Cover Letter Resources
Overview
If we were to sum up the cover letter and how it compares to your resume in one sentence, the resume is about you while the cover letter is about them (the company.
Templates to Get You Started
Below are Cover letter templates to help get you started, but make sure to customize your cover letter each time you write one:
General Advice
- Ask a Manager: Examples of great cover letters
- The Muse: All-Time Best Tips for Writing Cover Letters
- The Muse: Cover Letter Examples for Every Type of Job Seeker
- The Muse: 12 Great Resources if Writing a Cover Letter Fills You With Dread
- How to Write the Ultimate Tech Cover Letter (with examples)
- How to Start a Cover Letter
General Checklist
Use this checklist to make sure your cover letters have all the necessary components.
Layout
- Clean, easy-to-follow
- No more than one page
- Paragraphs spaced apart
Heading & Contact Info
- Name: stand outs, easy to read
- Title: “software developer/front end engineer/back end engineer,” stand outs, easy to read, comparable in size to name (optional)
- Email address
- Phone number
- GitHub link
- LinkedIn link
- Personal website (optional)
Opening & Closing
- Opening: addressed to either a specific person or a specific team
- Closing: Uses a closing phrase like “looking forward to hearing from you,” etc. and name is included
- Clear and concise
- No grammatical or spelling errors
Paragraph #1
- Opening sentence makes it clear what position is being applied for
- Provides a brief description of the job seeker’s career trajectory and how it connects to the company’s mission, product, user experience, customers, etc,
- If applicable: references a contact at the company that they’ve spoken with
- Clear and concise
- No grammatical or spelling errors
Paragraph #2
- Expands on why they’re qualified (going in-depth on skills/experience)
- Describes a project/experience in which they demonstrate how they can do the job
- Clear and concise
- No grammatical or spelling errors
Paragraph #3
- Makes a connection back to the company: how the job seeker can bring value to the company, passion about the product, what they hope to help the company achieve, etc.
- Clear and concise
- No grammatical or spelling errors