The way a cover letter looks is as important as its content. It must look professional and be designed appropriately in order to grab a busy hiring manager’s attention. That’s where templates come in.
Templates help you make sure your cover letter is:
Appropriate for the industry and job you seek.
Suitable and consistent with your resume.
Properly formatted, short and sweet, and error-free.
Benefits of a cover letter template
Cover letter templates save you time and ease the stress of writing a cover letter because they:
Help you structure your letter.
Identify the key elements of a cover letter.
Guide you through the steps of creating a cover letter.
How to select a cover letter design template
While every cover letter requires that you apply the same writing best practices and basic formatting, your choice of a cover letter design hinges on whether it’s the best fit for your job search, so we suggest you “try on” different templates until you find the best fit for each job you apply to.
Consider these questions when making your choice:
What industry are you in?
It’s important that your cover letter template makes sense for your industry. So someone applying for a role as a legal assistant at an established law firm should choose an understated design to align with the conventional legal field. By the same token, a graphic designer applying for a job at a hip design firm would do well to use a more colorful template.
What kind of work are you looking for?
Use your cover letter to let the employer know you’re familiar with the job requirements and that you’re up to the task. Choosing a cover letter design that matches your well-chosen resume template will help frame your letter so that your message is clear.
What kind of image do you want to present?
Your cover letter should convey deep knowledge of the organization’s culture and indicate that you’re a strong fit. To that end, you wouldn’t use the same cover letter template for a job at the Department of Motor Vehicles as you would for a position at a tech start-up.
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How to align your cover letter with your resume
When choosing a cover letter template based on a job title or industry, it’s important that you choose a design that matches your resume template closely. Doing so will make your application uniform. A cohesive application conveys that you are serious about the position.
When aligning your cover letter and resume, keep in mind the following:
Color: If you choose to use a pop of color, make sure it is the same exact color for both. And if you don’t use color on your resume, then don’t use one on your cover letter. Mixing it up looks sloppy.
Style: Your resume and cover letter designs don’t have to be identical, but they should look similar. For example, if you choose a Modern resume template, you should use a Modern cover letter template. That way, you can be sure the margins, fonts, and layout will match, and your job application will be polished and professional.
Header: It’s vital that your resume and cover letter headers have identical information so that the hiring manager can easily remember you and contact you for an interview. That means you have to use the same version of your name, address, e-mail and telephone number. If you include links to a professional social media account and website on your resume then you have to include it on your cover letter, too.
Resume Now offers a variety of professional, attention-grabbing cover letter designs that can be customized easily for a wide range of job titles and industries.
Cover letter templates by job title
Cover Letter Templates by Industry
- Accounting and Finance
- Administrative Support
- Architecture
- Art Fashion and Design
- Automotive
- Aviation
- Banking and Financial Services
- Beauty and Spa
- Biotech
- Business
- Chemical Engineering
- Childcare
- Community and Public Service
- Customer Service
- Dental
- Education and Training
- Education
- Engineering
- Entertainment and Media
- Fashion
- Fitness and Nutrition
- Food and Beverage
- Funeral Services
- Government
- Healthcare
- Hospitality
- Human Resources
- Humanities and Liberal Arts
- Installation and Maintenance
- Insurance
- Law Enforcement and Security
- Legal
- Library
- Management
- Manufacturing and Production
- Marketing Advertising and PR
- Military
- Natural Resources and Agriculture
- Nursing
- Performing Arts
- Pharmaceutical
- Pharmacy
- Psychology
- Real Estate
- Retail
- Sales
- Science
- Skilled Trades
- Social Sciences
- Sports
- Telecommunications and Wireless
- Tourism
- Transportation and Distribution
- Travel and Hospitality
- Veterinary
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4 tips to personalize a cover letter template
Once your cover letter is designed, you need to customize it. Here are four key ways to make your letter more attractive to employers:
Do your research and prove it by demonstrating your interest.
Describe how you can support the mission and values of the organization, and mention a specific task you can do to help them reach their goals. For example, if you’re a sales associate with a track record of meeting sales targets, you should mention a specific example using numbers to highlight your achievements.
Match your skills and experiences with the job’s requirements.
Addressing the duties and skills listed in the job description and giving real examples of your qualifications demonstrates you are qualified for the job. For example, if you’re applying to be an editorial assistant and the job requires strong copy-editing skills and you were the copy editor of your school newspaper, then mention that experience.
Include relevant keywords from the job description.
Many companies use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to scan cover letters for relevant keywords to the job. If you don’t have them, your resume won’t make it to the hiring manager. Choose words from the job description that closely match your goals and experience, and place them strategically in your objective or summary statement, experience section, and your list of relevant skills.
Add a “call to action” closing statement.
End your cover letter with an invitation to interview with the employer — it conveys confidence. But be careful not to boast! Simply writing a statement such as “I look forward to meeting to discuss my qualifications” is enough.
FAQ
What should a cover letter include?
Every cover letter is unique to the job seeker and to the job at hand, but you must always include these four fundamental sections: a greeting, a strong opening, body content, and a professional closing.
How long should my cover letter be?
Your document should never exceed one page; any longer and busy hiring managers will likely not read it.
How should I format my cover letter?
There are four best practices every cover letter should follow:
Header: Your cover letter should contain a header with your full name and contact information, LinkedIn URL, and links to your work (if applicable).
Distinguishing design elements: Separate the header from the content of your letter by using design elements like color, a larger font size, or simple bold and underline styling.
Font size: Best practices for cover letter formatting state the font size for the rest of your cover letter should be between a 10- and 12-point font and the margins should be one inch.
Paragraph breaks: Separate the body text with clear paragraph breaks. In some cases, you may want to use bullet points to quickly communicate key points.
Can I use the same cover letter templates for every job I apply to?
Yes! You can use the same cover letter templates as starting points for any job you’d like to apply to. However, it’s essential to then customize each template to reflect the skills and experience in each job posting.