Cover Letter Workshop - Formatting and Organization

The cover letter is one of the most challenging documents you may ever write: you must write about yourself without sounding selfish and self-centered. The solution to this is to explain how your values and goals align with the prospective organization's and to discuss how your experience will fulfill the job requirements. Before we get to content, however, you need to know how to format your cover letter in a professional manner.

Formatting your cover letter

Your cover letter should convey a professional message. Of course, the particular expectations of a professional format depend on the organization you are looking to join. For example, an accounting position at a legal firm will require a more traditional document format. A position as an Imagineer at Disney might require a completely different approach. Again, a close audience analysis of the company and the position will yield important information about the document expectations. Let the organization's communications guide your work.

For this example, we are using a traditional approach to cover letters:

Single-space your cover letter

Leave a space between each paragraph

Leave three spaces between your closing (such as "Sincerely" or "Sincerely Yours") and typed name

Leave a space between your heading (contact information) and greeting (such as, "Dear Mr. Roberts")

Either align all paragraphs to the left of the page, or indent the first line of each paragraph to the right

Use standard margins for your cover letter, such as one-inch margins on all sides of the document

Center your letter in the middle of the page; in other words, make sure that the space at the top and bottom of the page is the same

Sign your name in ink between your salutation and typed name

Organizing your cover letter

A cover letter has four essential parts: heading, introduction, argument, and closing.

The heading

In your heading, include your contact information:

name

address

phone number

email address

The date and company contact information should directly follow your contact information. Use spacing effectively in order to keep this information more organized and readable. Use the link at the top of this resource to view a sample cover letter - please note the letter is double-spaced for readability purposes only.