How do you write a cover letter with no work experience?

The four paragraphs

1. Opening (2 sentences): the role title, where you saw it, and one specific reason this employer — a product, a program, a market they serve. Not "I am passionate about your mission."
2. Evidence (3–4 sentences): one story with a number in it. Scheduled 14 volunteers across a 300-person event. Cut a lab process from 40 minutes to 25. Handled 60 customers a shift with a 98% accuracy audit.
3. Fit (2–3 sentences): quote the top requirement from the posting and connect your evidence to it directly.
4. Close (1–2 sentences): when you can start, and that you'd welcome a conversation. No begging, no apologizing for inexperience.

What counts as experience when you think you have none

• Capstone and group projects — scope, team size, deliverable, outcome.
• Part-time and seasonal work — volume, accuracy, speed, responsibility, customer counts.
• Campus roles — RA, orientation leader, club treasurer, tutoring, student government.
• Volunteering and family business work — real work is real work.
• Self-taught tools — a spreadsheet model, a dashboard, a small site, a certification.

Lines to delete every time

• "Although I lack experience…" — never open by arguing against yourself.
• "I am a hard-working team player with excellent communication skills." — unverifiable filler.
• "To whom it may concern" — use the hiring manager's name, the team name, or the company name.
• Anything restating the résumé line by line.

Do you even need one?

Send one when the posting asks for it, when you're applying to a small employer where a human reads everything, or when you're being referred. Skip it for high-volume portal applications that mark it optional and give you no field for it — that time is better spent tailoring the résumé, which is the document that actually gets screened.