How to write a cover letter

A cover letter is a one-page letter sent with your resume. The resume lists what you have done; the letter explains why it fits this job at this company. CareerOneStop, run by the U.S. Department of Labor, notes that many employers don't ask for one. Send it when the posting requests it, when the application form has a field for it, when someone referred you, or when your background needs a sentence of context (a career change, a move, a gap).

1. Read the job posting twice and underline the requirements it repeats.
2. Research the company: its website, recent news, its LinkedIn page.
3. Set up the header and greeting, with a real name if you can find one.
4. Write an opening that names the job and gives one reason you fit.
5. Prove two or three requirements in the body, one example each.
6. Close with a next step, sign off, proofread and save as a PDF.

The letter answers the posting, so start there. Note the responsibilities, the must-have skills and the words the employer uses. Then spend ten minutes on the company: what it sells, what it just launched, what it says it values. Ask yourself:

• What problem is this hire meant to solve?
• Which of their requirements have I already met, and with what result?
• Why this company rather than its competitor down the street?

• Your header: name, phone, email, city and state, matching your resume.
• The date, then the hiring manager's name, title, company and address if you have them.
• The greeting: “Dear Ms. Carter:” or, without a name, “Dear Hiring Manager:”. Avoid “To Whom It May Concern”.
• Three or four paragraphs, aligned left, with no indents.
• The sign-off: “Sincerely,” then your typed name.

Use the same font and accent color as your resume: the two documents are read together.

Name the job, say how you found it (a referral is worth mentioning), and give the one reason you are a match. Skip the sentence that only restates the subject line.

Pick the two or three requirements the posting stresses and give one concrete example for each: what you did, how, and the result. Use different wording than your resume, and add what it cannot show: why this company, what you learned about it, how your experience connects to its goals.

Mention that your resume is attached, ask for an interview, say when you are available if your schedule is tight, and thank the reader. Then “Sincerely,” and your name. “Best regards,” also works in most industries.

One page, three or four short paragraphs. CareerOneStop puts a good letter at about 200 to 400 words. Kandiq's review aims for 900 to 2,600 characters: shorter adds nothing your resume doesn't say; longer spills onto a second page. More detail in how long a cover letter should be.

Without a work history, lean on what you have done elsewhere: a class project close to the job, a part-time or summer job, volunteering, a club you helped run. Each one proves a skill the posting asks for, such as reliability, customer contact or teamwork. For an internship, add your major, your graduation date and your availability. See a full letter in the internship cover letter.

CareerOneStop says it is fine to use AI to draft a cover letter from your resume and the posting, as long as you edit it so it reflects your own voice, skills and interest. Give it the full posting, not just the job title, and check every claim: a letter that invents a number or describes the profession instead of the job is easy to spot.

• The company name is right, and it appears in the body, not only in the header.
• The job title matches the posting.
• No placeholder or name from a previous letter is left.
• At least one number backs up your claims.
• It fits on one page.
• It is saved as a PDF named with your first and last name, unless the posting asks otherwise.

Read it out loud, then have someone else read it. Need inspiration first? Browse the cover letter examples.

The cover letter generator applies this method. Start from a blank page with the preview and review alongside, or from a first draft written by AI from the full posting and your resume. Your resume is the only source of facts it may use: when something is missing, the letter shows a [to complete] placeholder instead of an invented figure.

• A scored review, with no AI: length, company named in the body, posting terms, filler phrases, a number, placeholders left behind.
• Layouts that match your resume: same accent color, same font, no columns, no photo.
• One letter per job: duplicate the last one and paste the new posting.
• In English, Spanish or French. Writing and reviewing cost nothing; PDF download is part of Kandiq Pro ($2.99 for the first week, then $19.99 a month, or $29.97 every three months).