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How Long Should a Cover Letter Be?

“Your first impression is the last impression” this saying is true for job applications today. When you apply for a job, your resume is completely judged upon the basis of your cover letter. The importance of a cover letter is equal to resumes today.

A cover letter is your first impression on the recruiter and probably the last one in many cases. A cover letter gives you an opportunity to showcase your talents, accomplishments, and skills as compared to other applicants this is not it, the cover letter also helps you to stand out from the crowd.

The Question is, How Long Should a Cover Letter Be?

When applying for a job our main aim is to get to the interview table, which is only possible if our cover letter is attractive and concise enough. Your cover letter can give the recruiter a fair idea of your interest in the company and the job. To make it better and attractive the length of your cover letter matters a lot.

If your cover letter is too short, it would indicate that you are not much interested in the company and the job. If your cover letter is extra long, the recruiter is unlikely to read it fully and carefully. It is imperative, for an applicant to be careful of the length of the cover letter.

Let’s look at some rules of Cover letters-

Rule #1 Always send a cover letter

  • You should always send a cover letter, even if the application doesn’t require one.
  • Keep your writing style simple. Don’t make reading your cover letter hard work for hiring managers. Make your cover letter short and concise is the way forward. Make your cover letter speak out directly to the employer and show them exactly why they should pick you.

Rule #2 Great content matters

  • The rule is that your cover letter shouldn’t be any longer than one A4 page.
  • Neat, simple, and concise is the cover letter motto. If your cover letter has too many long sentences, there are chances that the recruiter would lose interest in reading it.
  • Be careful while you select the content for your cover letter. Choose points from your CV and elaborate on the same to get the attention of the recruiter.
  • If your cover letter is too short, don’t try to stuff it with irrelevant information this could be a sign of reworking on your cover letter.

Rule #3 Format it!

  • Good formatting is a sign of professionalism. It is important that you format your cover letter for better results. Following are some tips for the same.
  • First of all, stick to an easy-to-read font, such as Arial or Calibri, at sizes 10 to 12. Next, keep the text standard left aligned. It is important that the document doesn’t look too bunched up as it can be difficult to read. Keep it clean with a clear amount of white spacing.

Rule #4 Fine-Tune

  • One last step, before you send the cover letter. Check for errors and grammatical errors in your cover letter. Errors can be a sign of poor professionalism and lack of detail. It is advised, to have somebody else check your letter too.

With the help of these rules, you can get the perfect length for your cover letter. We wish you good luck with your job applications.

How Long Should a Cover Letter Be?

Indu Singh

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