How many words should a cover letter be?
Between 250 and 400. Below 200 words the letter has no room to show why you fit; above 450 it starts to repeat your resume, and the reader stops at the second paragraph. Three or four paragraphs of two to four sentences each lands in the range without effort, and leaves white space on the page, which is part of why a short letter gets read.
You will see other numbers. Some advice says 300 words, some says half a page. The differences do not matter as much as the test every number is trying to pass: can a busy reader take in the whole letter in under a minute and know what you are offering? If your draft passes that, its exact count is fine. If it does not, no count will rescue it.
How long a cover letter should be, by situation
The right length moves with where the letter is read. A letter pasted into an email is read on a phone between other messages; a letter for a senior role has more to cover. These are working ranges, not rules.
| Situation | Words | Paragraphs | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard application with a resume | 250 to 350 | 3 to 4 | Enough for a reason, a proof and an ask |
| Letter pasted into the email body | 120 to 200 | 2 to 3 | Read on a phone; the resume carries the detail |
| Entry level, internship or no experience | 200 to 300 | 3 | Less to say; keep one concrete project or class result |
| Career change or a gap to explain | 300 to 400 | 4 | Needs room to link old work to the new field |
| Senior or executive role | 350 to 450 | 4 to 5 | More scope to cover, still one page |
| Form with a character limit | Under the limit | 1 to 2 | Put the strongest sentence first in case it is cut |
| Academic, research or a posting that lists criteria | Follow the posting | As asked | The employer sets the length; up to two pages is common there |
If a posting gives a limit, such as one page or 500 words, treat it as a ceiling and aim for about two thirds of it. A letter that fills every allowed line looks like it was padded to fit.
Should a cover letter be one page?
Yes, treat it as a hard limit, with one exception covered below. No rule requires it, but a reader who opens a second page is already asking why the first was not enough. How long does a cover letter have to be? As long as it takes to give one reason you fit and one proof, and no longer.
The exception is the posting that asks for more, usually in academic, research and some public-sector jobs, where the letter answers listed criteria one by one. There a second page is expected. Everywhere else, if your letter runs onto page two, the fix is cutting words, and shrinking the type or the margins to squeeze the text in is the wrong fix. That is why the cover letter format guide keeps the font and margins at normal sizes: what font a cover letter should be is a layout question, and the answer is a plain 10.5 to 12 point face, not a smaller one.
A rough check: at 11 point with standard margins, a letter of about 350 words and a short address block fills about two thirds of the page. If yours fills the page to the last line, you are over.
A word budget, paragraph by paragraph
How long is a cover letter supposed to be at the paragraph level? Spend the words like this, and the total lands near 300.
- Opening, 40 to 60 words. The role, plus one sentence that shows you know something about the employer or have done the work. Skip the line that says you are writing to apply; the subject line and the greeting have said it.
- Proof, 100 to 150 words. One or two things you have done that match the posting, each with a number or a name. This is the paragraph a hiring manager rereads. It should not list your duties.
- Fit, 50 to 80 words. Why this employer and this role, in a way that could not be sent to a competitor unchanged.
- Close, 25 to 40 words. A thank you, what is attached, and how to reach you. One sentence about next steps.
The greeting, the sign-off and your name sit outside the budget. For the wording of the greeting see how to address a cover letter; for what each paragraph should say, the guide on how to write a cover letter.
Three trims, before and after
Most over-long letters are not full of too much content. They are full of sentences that say the same thing in more words. These three trims are fictional and illustrative; the person, the employer and the numbers are invented. Word counts are for the paragraph shown.
The opening that restates the ad (56 words to 37)
Before
I am writing to apply for the Operations Coordinator position that was advertised on your careers page. I believe that I am an excellent candidate for this position because I have a strong background in operations and logistics and I am a hard-working and dedicated professional who is eager to join a dynamic team like yours.
After
For three years I have scheduled drivers and tracked deliveries for a regional bakery group, and last spring I cut missed delivery windows from 14 a month to 3. I am applying for your Operations Coordinator role.
The cut removed every claim the reader cannot check (excellent, strong, dedicated, dynamic) and kept the one they can.
The paragraph that retells the resume (60 words to 38)
Before
In my current job at Brightwater Supply I am responsible for scheduling, for tracking shipments, for answering customer calls and emails, for updating the delivery spreadsheet, and for training new drivers. Before that, at my first job, I was a dispatcher, where I was responsible for similar duties. I also hold a degree in business administration from a state university.
After
At Brightwater Supply I rebuilt the shared delivery spreadsheet so drivers see schedule changes the same day. Your posting asks for someone who can keep a busy schedule from slipping, and that is the work I do now.
A list of duties is already on the resume. The trim picks the one duty that matches the posting, and says what changed because of it.
The close that begs (56 words to 27)
Before
Thank you very much for taking the time to read my application. I would really appreciate the opportunity to discuss my qualifications with you further in an interview at your earliest convenience. Please do not hesitate to contact me at any time should you require any further information. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
After
My resume is attached. I would welcome a short call about the role, and I can be reached at 555-0142 or daniel.reyes@example.com. Thank you for your time.
The longer version asks three times and gives no way to answer. The short one gives the number.
How to cut a long draft
Paste the letter into a plain text editor and read it once with a pen, marking three things. First, any sentence that begins with I am writing, I believe, or I would like to: delete the opener and keep what follows. Second, any adjective about yourself that a former manager would have to confirm. Third, any sentence that is also a line on your resume. What is left is usually 20 to 30 percent shorter and stronger.
If it is still over, cut the weakest of the proofs rather than shortening all of them; one detailed example does more than three thin ones. Do not cut the closing contact line, and do not drop the greeting to save a line. Then read it aloud: a letter that takes longer than about two minutes to say is too long to be read.
A shorter letter also helps when you send one to many employers. It is easier to keep the first and third paragraphs specific and change only the proof. The guide to what a cover letter is explains why the letter exists, and the examples by job show finished letters at about this length.
Sources
Checked on 13 October 2026.