Cover letter template: a simple one-page format in Word or Markdown

When to use it

• Applying for a job where the posting asks for a cover letter
• An optional cover letter field you want to use for a specific, tailored case
• An email application where the letter is the body of the message
• Internal moves, where the reader knows your work but not your reasons

How to use this template

1. Pick two requirements from the posting

   Read the job description once and underline the two things the role is really about. They are usually the first two responsibilities, or the requirement that appears twice. Every paragraph in your letter will point at those two.

2. Write the opening that names the role

   State the role and where you saw it, then give the one reason you fit, in a sentence that could only be about this company. "I have followed your work on [specific thing]" beats "I am passionate about your mission."

3. Give two paragraphs of evidence

   One requirement per paragraph. A number helps when you have one ("cut onboarding from two weeks to four days"); a specific outcome helps even without one. Cut any sentence that describes you with adjectives instead of showing what you did.

4. Close with the next step

   Restate your interest in one line and propose a concrete next step rather than "I look forward to hearing from you." Check the header, the date and the recipient's name, then export to Word or PDF.

Tailoring the letter in ten minutes

Keep one master letter with your four or five strongest evidence paragraphs, each tagged with the requirement it proves. For a new application you change four things and leave the rest alone.

The structure stays the same because it works. A reader who skims gets the role, the reason and the next step from the first and last paragraphs alone. The two middle paragraphs are there for the reader who wants proof.

Use AI to cut, not compose

Cover letters written by a model from scratch tend to sound alike: the same openings, the same "I am excited to apply." The fix is to write the letter yourself and use AI to cut, not to compose. Ask for shorter sentences, for filler to be removed, for a check that every claim has evidence behind it. A paraphrase of your own sentence keeps your tone of voice; a paragraph generated from a job posting has nobody's.

Three requests that work: "Cut this paragraph to three sentences without losing the result." "Flag any sentence that makes a claim without evidence." "List the adjectives I use about myself." Keep the final read for yourself: if a sentence could appear in anyone's letter, it goes.

Cover letter format and length

One page, three to five paragraphs, a plain font at 11 or 12 points, and the same header as your résumé so the two documents read as a pair. Download the .docx when the application form wants a Word file; download the .md if you keep drafts in plain text. Send a PDF when you can, because it looks the same on every machine. The one-pager template follows the same rule of one argument per page.