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Free cover letter templates

Stand out and get hired faster with our collection of free professional cover letter templates expertly-designed to land you the perfect position.

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General cover letter template.

A general cover letter template is the perfect starting point for writing your next job-winning cover letter. In the example below, you’ll find a cover letter that can be modified to suit just about any position or industry. 

Make sure to update it to include key examples from your own experience and education. Each cover letter is a chance to convince the employer that you’re the best candidate for their role, so make it count!

You’ve developed an excellent resume. What a relief! But you’re not finished with your job application package. It’s time to write a stellar cover letter. That blank page can be scary, but the tips below will help you grab that interview.

Why use our cover letter templates

Resume.io’s cover letter templates offer several advantages when it comes to completing your application and landing your next great position. We take pride in creating fresh and professional designs that stand out and make a positive first impression in today’s competitive job market. 

Here are a few reasons why our free cover letter templates are a cut above the rest:

• Expertly crafted templates: Our team of professional graphic designers is constantly creating and updating our templates to make sure they meet the needs of today’s job seekers. Our collection of templates ranges from minimalist and modern to bold and creative to ensure that we offer the perfect cover letter template for every candidate.
• Approved by recruiters: We work with career HR and recruitment professionals to make sure our cover letter templates meet the strict standards of today’s employers. We follow the latest hiring trends to update and adapt our cover letter templates for the needs of modern job seekers.
• Customize with ease: Not only do we provide expertly designed free cover letter templates, but we also offer an intuitive cover letter builder to help job seekers customize their application letters with ease. Our cover letter builder is easy-to-use and full of helpful features and advice to help you craft a cover letter that’s a cut above the rest.
• AI-powered tools: Even the best writers could use a hand sometimes. That’s why we’ve introduced AI-powered sample sentences that can be inserted directly within the cover letter builder and updated for your own experience. Our powerful spelling and grammar checker also helps to eliminate costly cover letter errors.

Most job applications specify whether they’d like to receive your cover letter as a PDF or Word Docx format. We’ve made it easy to download either option within our cover letter builder.

Choosing the right cover letter template

Every candidate and every position is unique, meaning the same cover letter won’t work for everyone. That’s why we’ve created an extensive collection of cover letter templates with designs ranging from clean and classic to modern and attention-grabbing. 

Within our cover letter builder, you can also easily switch from one template to another, meaning the perfect cover letter design is always within reach. Our free cover letter templates are divided into four categories:

• Simple: Our simple cover letter templates are go-to classics that can work for a wide variety of positions and applicants. These templates are best-suited for students and first-time job seekers, along with applicants working in fields like hospitality, transportation, logistics, and retail. Our simple templates are highly versatile and can serve as a great starting point for any cover letter.
• Modern: If fresh ideas and innovation are the keys to your industry, our modern cover letter templates are the right choice. These designs feature minimalistic lines, clean fonts, and a refreshing balance of white space to text. Our modern cover letter templates are perfect for candidates in IT, marketing, administration, and sales.
• Creative: If your industry or job title calls for a bold approach, look no further than our collection of creative cover letter templates . These designs feature bright colors, striking fonts, and larger-than-life headers to draw attention to your cover letter. Our creative cover letter templates are perfect for candidates in fields like film and television, design, photography, art, architecture, content creation, and any job where your personality should be in the spotlight.
• Professional: Sometimes, tried-and-true is the only option, and that’s where our professional templates come into play. These are classic designs with traditional font choices and the organized sections recruiters expect to see. When in doubt, a professional cover letter template is the way to go, especially in fields like business, medicine, education, engineering, accounting, and finance.

What makes a good cover letter template?

A good cover letter template is a combination of elements that work together to highlight and emphasize a candidate’s experience and qualifications for the role. 

Here are a few factors that make a good cover letter template:

Header: An excellent cover letter template features a header that draws attention to the applicant’s name and contact information. The header may be located at the top or on the side of the page, but it must contain key details like a phone number, email address, and LinkedIn profile or portfolio website.

Balance of white space to text: A great cover letter template is easy to read and carefully balances the amount of white space in the text to avoid visual fatigue for the reader. Paragraphs should be divided in a logical way, and margins should not be shrunk to cram in more text.

Font choice: The best cover letters use font styles and sizes that are both legible and appropriate for the industry or job title. A good cover letter builder eliminates the guesswork by automatically choosing the right font and size for the cover letter template.

Color or design elements: While not appropriate for every industry, a touch of color or a dividing line can help create a more attractive page design and make the candidate stand out in a crowded applicant pool. Resume.io’s cover letter templates that feature color give several options so that you can choose the hue that works best for your application.

Different jobs can require different cover letter formats , which is why we’ve made it easy to switch colors, line spacing, or even whole templates directly inside our cover letter builder.

Cover letter template frequently asked questions (FAQs)

What is a good format for a cover letter.

A good format for a cover letter is one that catches the hiring manager’s attention with an attractive layout, easy-to-read font, and clear and concise information about the candidate’s experience and qualifications.

What are the three parts of a cover letter?

The four parts of a cover letter are as follows:

• The greeting: The way the hiring manager is addressed at the start of the cover letter.  
• Introduction: The first one or two sentences that introduce the candidate and the role they are applying for.  
• Body: The main paragraphs of the cover letter where the candidate discusses their experience and the reasons why they’re right for the job.  
• Conclusion and sign-off: The final sentences that express interest for the role and include the candidate’s full name as a signature.

How long should a cover letter be?

A good cover letter should be around 300 words or within the range of 250-350 words. This equals roughly three paragraphs. Any shorter and the reader may not fully understand why you are qualified for the role. Any longer, and you risk losing the reader’s attention before they get to the end of your letter.

What are three do’s and three don’ts with a cover letter ?

• Include a header that aligns with the design and information on your resume
• Use numbers and concrete information to show your accomplishments
• Leave a balance of white space to text to increase readability
• Change the document margins to cram in more text or make your cover letter appear longer
• Add a full street address to your cover letter
• Go overboard with images, design elements, or colors

What are two things that should always be in a cover letter?

Two things that should always be in a cover letter are the name of the company and the role you are applying to. Hiring managers often look for candidates for multiple openings at once, so this helps the employer identify who you are and the job you are looking for.

Are cover letters necessary?

Cover letters are one of the best ways to increase your chances of landing your desired position. That’s because they give you the opportunity to expand on key experiences from your resume. 

While not every hiring manager reads cover letters, the ones that do can often use them to determine who is on the shortlist for an interview. We recommend every applicant write a cover letter to show their interest and qualifications for the position.

How to end a cover letter

We recommend always ending your cover letter with a call to action. This sentence expresses your enthusiasm for the position and politely suggests that the hiring manager get in touch with you for an interview. 

You can also leave your name and contact information in this section once again, space permitting. Then, sign off with a phrase like “Sincerely” or “Best regards” and your full name.

How do you address a cover letter without a name?

While using the hiring manager’s name on your cover letter is the best way to establish a personal connection, some companies do not share information about who will be reading your cover letter. In that case, a more general greeting like “Dear (Company Name) Hiring Team” or “Dear (Department Name) Team Lead” can do the trick.

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Land the job with cover letter templates

Show hiring managers why you're the perfect job candidate with professional, customizable cover letter templates. find the perfect cover letter template for any industry or career path..

Download free cover letter templates

Stand out from other job applicants with free, professional cover letter templates. Cover letters are a perfect complement to your resume and provide an effective opportunity to show your personality and enthusiasm for a position. Focus on writing a compelling cover letter and let a professionally designed template do the rest.

These free cover letter templates are perfect for any stage of your career, whether you're looking to land an internship or your dream job. If you're applying for a corporate position, you may want to opt for a simple cover letter template. There are a variety of other cover letter designs available, from basic cover letter templates to creative cover letter templates.

Each of these cover letter templates is customizable in Word , so you can add your own text, change design elements, and more. Print out your cover letter or download it for free to use for online job applications. Once you've customized the perfect cover letter, explore resume templates that will match your cover letter design, or download free business cards for your next networking event.

Cover Letter Templates

/ any level of experience

Choose a Matching Cover Letter Template

Looking to create a cover letter that will help you stand out from the crowd? Try one of our 16 professional cover letter templates, each created to match our resume and CV templates. Pick a cover letter template that suits your needs and impress the hiring manager with a flawless job application!

Skill-Based

Traditional

Professional

Learn More About Cover Letters

How to Write a Cover Letter in 2024 + Examples

Cover Letter Format (w/ Examples & Free Templates)

60+ Cover Letter Examples in 2024 [For All Professions]

Free Cover Letter Sample to Copy and Use

Subject Line: Cover Letter for [Position], [Candidate Name]

[Company Address]

[Company City, State]

[Hiring Manager Email]

Introduction:

Introduce yourself, give a brief professional summary, and optionally, a top achievement. E.g. “My name is [Name] and I’m a [Role] with over X years of experience in [Activity]. Over the past years, I’ve helped X companies achieve [Goals]”

Express your interest in joining their firm. E.g. “I’m looking to join [Company] as [Role] and I’m very excited to help you with [Activity]”

Optionally, if you were referred or you just know someone at the firm, you can mention this here. E.g. “I learned about [Company] from a friend that’s currently working there as [Role], [Friend’s name]. I really like everything I’ve heard about the company and I think I would make a good fit.”

This is where you talk about your work experience and achievements at length. Mention how you excelled at your previous roles, what your most important responsibilities were, and so on.

Look at this as an opportunity to expand on whatever you wrote in your resume, and give the reader a better picture of what kind of tasks you worked on, what you accomplished, and so on. E.g “At my previous jobs as [Role], my duties were [Major 3 duties], and I specifically excelled at [Top accomplishment]. This accomplishment helped the company [Results driven].”

Want to really impress the hiring manager? You can mention what you know about the company and its culture here. E.g. “I’ve read a lot about [Company] and I really think I’d enjoy your democratic leadership style.”

Optionally, you can include a bulleted list of your top 3 accomplishments. For example:

[Example Box]

Some of my top achievements in recent years include:

Launching a successful online ads marketing campaign, driving 100+ leads within 2 months.

Overhauled a client’s advertising account, improving conversion rates and driving 15% higher revenue.

Improved the agency’s framework for ad account audits and created new standard operating procedures.

Conclusion & Call to Action:

Re-affirm your desire to join the company, as well as how you can contribute. E.g. “I’d love to become a part of [Company] as a [Role]. I believe that my skills in [Field] can help the company with [Goals].”

Thank the hiring manager for reading the cover letter and then wrap it all up with a call to action. E.g. “Thank you for considering my application. I look forward to hearing back from you and learning more about the position. Sincerely, [Name].”

Match Your Resume & Cover Letter

Want your application to stand out?

Match your cover letter with your resume & catch the recruiter’s attention!

Why Novorésumé?

Matching Cover Letters

To keep your job application consistent and professional, our Cover Letter templates perfectly match the resume templates.

Creative & Standard Templates

Whether you apply for a conservative industry like banking or a hype start-up, you can tailor our cover letter templates to fit your exact needs.

Expert Reviews

Oana Vintila

Career Counselor

Cover Letters are usually synonymous with formal and bland rambling that you write down hoping for an invite to a job interview. I just love it how Novorésumé has enhanced that and is offering you a tool to build proper arguments and structured discourse about who YOU ARE and what YOU CAN DO.

A real confidence booster, I tell you, seeing your motivation eloquently written!

Gabriela Tardea

Career Strategist, Coach & Trainer

The best thing about this platform when creating a Cover Letter as an addition to your resume is that the documents will match each other's design and font, creating eye-catching documents that recruiters/hiring managers will love.

You will be initially judged based on your papers, so why not make a first great impression?

Cover Letters Resources

What is a cover letter.

A cover letter is a one-page document that you submit alongside your resume or CV for your job application.

The main purpose of your cover letter is to:

Show your motivation for working at the company

Bring special attention to the most important parts of your work history

Explain how your work experience fits whatever the company is looking for

What your cover letter is NOT about , is rehashing whatever you already mentioned in your resume. Sure, you should mention the most important bits, but it should NOT be a literal copy-paste.

Keep in mind that recruiters will usually read your cover letter after scanning your resume and deciding if you’re qualified for the position.

Our cover letter templates match both our resume templates and our CV templates ! Make sure to check them out, too.

Why Use a Cover Letter Template?

A cover letter can complement your resume and increase your chances of getting hired.

But that's only if it's done right.

If your cover letter isn't the right length, is structured the wrong way, or doesn't match the style of your resume, it might do the opposite and hurt your application.

By using a cover letter template, you get a pre-formatted, professional, and recruiter-friendly document that’s ready to go. All YOU have to do is fill in the contents, and you’re all set.

What to Include in Your Cover Letter?

Every good cover letter has the following sections:

Header . Start your cover letter by writing down your own contact information, as well as the recruiter’s (recruiter name, company name, company address, etc…).

Greeting . Preferably, you want to address the recruiter by their last name (e.g. Dear Mr. Brown) or their full name, in case you’re not sure what their pronouns are (e.g. Dear Alex Brown). formal greeting for the recruiter.

Opening paragraph . This is the introduction to your resume. Here, you summarize your background info (“a financial analyst with X+ years of experience”), state your intent (“looking for X position at Company Y”), and summarize your top achievements to get the recruiter hooked.

Second paragraph . In the second paragraph, you explain how you’re qualified for the position by mentioning your skills, awards, certifications, etc., and why the recruiter should pick YOU.

Third paragraph . You talk about why you’re a good match for the company. Do you share common values? Is the company working on projects you’re interested in? Has this position always been your dream role?

Formal closing . Finally, you end the cover letter with a quick summary and a call to action (“I’m super excited to work with Company X. Looking forward to hearing from you!”).

How to Write a Great Cover Letter?

There’s a lot that goes into writing a great cover letter. If you want to get the full picture, you can check out our guide on how to write a cover letter .

For a quick summary, though, here are our top 4 cover letter tips :

Avoid Fluff . You want to be as specific as possible with your cover letter. Avoid vague statements like “I’m a good fit for the company because I’m a good critical thinker!”

Do Your Research. Most companies don’t like people who “spray and pray” - applying for dozens of jobs without giving them much thought. What they ARE looking for is someone who’s passionate about their field, the position, and even the company. So, research the companies you apply for as much as you can and show off your knowledge in your cover letter.

Don’t Use a One-Fits-All Cover Letter . As much as you can, try to tailor your cover letter to the job you’re applying for. Even if it’s something small, like addressing the hiring manager by their last name instead of “Dear Sir/Madam,” or mentioning something specific about the role or the company that you’re passionate about, it can help you prove that you’re not using the same generic cover letter to apply to dozens of jobs.

Back-Up Your Achievements with Data . When possible, back up your experience with data. Instead of saying, “I improved company revenue”, say “I managed to hit and exceed sales KPIs for 5 months in a row.”

How Long Should a Cover Letter Be?

Most recruiters agree that a cover letter should be brief and concise .

Optimally, that’s about half a page to one full page, and between 250 to 400 words long.

How Can I Write a Student Cover Letter?

You should write a student cover letter pretty much the same way you’d write a regular cover letter, with one key difference.

To make up for your lack of work experience, you should talk about the following:

Why do you want to work for the company and the position you’re applying for.

How your educational background has prepared you for the job.

How your skill set can help you stand out and excel at the job.

You also want to mention anything else that’s relevant to the job and that can prove your abilities, such as any internships, awards, honors, and the like.

In case you’re writing a cover letter for an internship , make sure to check out our guide.

How Can I Write a Cover Letter With No Experience?

If you’re an entry-level candidate, writing a cover letter might seem super scary. If you don’t have any work experience and professional accomplishments, what are you supposed to talk about in your cover letter?

Here’s some good news—you can focus on these topics instead:

Education highlights

Relevant skills

Independent projects

Volunteering experience

Extracurricular activities

Passion to learn and grow as a candidate

For a complete guide on how to write an entry-level cover letter , check out our guide.

How to Format a Cover Letter?

Here’s what you need to know on how to format a cover letter the right way:

Choose the right cover letter template for your industry . The better fit the cover letter, the less you’ll have to play with the layout and format.

Use colors sparingly . Don’t go overboard with creativity unless you work in an industry where that’s valued (marketing, advertising, design, and the like).

Select professional font styles and sizes.

Set the margins to 1 inch on each side to make sure there is enough white space and the document doesn’t look crowded with text.

Get Inspired with Our Cover Letter Examples

Cover letter templates faq, do i need a different cover letter for every job.

While you don’t need to write a different cover letter from scratch for every single job you apply for, it’s good to tailor your cover letter contents as much as you can to the company and position you’re applying for.

Hiring managers will always go for an applicant who’s interested in their specific position over a candidate that’s sending the same application to dozens of roles.

If you tailor your cover letter to the position, even if it’s something small like addressing the hiring manager by their name or explaining how you possess the right skills for the specific job, your chances of getting hired are going to be much better!

How to Make a Simple Cover Letter for Your Resume?

Simply pick one of our 16 effective cover letter templates above to get started.

We’d recommend matching your cover letter template to the resume template you picked.

Not only will it make your application package look more sophisticated and professional, but it will also make you more memorable for the recruiter who’ll go over your application.

Who Created These Cover Letter Templates?

Novoresume cover letter templates were created in cooperation with professional recruiters and hiring managers.

This means they’re up to date with the latest industry trends and job market requirements. With a Novoresume cover letter template, you can rest assured that your cover letter will look professional and modern at the same time.

When Should I Email My Cover Letter Instead of Using a Template?

As a rule of thumb, it’s always better to use a cover letter template instead of including it in the body of your email as plain text. By using a well-designed and effective cover letter template, you’re guaranteed to look like a more serious and professional candidate.

So, you should only email your cover letter if the job ad specifically asks you to.

Should I Use a PDF or Word Cover Letter Template?

We recommend going for a PDF cover letter template instead of Word.

All types of Operating Systems and devices can open PDF formats without ruining the formatting, design, or layout.

The same, however, cannot be said for Word templates. If, for example, you’ve used a 2021 Word cover letter template and the hiring manager opens it using an MS Word 2016 software version, there’s a chance your formatting will get messed up, or that your font will be unreadable.

To err on the side of caution, we always advise using a PDF cover letter template.

What is the Best Cover Letter Template in 2024?

There’s no such thing as the “best cover letter template.”

After all, every single recruiter has their own personal taste. Some might like a shiny and flashy cover letter template, while others might think it’s tacky. As a rule of thumb, though, we usually recommend customizing each cover letter for the company you’re sending it to.

Do I Really Need a Cover Letter in 2024?

Yes, you definitely need to submit a cover letter with your resume in 2024.

Even if the hiring manager never reads your cover letter or if the job description doesn’t specifically ask for one, a cover letter can still help strengthen your application and make you look like a more serious and proactive candidate.

As such, it’s always a good idea to include a cover letter with your resume.

How to Make a Cover Letter With Novoresume?

To make a cover letter with Novoresume, simply scroll up and pick a template that you like best. Then, register or log in to your Novoresume account. From there, you can add your cover letter contents, as well as personalize and edit them as you see fit.

The Novoresume builder is very intuitive and user-friendly, allowing you to create your cover letter lightning-fast.

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Cover Letter Templates

Cover Letter by FlowCV

Tailor your cover letter with FlowCV's professionally designed templates. Easily customize multiple settings to infuse your personal flair, all through our intuitive editor.

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