Have you ever asked yourself “how long should my cover letter be”? If so, do not worry because you are amongst the hundreds of people all across the nation that are clueless as to how long their cover letter should be and what they need to say in their cover letter. Here we will cover the ideal length of your cover letter. I say “ideal” because of course there are some of us who only write one page while others may get a little chatty and write a 3 page long cover letter.
Typical Length of Cover Letters
The ideal length of a cover letter is typically one page. You should absolutely not have to go over one page and if you do think that you need more than one page you will really want to analyze everything that you have on your cover letter and cut it down to just one page. However, I will say that sometimes people do go over one page and when they do it is two pages. Two-page letters are most frequently used by individuals that change careers frequently, those in higher positions such as engineers, senior executives and such, and those individuals seeking higher positions like government positions.
Think about this, if you were the person who had to go through resumes and cover letters, would you want to read through a cover letter that had 3 pages? Probably not! All you need to do is simply state the facts and then move on. When you write a one page cover letter it lets the company or individual know that you know how to be precise about the information you want to relay and you can present all of your ideas concisely.
In addition, writing a one page cover letter also shows that you have respect for the person that is entitled to reading your cover letter. It shows that you are respectful of their time and you are being mindful that they have to read over other applicants’ cover letters.
It has been asked a number of times and surveyed by hiring managers all across the nation that the average amount of time that is being spent on a cover letter is 20 seconds. This means that you must be precise and to the point regarding the things that you want the possible employer to know about you and your experience.
Attention Grabbing Cover Letters
To make your cover letter a bit more readable, you will definitely want to break your page up into smaller paragraphs. Since the best cover letter is a one pager, you will want to break it up into four paragraphs, maybe five if you have a little more to say. You should also not try to make each paragraph 4-5 sentences and instead minimize it to just 3 sentences so that it is clear when reading.You want to eliminate any extra words and get directly to the point.
Simply, grab their attention, show them what you are all about in regards to your skills and experience, and then thank them for their time. Anything else that you feel the need to say, you will be able to say it during the interview process.
Now, if you are applying for a job that has a lot more requirements and will need a little more explaining, then you should get in everything that you need to say in two pages at the max. This is absolutely not the norm and is an exception. Remember, the hiring manager will appreciate your ability to be concise and direct in as little words as possible, respecting her time.
Filed under FAQs, Writing a Cover Letter by on Nov 17th, 2011. Comment. 
