an email.

A Motivation Letter Example

Reading the structure is one thing. Seeing it on the page is another, especially when you are adapting from a home format. Here is a worked opening and close for a candidate applying from another country to a UK role.

A motivation letter opening

"For two years I have managed supplier relationships across three EU markets, cutting late deliveries by a quarter. The Logistics Coordinator role at your Manchester site is where I want to take that experience next, and your move into same-day fulfilment is exactly the challenge I am looking for."

An evidence paragraph

"Your advert asks for stakeholder reporting and fluent English alongside a second language. I report weekly to regional managers in English, and I run our supplier calls in both German and Polish. I would bring that directly to your cross-border team."

A close and sign-off

"I would welcome the chance to discuss how my cross-border experience fits your fulfilment plans. I am available for interview from 10 July and able to relocate. Yours faithfully, [full name], followed by phone and email."

Notice what the example does not do. It opens with no address block, no dense profile paragraph, and no formal third-person introduction, all of which are normal at home and out of place here. It names the role, gives evidence the advert asked for, and signs off the British way.

Where Applicants From Abroad Lose the Reader

Most of what trips up an international applicant is not language. It is carrying a home convention into a UK inbox, where it quietly signals "not adapted to here". A few patterns account for most of it.

A photo, date of birth or marital status. Standard on a CV and letter in parts of Europe, and best left off for UK applications.
A heavy formal register. Direct translations of continental formality can read as stiff. Aim for plain, confident English instead.
The wrong sign-off. "Yours sincerely" and "Yours faithfully" are not interchangeable in British usage. The rule depends only on whether you used a name.
An address block when applying by email. When the advert says apply by email, the letter becomes the email body. Drop the postal layout and put the role title in the subject line.
Translating, not rewriting. A word-for-word translation of your home letter rarely lands. Rewrite for the English reader, in the advert's own terms.

The fiddly part is that adapting a letter to each country and each role, then keeping it consistent with the CV behind it, is real work every single time. This is where many applicants reach for one fixed template and lose the per-role match. A tool that tailors both your CV and your letter to each advert keeps the two arguing for the same application, in the right language and register, without you reconciling them by hand. You still decide what the letter says. The tool makes saying it, fitted to the role, fast.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a letter of presentation?

A letter of presentation is the one-page letter sent with your CV to introduce yourself and argue why you fit a role. It is the same document UK adverts call a cover letter. The term is a direct translation of phrases like the French lettre de presentation or the Spanish carta de presentacion, so you will see it most on non-UK and European job adverts. When a UK advert asks for a cover letter, a letter of presentation is exactly what it means.

Is a motivation letter the same as a cover letter?

They overlap but are not identical. A cover letter argues your fit for one specific job and leans on evidence from your CV. A motivation letter explains why you want this role, programme or country, and is common for academic, scholarship and EU institution applications. For a standard company vacancy, write a cover letter. When the advert says motivation letter, lead with your reasons and your goals rather than a checklist of duties.

How long should a motivation letter be?

One page, the same as a cover letter. Aim for three to five short paragraphs that a busy reader will finish. Academic and scholarship applications sometimes allow a little more, so follow the advert's word limit when one is given. If you run long, cut the weakest reason rather than shrinking the margins.

Should I translate my motivation letter into English for a UK job?

Yes. Write it in the language of the advert. For a UK role that means English, and English spelling and sign-offs, not a direct translation of your home format. Do not open with your address block or a dense profile paragraph. Name the role early, give two or three pieces of evidence, and close with Yours sincerely or Yours faithfully depending on whether you have a name.

Conclusion: One Letter, Adapted to Where You Apply

A letter of presentation and a cover letter are the same document, and a motivation letter is its close relative that leans on your reasons rather than your evidence. Pick the emphasis the advert asks for, then write to the conventions of the country you are applying in, not the one you trained in.

Once the letter is right, the interview is the next craft. Our guide on how to write a cover letter has the full UK structure if you want to check your draft against it.

Applying across borders? Let your letter fit each one.

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