Top Tips for Your Cover Letter

Updated February 27, 20241.6k

These cover letter tips can help you write a strong letter that can impress a hiring manager.

Cover Letter Tips

Cover letters are complex documents that need to say a lot with very little space. When you have less than a page to go through everything that a job posting might want from you, it’s easy to wonder what you should actually include in your cover letter. The good news is that it’s actually easy to write the best cover letter for a specific job posting with just a few tips. Here are some cover letter writing tips you can use for any cover letter format.

Do I Really Need Tips to Write a Cover Letter?

It’s always a good idea to take some tips on cover letter writing from the experts. Whether you’re trying to understand a cover letter closing paragraph or trying to show off your qualifications to best effect, these tips make it more likely that you’ll get the results you’re looking for with a truly great cover letter. Cover letter tips can turn a good cover letter into a perfect cover letter, and that’s what you’re really looking for.

Top Cover Letter Tips

With these four cover letter tips, you can create a cover letter that really catches a hiring manager’s eye:

1. Research the company before you write the letter.
Before you ever write your cover letter, you should first learn about the company culture, which will help you understand what the company is looking for in job seekers. Visit the company website, look through the company’s social media presence, and get a feel for the company’s goals, culture, strengths and challenges.

2. Make sure your cover letter fits the job application.
Tailoring your cover letter to a specific job is crucial. Read the job posting thoroughly and pick out important skills and qualifications the employer is looking for. Then put together a list of your own skills, experiences and achievements that address these needs.This will form the backbone of your cover letter.

3. Be specific about why you’re perfect for this role.
You want to convince the hiring manager that you’re the best person for the position. To do that, list specific transferable skills from your skill set and talk about specific achievements and experiences. Specificity is key, especially because it can help you get through the applicant tracking systems (ATS) and to an actual hiring manager.

4. Make sure your cover letter complements your resume.
It’s also important that your cover letter and your resume work together in terms of content and style. Make sure they use a similar color scheme and design, and make sure your cover letter isn’t just a carbon copy of your resume – it should expand on the details you provide in your resume.

Making Sure Your Cover Letter Looks Amazing

Besides these top tips, here’s some more specific ways you can make your cover letter looks amazing to a recruiter:

Use the right salutation.

You never want to use an overly generic salutation, like “Dear sir or madam,” “To whom it may concern,” or even “Dear hiring manager” if possible. Your opening paragraph should start with the hiring manager’s name. You can use their full name or just their last name.
Update the resume header.

Your resume header needs to have your full name, contact information like your phone number, and any portfolio of professional networking links you have, such as your LinkedIn. Before you go out and start applying, look through your resume header and make sure it’s up to date.
Proofread your application.

You should never submit any job application that you haven’t proofread. Typos are one of the first elements that can make a hiring manager skip over your resume. Use spell check to make sure the resume looks great.
Use a cover letter builder.

A cover letter builder can help you with the cover letter design and format, and also give you great job-specific writing tips. Use the ResumeNerd cover letter builder if you’re unsure about creating your own cover letter.

FAQ: Cover Letter Tips

How long do I need to make my cover letter?

Most cover letter examples will be between half a page and 3/4 of a page. That’s usually between 250-350 words. This gives you enough space to get through all the important information while also being brief enough that the hiring manager actually reads it. Never make your cover letter longer than a page.

What are the best formats for saving and sending a cover letter?

The first thing you should do is check if the company has a specific preference. Some companies prefer that you submit in a certain file type. If there’s no preference listed, then most experts suggest sending your letter in PDF format, as this will preserve the document’s style and fonts, no matter what computer it’s being read on.

What information do I need to include in a cover letter?

The specific information that you include in your cover letter will vary. Look at the job description and analyze it for keywords, including qualifications, skills, work experience, and personal traits. From there, you’ll be more attuned to the elements the recruiter is likely looking for. If you need more help, check the How to Write a Cover Letter page on the ResumeNerd website.

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About The Author

Cindi Cervone Carlson

Cindi Cervone Carlson is a Senior Vice President for Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. Cindi is responsible for developing, delivering, and implementing a dynamic, world-class organization dedicated to delivering outplacement consulting, training, support, and executive coaching. Cindi started her career at Challenger as a client who had lost her job. Over the past nine years, she has risen from an entry-level, part-time professional to Senior Vice President.