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How to Write a Great Cover Letter

Whether you’re fresh out of college and eager to enter the workforce, or you’re an experienced professional hoping to leap into something new, the job application process can be incredibly stressful, intimidating and disheartening – particularly, if you find you’re not getting a lot of feedback.

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While your resume will touch on the highlights of your experience and education, a great cover letter could be the difference between scoring an interview and having your application dragged over to the email trash bin. 

What Is the Purpose of a Cover Letter?

A cover letter is essentially a complement to your resume. A good one will “expand on the skills and accomplishments written in your resume” rather than just repeating the same information, says Laura Marenco, career coach at Golden Beacon USA, a company that helps immigrants and refugees in the United States acclimate to their new country.

It should also give any potential employer a sense of your personality and character. “The cover letter gives the employer a chance to get to know you and your interests and skills and how they align with the job,” she adds.

We know, all of this is easier said than done. To ensure you’re submitting nothing but the best, we spoke with Marenco and Eric Holmes, MS, faculty member in the composition department at Purdue University Global, to get their take on the dos and don'ts of a great cover letter. 

How to Structure a Cover Letter

When setting up your cover letter, Marenco suggests following some basic requirements:

It should be no more than a single page

Don’t cram everything in; leave some white space in the margins

Use standard fonts such as Times New Roman or Arial

According to Marenco, the structure of your cover letter should use this format: 

Contact Information and Date: Provide an e-mail address that sounds professional. If your email address is nugs420@stoner.net, consider creating a new email account that is better suited to applying for a job. 

Salutation: Marenco recommends trying to make this personal and formal by finding out the hiring manager’s name and then addressing them as Mr. or Ms. Try to avoid “To Whom It May Concern” or “Dear Sir or Madam” if possible.

Introductory Paragraph: Your first paragraph should include the following information and “convey your enthusiasm about the job.”

How you found out about the position

Why you are interested

What applicable experience you have 

The Sell - Descriptive Paragraphs (1 to 3): Once you have introduced yourself, convey the details about why you are the best candidate. “Highlight your accomplishments and skills using the keywords from the job announcement and examples.” 

Closing Paragraph: Here you should again stress “how you will benefit the company with your skills or expertise." This paragraph should also include a call to action by again providing your contact information. Marenco warns that offering to call the employer could be “misconstrued as pushy;” some companies may say not to call in the job announcements. 

Signature: This is just simply your name, which you can sign if you are mailing the cover letter. Although, you probably won’t be mailing it because it’s 2019. 

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What to Include in a Cover Letter

Marenco says hiring managers tend to skim through the cover letter before even getting to your resume, so cover letters “are more of an introduction than a complete retelling of your career path.”

The first step you should take is to look for keywords or requirements in the job description that you can include in the cover letter. Then, select “two or three skills or accomplishments that specifically support those requirements,” says Marenco. “You do not need to include everything.”

“A lot of applicants (and especially entry-level ones) get caught up in the most basic requirements” that are “the bare essentials” that anyone competing for the job will meet, says Holmes, who specializes in teaching a variety of writing, communication and professional courses at Purdue University Global.  

“Addressing them in a cover letter is a waste of effort,” he adds. “Applicants who address those qualifications might as well state that they are carbon-based lifeforms while they are at it.”

Holmes and Marenco both emphasize that you should include specific examples to help state your case. For example, if a job posting lists that the ideal applicant "Must have excellent time management skills"  Holmes says you can provide a response, similar to the one below, to explain how you meet the qualification:

“I am excellent at managing my time and responsibilities, as I routinely work at several schools teaching several different courses simultaneously without conflict or delay in completing my work or fulfilling my duties.”

“Anyone can make any statement but the evidence (examples, etc.) makes the statement valid,” says Holmes. 

What to Leave Out of a Cover Letter

Marenco says you should leave out salary, benefits and other requirements such as working remotely. Save those discussions for later in the job application process.

“Citing these requirements in a cover letter makes it seem that you are only interested in what you can get out of the employer,” she adds. “Remember to emphasize how you will benefit the company, not how the company will benefit you.” Marenco says this applies even if salary requirements are listed in the job description, because you don’t want to lose out on a job before even making it to an interview. 

Holmes offered the following example as a no-no on a cover letter: This position is a perfect fit for both my career and personal goals.

“An employer that an applicant has no connection to doesn't care about the career and personal goals of a complete stranger,” he says. “Instead, applicants need to focus on themselves in respect to what the employer is looking for: the specific skills/education/training that the position requires.” 

Holmes also says to avoid the words/phrases “believe, think, feel, and capable of,” which he described as “weak, conditional statements.” He provided the following examples:

“‘I believe that I will be an asset to the company.’ What you believe doesn’t matter to your potential employer until you are hired and prove yourself. Until then, own the statement to give it clout: ‘I will be an asset to the company.’

“‘I think that I have the experience needed to thrive in this job.’” This makes it sound like you are uncertain of your experience. Again, own the statement: ‘I have the experience needed to thrive in this job.’

“‘I feel that I will be successful in this role.’ Your feelings are of no consequence to your potential employer. Make a confident statement: ‘I will be successful in this role.’

“‘I am capable of being an excellent employee.” Capability is not a guarantee of success. Own it: ‘I am an excellent employee.’”

Proofreading a Cover Letter

Once you think you have your cover letter complete, read it again and then take it to a family member or friend to proofread and review. By the time you are done writing your cover letter, you will have been looking at it for so long that you might overlook a mistake. A fresh set of eyes will help avoid that. 

Online Cover Letter Templates

You can find plenty of cover letter templates, both free and paid, by simply entering “cover letter” into a search engine. But be warned – hiring managers can also easily Google the same thing and have enough experience to know when they are looking at a copy. 

It’s OK to use these templates as a guide, but never copy anything you see word for word. With the guidance of our experts have provided, writing a cover letter should be simple enough without having to cheat.

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Ed Virgin, Khareem Sudlow