How Long Should a Cover Letter Be?

A standard cover letter should usually fit on one page, often in three or four short paragraphs. Follow an employer's stated word, character, or page limit first. The aim is enough specific evidence to explain your fit, not filling the page.

The University of Washington's cover-letter guidance uses the one-page, three-to-four-paragraph convention. That is a useful starting point for a conventional job application, not a rule for every academic letter, supporting statement, or selection-criteria response.

Give each paragraph a job

Use the opening to name the role and explain a specific reason for applying. Use the middle to develop one or two relevant examples. Close by briefly connecting your contribution to the opportunity and thanking the reader.

There is no need to repeat every role on your resume. The letter should explain a connection that a list of jobs may not make obvious.

If you are early in your career, use a project, part-time job, or volunteering example rather than padding the letter with claims about being hardworking. Our cover letter with no experience guide shows how to select that evidence.

If it is too long, cut repetition before shrinking the text

Remove a second introduction, generic praise of the company, and background that does not support this application. Keep the example's action and relevance.

Here is an original fictional edit:

Before: I believe I am a very organized person, and organization is something I have always considered to be one of my strongest skills. In my previous position I had many opportunities to use this skill, including when I was responsible for keeping track of supplier deliveries and making sure the team knew about changes.

After: In my previous role, I tracked supplier deliveries and alerted the team when schedules changed. That experience is relevant to the coordination work in this position.

The shorter version preserves the evidence. It does not merely replace words with smaller ones.

If it feels too short, check what is missing

A short letter can be complete. Ask whether it identifies the role, gives credible evidence, and explains why that evidence matters here. If it contains only "Please find my resume attached," add substance, not filler.

For an email application, follow the instructions about whether the letter belongs in the message or an attachment. Do not send identical long text in both places unless requested.

Finally, open the actual exported file. Check that the closing has not spilled onto a second page and that the text remains comfortable to read. A one-page document with cramped margins and tiny type has missed the point of being concise.