Cover Letters Format, Samples and Template – Everything about Writing a Winning Cover Letter 

Before you apply for a job, you need to have a list of formalities prepared to be considered a candidate. The basic requirements are a resume, job application letter, and cover letter.

A cover letter is a one-page document listing your motivations and skills, by which a hiring manager will deem you suitable for a job, depending on the requirements.

In this article, you will learn all the necessary things to write the perfect cover letter and examples are listed to demonstrate how your cover letter should look like.

Purpose of a Cover Letter. 

As mentioned before, a cover letter is a one-page document usually consisting of three paragraphs that list your skills and explains your motivation for the job you’re applying for. Different employers have different requirements for job applications but normally attaching a cover letter with your resume is a standard condition. However, if it is not asked for, it’s advised to be prepared in case they ask for it later.

5 Parts of a Cover Letter

#1 The Date and the Contact:

There are two ways to submit your cover letter depending on what the job application states. You can submit a hard copy or send it in a soft copy.

For the digital copy, you don’t have to write your specific address, the example below shows the format for writing the date and information on a digitally written cover letter.

Date,
Your Name,
City, State,
Phone Number,
Email Address.

If you have to send a handwritten cover letter, the format is slightly different. You would have to write your specific address and the recipient’s exact address as well.

Date,
Your Name,
Your Address,
Your City, State, Zip Code,
Your Phone Number,
Your Email Address.

Hiring Manager’s Name,
Company Name,
Company Address,
Company City, State, ZIP Code.

#2 Greetings in a Cover Letter

Begin your cover letter by correctly addressing the enlisting supervisor. Knowing the supervisor’s name is better since you can directly address your cover letter to them. If it’s not listed on the company website, call their office and clarify that you would like to address your cover letter to the proper individual. It’s not vital to include Mr., Mrs. or Ms. since you could be wrong about their marital status or sexual orientation, just utilize their first or last name, and begin with: “Dear Indie Bells.”

If you can’t discover the enlisting manager’s title, adhere to “Dear Hiring Manager.” instead of “Dear Sir/Madam” or “To Whom It May Concern.”

#3 Opening of the Cover Letter

The opening passage is your chance to capture the hiring manager’s consideration, present yourself passionately to the manager as to why you’re applying for this particular job. You’ll need to create this section particular to each job posting you apply for, don’t use the same opening paragraph for every cover letter.  Incorporate why you’re energized around the work and the company, and how this job lines up together with your career objectives. Maintain a strategic distance from making this section sound conventional and bland. Be creative when writing the introduction but make sure it is professional and not childish.

If you happen to be applying through a reference, remember to mention it in your opening paragraph.

#4 Body of the Cover Letter

After you’ve presented an image of yourself it’s time to dive into your professional experience before this job and particular skills that make you an ideal candidate. In one or two sections, link the association between your past achievements and current goals that assure your capability to succeed in the position that you’re applying for. Think of these passages as a way to pitch yourself as the perfect coordinate for the part. Employers will have assessed your documents as of now, so refrain from rehashing points that you have already made before and instead incorporate subtle elements that more profoundly outline those highlights.

#5 The Conclusion

Since the closing paragraph is supposed, to sum up, the rest of your letter, you should thank the employers for their time and consideration. If you believe that they should be aware of anything from your past job, it is best to mention it in this paragraph. Lastly, you can add about looking forward to the next step in the hiring process.

Format of a Cover Letter:

#1 Courteous Closing and Your Signature

Sign off your letter with your first and last name. Following is a list of closings you should add before signing off the cover letter:

• • • • Sincerely
      • Regards
      • Best
      • Respectfully
      • Thank you
      • Thank you for your consideration

Refrain from using informal closings such as Cheers, Yours truly, Warm regards, and thanks a ton. They might cause the employer to think that you aren’t a serious candidate since professionally these closings aren’t used.

In case of submitting a hard copy of your cover letter, be sure to include your handwritten signature, along with your full name. It is advisable to add your signature in your soft copy as well, if possible.

#2 The Font

Choosing the correct font for your letter makes a difference, keep it simple and professional when it comes to font.

Select a clear font like Arial, Calibri, Verdana or something like that. Avoid the use of fancy or decorative fonts because many employers use software to sort out cover letters from other kinds of letters if sent digitally, and using fancy fonts might make difficult to detect keywords.

Make sure your text is readable to the naked eye, meaning it shouldn’t be too small or too large. Use a 10-12point size to achieve that goal.

#3 Space between the Words 

This might sound irrelevant but the spacing is very crucial when working on a cover letter. While typing your cover letter, be aware of the spacing of the words. Words too close or too far from the other look odd. Here’s how you can avoid this situation:

• • • • Use single spacing throughout
      • There should be space between all the paragraphs including contact information and greeting.

#4 Recommended Length of Cover Letter

Your cover letter shouldn’t be three pages long, it needs to be covered in one document as it’s supposed to briefly go over your skills, profession and anything necessary that the employer should know. If needed only then add an extra middle paragraph, otherwise keep it brief.

#5 Margins and Alignment

Frame your cover letter by using accurate measurements. Align your text to the left and use margins to fit the text in a particular space so it doesn’t look messy. Use a 1-inch margin and try your best to eliminate any irrelevant information so your cover letter is a one-page document.

#6 Format of the File

Make your cover letter on a word document and convert it to pdf once it’s completed. Your file name should be easy to understand and indicate that it’s a cover letter so managers can find it easily and not skip it. Your file name should be (First name) (last name) cover letter.

Following is a Cover Letter sample to help you get hang of the idea:

Sample of a Cover Letter

Jane Hemingway,
xxx-xx-xxxx,
[email protected],
April 5th, 2021

Dear Hiring Manager,

I have applied to the assistant director of the fashion marketing position at your company Xerox. I have a degree in advertising and marketing and for my specialization, I chose fashion marketing. It’s safe to say I love fashion and marketing side by side which is why I opted for this job.

My previous job was at a fashion magazine, Hoola, where I was in charge of selecting the content for the month according to the reader’s demand. My role contributed to the sales of the company, which served to be a very good experience for the career I wanted to pursue. I introduced new ideas of selecting content and participated in a collaboration with the IT department to create an online portal for readers to interact and share what they wanted to know about, which then we would produce for them. Similarly, I have received 2 awards for being the upcoming youngster in the fashion industry that could help business and set new trends in the marketing world.

My interest in your company is due to the latest fashion marketing conference, where the CEO of Xerox talked about business in the fashion industry and how it has an impact on many cultures and societies in the world, she talked about the effect of marketing correctly and how it could potentially influence many other industries and possibly aid in the creation of future trends that would be followed for years to come. I share the enthusiasm of your CEO and would like to help myself grow by working closely with like-minded people who share the same beliefs as I do.

Thank you for your time. I’m looking forward to hearing from you again.

Sincerely,
Jane Hemingway.