Cover Letter Format

Most applicants put a lot of work (or should) into the wording of a cover letter. But these same applicants often drop the ball with the layout, the part a hiring manager sees at first glance before reading a single sentence. Crowded or uneven pages look rushed.

The standard US layout is the block format. Every line starts at the left margin and paragraphs have no indent. A blank line separates each part of the letter from the next. Get that right, keep the whole thing to one page, and the reader can move straight on to what you wrote.

What to Include

• Your contact details at the top: name, city and state, phone and email. A full street address is optional.
• The date, written out in full, such as October 2, 2026.
• The employer's details: the hiring manager's name and title, the company and its address.
• A salutation with the reader's name. A colon ("Dear Mr. Lim:") is the formal US choice, and a comma is fine too.
• Three or four body paragraphs: an opening, one or two middle paragraphs with your examples, and a closing.
• A sign-off such as "Sincerely," followed by room for your signature on paper and then your typed name.
• An enclosure line ("Enclosure: Resume") when you mail or attach other documents.

Cover Letter Format Example

Margins, font and spacing

When you choose a font, a size and a header style, use them consistently. That is, if your name sits in bold at the top of your resume, make sure it sits the same way at the top of the letter, so the two pages look like a set when they land on a desk together.

• Margins: one inch on every side.
• Font: the one your resume uses, at 10.5 to 12 points.
• Spacing: single within each paragraph, with one blank line between paragraphs and between the parts of the letter.
• Alignment: every line starts at the left margin, with no indents.
• File: a PDF named with your name, such as Daniel-Whitaker-Cover-Letter.pdf.

How long should a cover letter be?

One page, and usually less. Three or four paragraphs of three or four sentences each fit comfortably, with white space left at the bottom. If you run over, cut the paragraph that repeats your resume first, since the reader already has that page. Academic letters for faculty jobs are the main exception and often run to two pages.

Email cover letter format

The words stay the same by email. The address blocks and the date go, since the email already shows who sent it and when. Put the job title and your name in the subject line, start with the salutation, and end with a signature block that gives your phone number and email address.

If the posting asks for the letter as an attachment, format it exactly like the printed version, save it as a PDF and write a two- or three-sentence note in the email body.

• Subject: Accounts Payable Specialist, job 2026-114, Daniel Whitaker
• Greeting: Dear Mr. Lim,
• Body: the same three or four paragraphs, kept short
• Signature: your name, phone number and email, one per line
• Attachment: your resume as a PDF, named with your name

Tips

• Keep an eye out for uneven spacing or a signature stranded alone on page two. Both are easy to miss while you type, so view the letter as a full page before you send it.
• If you can't find the hiring manager's name, "Dear Hiring Manager" works. "To Whom It May Concern" feels like a form letter to most readers.
• Keep the date and both address blocks at the left margin. A date pushed to the right belongs to the older modified block style, which is still correct but less common.
• Match the sign-off to the letter. "Sincerely" suits almost any application, and "Best regards" generally works well in email.
• Leave out "References available upon request". Employers assume it and will ask when they need them.
• Before you attach the letter and the resume, check that both use the same header, font and margins.