Cover Letter Desk

Concrete answers about cover letters: how to write one, the format, the length, what goes in it and when you need one, with sources and worked examples.

Articles

• How to Write a Cover Letter: Short Structure and Example
  How to write a cover letter in five steps, with one worked example letter and a line on what each paragraph does. Advice comes from named career centers.
• Cover Letter Format: Layout, Spacing and File Type
  How to format a cover letter: header, date, address, salutation, spacing, margins, font, sign-off and file type, with the range each university source gives.
• How Long Should a Cover Letter Be? One Page, and Why
  University career centers say one page, about three to five paragraphs. What each source recommends, what nobody has measured, and how to cut a long letter.
• What to Include in a Cover Letter: A Checklist With Examples
  What to include in a cover letter, item by item, with one example sentence each, plus what to leave out and why. Advice from Purdue OWL, Emory, Kent State and USF, plus what the EEOC says about employer questions.
• Do I Need a Cover Letter? A One-Minute Decision Guide
  Send one when the posting asks or says optional, skip it when told not to. What the surveys on cover letters measure, and what is Unknown.