Recruiters skim. Partners skim faster. Your letter is not a second resume. It is one page that answers three questions: why this office, why this firm, why you for this role.
If you cannot say those in 250–350 words, you do not have a letter yet. You have a vibe.
The only structure that works
Paragraph 1. The ask and the office. Role, office, one proof you actually know the place.
Paragraph 2. Why consulting, why this firm. One story with a number. One distinctive fact about the firm that is not "prestige" or "people".
Paragraph 3. Why you, and a close. One result they could put on a study. Then ask for 15 minutes, or say you will follow the portal. Stop.
No fourth paragraph. No "I am uniquely passionate." No quote from the values page.
A worked letter
Use this as a model, not a Mad Lib you paste with the brackets swapped.
Dear Ms. Okonkwo,
I am applying to the London office for a Business Analyst role. I spent last summer in Shoreditch working a grocery-margin project for a 40-store chain, and I want to stay in the office that actually staffs UK retail.
I want consulting because I like messy P&Ls more than I like clean lab results. On that grocery project I split contribution by banner and found £1.8m sitting in a private-label SKU the client was about to delist. I want BCG because the retail work I have seen from your London teams starts from the store P&L, not a slide about "omnichannel".
I can do the job. I led a four-person analysis, I presented to the CFO, and the SKU stayed. I would welcome 15 minutes with someone on the UK consumer team.
Sincerely, Amira Chen
Count the numbers: one office proof, one £1.8m, one outcome. Count the "I"s. That is the point.
Fill-in version, if you must
Dear [Name of a real person, or "Recruiting Team" if you truly have no name],
I am applying to [Office] for [Role]. I want this office because [one thing you did in that city, sector, or language, not "I studied abroad once"].
Why consulting: [one story, one number, one decision you owned]. Why [Firm]: [one distinctive proof. A study, an office, a staffing model. Not prestige].
Why me: [one result a partner would steal]. I would welcome 15 minutes with [team].
Sincerely, [Name]
If paragraph 2 has no number, it is not done.
What to cut
- "Ever since I was young"
- "Your people are the smartest in the room"
- A second page
- Repeating three resume bullets in prose
- "I am confident I would be a great fit"
- Name-dropping a coffee chat without a specific thing they said
Office line, with examples
Bad: "I want New York because it is the centre of business."
Better: "I want New York because I spent two years on a midtown PE deal team and I already know which offices staff consumer diligence."
Bad: "I want Munich because I speak German."
Better: "I want Munich because I wrote my thesis on German grocers and I can do the first-round case in German if that is useful."
After you write it
Read it out loud. If you would be embarrassed to slide it across a dinner table, rewrite. Then put the resume under it through the grader. A pretty letter on a soft resume still dies in the portal.