Basics of Cover Letter Format

  1. The cover letter format shall include the address and contact details of the job applicant and address of the employer’s organization on the top left part of the cover letter one by one.

  2. The cover letter should mention the date on which it is written.

  3. Always, try to find the name of the potential employer or interviewer and address the cover letter with their name viz., Dear Mr. Name. However, if one can’t find the name of the employer one can use any of these: Dear Sir, Dear Madam, Dear Sir/Madam, Dear Employer, Dear Advertiser etc.

  4. Mention the position applied for in the subject line of the cover letter and give relevant reference of the job advertisement if there was any in the subject line.

  5. The cover letter content should be divided into paragraphs for easy reading by the prospective employer. Each paragraph should contain related information respectively.

  6. At the end of the cover letter the job applicant should include his/her name and signature and also mention the enclosures attached with the cover letter, usually the enclosure is the resume, certificate copies etc.

  7. The cover letter should be written such that it is printable in one page ideally.

  8. The cover letter should ideally have single line spacing. Use 11 or 12 font size in an easily readable font and give adequate space on the top and left of the cover letter for stapling or filing purposes.

  9. Re-check your cover letter and resume for grammatical, spelling and typo errors before finalizing the prints, fax or hitting the send button of your email.

  10. Sometimes, the employers give a specific cover letter format that has to be followed when applying for a job in their organization.