What Is the Purpose of a Cover Letter & Why It’s Important

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Table of contents

Why are cover letters important?
How to make your cover letter more effective

Why are cover letters important?

The main purpose of a cover letter is to complement your resume and explain why you’re the best fit for the role. Cover letters showcase your skills and qualifications by expanding on points made in your resume. They remain an essential part of any job search.

Cover letters should:

Show recruiters that you’ve researched the company and are enthusiastic about the position.
Discuss how your skills can be useful to the organization, citing quantifiable metrics.
Expand on key skills and experiences listed in your resume.
Explain certain weak points in your resume, such as a noticeable career gap.
Catch the attention of employers and encourage them to read your resume.

If you aren’t sure what to write, consider using a Cover Letter Builder. You’ll find auto-generated paragraphs based on your work experience and skills, making overcoming the blank page much easier. Our cover letter examples might give you ideas, too.

Now that you understand the purpose of a cover letter let’s talk about how to make it impactful.

How to make your cover letter more effective

For your cover letter to serve its purpose, you need it to be compelling. Here are five tips for making your cover letter more effective than the competition.

1. Customize your cover letter

Cover letters shouldn’t be generic. Unlike resumes, cover letters include specific details about the employer, making it easy to spot when you’re using the same cover letter for every job.

Customization is simple. All you have to do is read the company’s mission statement and the job description closely. Then, make sure your letter explains how you’ll address what the employer seeks in a candidate.

2. Use the hiring manager’s name

The best way to start your cover letter is by personally addressing the hiring manager. You may have to do some research — there’s nothing wrong with reaching out to ask the company who the application should be addressed to.

If you can’t get the hiring manager’s name, start with “Dear Hiring Manager.”

3. Address any potential concerns

If your resume raises a red flag that needs to be addressed, your cover letter should explain this. For example, your resume may show you’re re-entering the workforce after a lengthy break. You can address this in a single sentence in the opening or closing of your cover letter.

Here’s how that might sound:

“After taking some time to help raise my youngest daughter, I’m eager to use my 15 years of professional sales experience to help your organization meet its goals.”

While you don’t want to dwell on anything that took you away from the workplace, gently touching on the backstory could alleviate an employer’s concerns.

4. Match the formatting to your resume

Your cover letter and resume should have the same formatting, including font styles, margins and line spacing. Start by choosing the best resume format for your career path. Pick your font and set the margins and line spacing properly, using our resume formatting guide as needed. Once everything is set, make a copy of the doc to write your cover letter. This will help you retain the formatting.

Alternatively, you could choose a professionally pre-formatted cover letter template to create your resume.

5. Proofread carefully

Your cover letter may be your first chance to make an impression, so the last thing you want is a grammar error to disqualify you from the pool of candidates. We recommend running spell-check and proofreading your document, then having a friend or family member read it. Another set of eyes will help you catch any mistakes before you submit.

Don is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) with more than 10 years’ experience creating digital content, including four years helping job seekers develop their careers. He holds an M.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University.

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