How to Write a Cover Letter: Format and Examples (2026)

What is the standard cover letter format?

A cover letter follows the layout of a business letter. Hiring managers skim dozens, so a familiar structure lets them find your point in seconds. Keep it to one page, 11 or 12 point text, one-inch margins and a blank line between blocks.

From top to bottom, the US format looks like this.

Your contact block: full name, city and state, phone number, email and, if relevant, a LinkedIn or portfolio URL. Match the header on your resume.
The date, written out: November 9, 2026.
The recipient block: the hiring manager's name and title, the company name and its city and state. If you cannot find a name, use the company and the team.
The greeting: Dear Ms. Alvarez, or Dear Hiring Manager, when no name is available. Avoid To Whom It May Concern.
Three or four paragraphs, described below.
A closing such as Sincerely, followed by your typed name. No handwritten signature is expected.

What to include in a cover letter, paragraph by paragraph

Each paragraph has one job. If a sentence does not serve that job, cut it. The cover letter generator on DocGopher lays out this structure for you in the standard English letter format, so you only write the paragraphs; the same structure works just as well in Word or Google Docs.

Paragraph 1, the opening: name the exact job title and where you saw it, then give the single strongest reason you fit. Not I am writing to apply, but Your posting for a Marketing Coordinator asks for someone who can run paid social campaigns end to end, which is what I did for two years at Brightline.

Paragraph 2, the evidence: pick two or three requirements from the posting and show how you met each one with a specific result. Numbers are convincing: grew the newsletter from 4,000 to 11,000 subscribers, cut onboarding time by a third, closed $400,000 in new accounts. Do not repeat the resume line by line; pick the items that matter most for this job and explain them.

Paragraph 3, the fit: explain why this company and this role, in two or three sentences that could not be sent to any other employer. Mention a product, a project, a value in the posting or a problem the team is known to be solving.

Paragraph 4, the close: ask for the interview plainly, say how you can be reached, and thank them. Two sentences are enough.

How to tailor a cover letter to the job posting

Recruiters can tell a template within one line, and a tailored letter takes about twenty minutes once you have a base. Keep a master letter with your contact block, your best three or four achievements and your standard closing, then follow these steps for each application.

Read the posting and underline the requirements that appear first, repeat, or carry words like must or required.
Pick the two or three of those you can prove with a specific example, and write one sentence per example for paragraph 2.
Use the employer's own words for skills and tools. If the posting says customer success rather than account management, say customer success.
Find the hiring manager's name on the posting, the company site or LinkedIn, and use it in the greeting.
Rewrite paragraph 3 with one concrete detail about the company that you learned in the last ten minutes of reading about them.
Change the job title, company name and date everywhere, then read the letter once more looking only for leftovers from the previous application.

What tone should a cover letter have?

Write the way you would speak to a respected colleague you have not met: direct, warm and specific. Use I and you, short sentences and active verbs. Avoid both extremes: the stiff Please find enclosed my resume for your perusal, and the overfamiliar Hey team, I would love to join your awesome crew.

Confidence comes from evidence, not adjectives. Instead of calling yourself a passionate, detail-oriented self-starter, describe one thing you did that such a person would do, and cut hedges such as I believe and I think I could.

How to write a cover letter for a job with no experience

When you have no paid experience in the field, the cover letter matters more than the resume, because it is the one place you can explain how what you have done so far transfers. Students, career changers and people returning to work all face this.

Replace the work history in paragraph 2 with proof from other settings: a class project where you built something real, a volunteer role where you organized people or money, a part-time job where you handled customers, a certificate, or something you taught yourself and can show. Describe each with the same specificity you would use for a job: the task, what you did, what happened.

In paragraph 3, say plainly why this role is the right first step and how you prepared for it. Employers hiring at entry level expect to train; they want to see that you learn fast and show up. Do not write about having no experience. Write about what you bring.

Common cover letter mistakes

Most rejected cover letters fail on the same handful of points. Check your draft against this list before sending.

Restating the resume. The letter should add context and pick highlights, not repeat every job in order.
A generic opener. I am writing to apply for the position advertised on your website tells the reader nothing they do not know.
Writing about what you want instead of what the employer needs.
Leaving in the wrong company name or job title from the last application. Read the letter once just for this.
Going past one page. Nobody reads page two.
Typos and inconsistent formatting, especially in the contact block and the hiring manager's name.
Using the same letter for every job. Tailoring is the whole point.

Applicant tracking systems and plain formatting

Most mid-size and large employers run applications through an applicant tracking system (ATS) that stores your documents and, in many cases, extracts the text so recruiters can search it. A cover letter with a two-column layout, text boxes, icons or a decorative header can come out garbled in that text view.

Keep the formatting plain: a single column, a standard font such as Calibri, Arial, Georgia or Times New Roman, real text rather than images, no tables and no content in the header or footer. Use the same words the posting uses for skills and tools, since recruiters search by those terms.

If the application has a text box for the cover letter, paste the body paragraphs only, without the address blocks, and check that the paragraph breaks survived.

How to make a cover letter online or in Word, and save it as a PDF

Word and Google Docs both have cover letter templates under File, New or the template gallery; choose a simple one and delete any photo placeholder or sidebar. DocGopher's cover letter generator is free, needs no sign-up and adds no watermark; you fill in the blocks and paragraphs and download the finished letter. If you built your resume with the resume builder, use the same name and contact details so the two documents match.

Send the letter as a PDF unless the posting asks for a Word file. A PDF keeps your line breaks and fonts on every screen. In Word, use File, Save As and choose PDF; in Google Docs, File, Download, PDF Document. On a phone or a computer without Office, upload the .docx to Word to PDF. If an employer asks for .docx and you only have the PDF, PDF to Word gives you an editable copy back.

Name the file with your name and the document type: Jordan-Lee-Cover-Letter.pdf.

Cover letter checklist

Run through this list before you send. Length is the most common failure; paste the text into the word counter if you are not sure, since 250 to 400 words fits comfortably on one page.

Correct company name, job title and hiring manager's name, everywhere.
Opening sentence names the job and gives one specific reason you fit.
Two or three requirements from the posting, each matched with a concrete example and, where possible, a number.
One detail about the company that proves you looked into them.
A clear request for an interview and your phone number or email.
One page, single column, standard font, no header or footer content, no images.
Spelling and grammar checked, then read aloud once.
Saved as a PDF with your name in the file name, unless Word was requested.

Frequently asked questions

What is the correct format for a cover letter?

A US cover letter follows business letter format: your contact block, the date, the recipient's name and company, a greeting, three or four short paragraphs and a closing such as Sincerely with your typed name. It fits on one page in a standard 11 or 12 point font with one-inch margins.

What should a cover letter include?

It should name the job you are applying for and why you fit, give two or three specific examples that match the posting's main requirements, explain why you want to work for that company in particular, and close with a request for an interview and your contact details.

How long should a cover letter be?

One page, which is about 250 to 400 words in three or four paragraphs. Hiring managers rarely read past the first page, and a shorter letter that says something specific beats a long one that repeats the resume.

How do you write a cover letter with no experience?

Use examples from school projects, volunteer work, part-time jobs, certificates or self-taught projects, and describe each with the task, what you did and the result. Explain why this role is the right first step and how you prepared for it, and avoid dwelling on what you lack.

Should a cover letter be a PDF or a Word document?

Send a PDF unless the job posting specifically asks for a Word file. A PDF keeps your formatting on every device, and most applicant tracking systems read text from PDFs without trouble as long as the layout is a single column with real text.