Build your cover letter

A cover letter is part of a resume that concisely presents more information about you as an applicant. A good cover letter has several short paragraphs, shows your interest in the job and any relevant experience you have. As you discover how to write a cover letter, we have some answers to commonly asked questions.

The type of cover letter you use depends on the job description, the company at which you are applying and your personal goals. As you revise your cover letter, highlight your knowledge about the company’s mission, values and culture, and show how you fit into their long-term vision.

An application letter is not always required for job applications. However, looks more professional and shows effort on the applicant’s part. There are four types of cover letters:

1. Value proposition letter: this gives a summary of why you are unique and is similar to the “tell me about yourself” interview question.
2. Letter of interest: this type of letter shows that you are interested in working for a company even if they don’t have current open positions, and shows why you are qualified and an asset.
3. Referral: this format is ideal when you know someone at the company who referred you to the position.
4. Application: the most common cover letter, this provides details about relevant experience and education, and allows you to delve into things that aren’t appropriate in a resume.

A cover letter is important for a job application because it gives more insight into your personality and qualifications than are listed on your resume. It’s an important tool to present yourself as an asset to the company. A great cover letter helps you stand out from the competition when a hiring manager may go through hundreds of applications for each job.

Your cover letter is the initial introduction a company has of you. If it’s well-written and covers your most important strengths, it may propel you to the top of the applicant pool. It emphasizes your core competencies to catch the hiring manager’s attention.

A good job letter also shows personality. Because of space constraints, resumes can often be blunt and to the point with no room for the reader to get a sense of your personality. Therefore, your cover letter highlights the personality traits that make you a good candidate. These traits include things like being self-motivated, a good leader or organized. In your cover letter, elaborate on why you want to make an employment change and why this opportunity is for you.

You can also show your passion for the industry or job. A well-written cover letter emphasizes your understanding of the company’s vision and how you fit into it. A powerful letter shows how the company benefits from your impact.

Finally, a cover letter highlights your writing ability. Employers value those who can articulate their thoughts in writing, and this shows excellent communication skills.

A good cover letter is both formatted and flexible. Using cover letter templates can help ensure that you get the right information across to the hiring manager, but it’s still important to adjust and tailor each letter to the specific job application.

Heading: This section should include your name, physical address, phone number and email address. Furthermore, you can use a professional email and include links to an online portfolio, your professional website or relevant social media sites.

Salutation: If you know the name of the hiring manager, use it for a personalized touch. If not, a generic "Dear Hiring Manager" can suffice.

Opening Statement: The first paragraph is an strong opening statement about who you are, what job you want and when you are available. You can skip specific details like the company name in this section.

Company Alignment: Here, dive into why you're drawn to the particular company and the role. Emphasize your passion for the industry and how you see yourself contributing to the organization's goals.

Motivation: The third paragraph is for motivating why you believe you are the best candidate for the job. Here, mention any relevant experience you’ve had, and why you will excel in this job. While your past employment and education are included in your resume or CV, this is the place to add one or two experiences that stand out and make you a good candidate. 

Conclusion: The final paragraph is an outro, and should stay simple and concise. Mention your attached resume, specify where and when you can be reached, and mention that you’d love the chance to discuss the opportunity more.

Using cover letter and resume templates is a great way to get a basic outline to start and takes save a lot of time as all the formatting is taken care for you. However, it is highly recommended that your cover letter should be customized and tailored for each specific job and role that you're applying for.

A personal cover letter shows you’ve done your research on the company and the position and it provides you with a great opportunity to stand-out from the rest of the competition.

There are several ways to make a cover letter more personal. One way is to connect your personal value to the company’s values. This requires time and research on your part. Read the website and browse their social media profiles to get an idea of what is important to them. Some companies value the bottom line while others focus on their long-term effects on the world, and if you understand that, you can tie your personal values and work ethic into their goals. 

When possible, use the hiring manager or recruiter’s name. Not only does this personalize your letter, it also ensures that your application goes to the right person. 

Share your professional goals. Discuss how the job directly impacts your career path and what you’ve done to create a solid foundation. Pinpoint how the job you’re applying for matches your long-term goals and how you will be an asset to the company.

As you do research to personalize your cover letter, you learn more about every company. This can also give you insight into companies that you don’t want to work for, whose values don’t align with yours.

Jobseeker offers CV and resume examples, as well as templates for resumes, CVs and cover letters. Our tool is easy to use and has several free options. Simply click Get Started on our website and click on create a new cover letter to begin.

You can choose from a formal letter, or email and digital text. Input a photo if you choose, your personal information, email address and phone number. There is a spot to fill in the recipient, the date and subject, the introduction, your current job situation, what your motivation is for the job and a closing paragraph. These spots include drop downs that help guide you through the creating process.

Simply fill in these spots and our tool will populate the cover letter. Choose from 12 different styles including Elegant, Professional, Modern and Simple. Adjust the font, size and color to create a cover letter that reflects your goals and personality. 

Jobseeker also allows you to digitally attach a signature, upload your resume and create a custom paragraph for any other information you want to add. This tool is available in a variety of languages and can be downloaded (in PDF format) or printed. You can use the same template to personalize a cover letter each time you apply for a new job.

Our convenient tool allows you to not only choose your format, spacing and font, but you can also move each section to where you feel is appropriate. To change the order, simply hover over the section and click the six dots to the left of the text. Use the mouse to move the section where you want it. 

While our examples and templates are a good guideline, we recognize that ultimately it’s your opinion that matters most. We recommend that your personal details, date and subject, recipient and introduction remain in the order we’ve provided, but ultimately you can change the order to fit the job.

Our system mimics that of other word processing programs (such as Google Docs and Microsoft Word) to make it easy to use. Within the Introduction section, our system guides you to choose between four types of applications: open application, response to ad in newspaper or magazine, response to online ad, and other. 

Once you’ve chosen from the dropdowns in each section, the text automatically populates on the cover letter. Our text gives you a starting point, but you can edit any information to match your purposes. As each paragraph is added and you make edits, read through the information and check that your tone and writing style match.

Once your cover letter is done and all applicable fields are filled in, you can download the document as a PDF and send it along with your resume or CV to the recruiter or hiring manager. We also offer an option to receive the cover letter as a plain email if that option works for you.

When writing your cover letter, don’t forget to attach your resume before you send it to the hiring manager or recruiter. Proofread your cover letter every time you change it, and browse our samples to find a professional tone with appropriate language.

When it comes to cover letter, resume and CV templates and resume templates, we have many great options to choose from. However, ease-of-use is where our builder shines above the rest. We strive to keep Jobseeker’s tools updated and customized to match your needs. The benefits of using Jobseeker include the following:

• Our user-friendly interface makes the creation process simple for those with basic technology experience.
• Our tool allows you to build a cover letter, CV or resume in more than 20 languages.
• We provide diverse options when it comes to templates, with more than ten styles to choose from.
• We allow you to adjust your text, font and spacing to be more exciting, which helps you create an eye-catching cover letter.
• With our easy formatting tool it is simple to add, remove or move various sections.
• When you use Jobseeker, you can match your cover letter template to your CV or resume template.

As you browse resume, cover letter and CV examples on our website, you can run through our cover letter maker to see for yourself how easy it is to use, and how quickly we can help you create an eye-catching, attention-grabbing cover letter. Present your best professional image with a well-written, personalized cover letter created with the the Jobseeker tool.

The appropriate length of a cover letter can vary depending on the position and industry, but as a general guideline, it is recommended to keep it concise and focused. A well-crafted cover letter typically ranges from 250 to 400 words. It is important to remember that hiring managers often have limited time to review applications, so it is best to convey your qualifications and enthusiasm in a clear and succinct manner. Instead of writing lengthy paragraphs, aim to highlight your most relevant strengths and accomplishments, using bullet points or short sentences. By keeping your cover letter within this word count range, you can ensure that it remains engaging and impactful without overwhelming the reader with excessive information.