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A general cover letter is a professional business document that should be no longer than 500 words.
Not only that, with this minimal space, it should also have to hold the recruiter’s attention long enough to read the entire cover letter and resume.
It may be tricky for some candidates. But it doesn’t have to be.
Use these 5+ short cover letter samples, and create your professional cover letter to grab the recruiter’s attention.
Why Should You Write a Short Cover Letter?
Most recruiters have to scan approximately 250 job applications on a daily basis.
That means the shorter the job application, the more applications they can scan through.
That’s why a short cover letter works so well. Here are some statistics to back this up:
53% of employers like to see a cover letter along with a resume. They won’t probably mind having a long cover letter.
But it’s the other 47% who are not a fan of reading a long cover letter. Writing a short cover letter meets the purpose of both spectrum of people without making anyone annoyed.
Recruiters in any company work with a severe time crunch. Surveys have shown that a recruiter spends only 7.4 seconds reading through a resume/cover letter. And that is why 70% of recruiters are looking for short cover letters.
The days of physical cover letters are gone. Nowadays, candidates send their resumes and cover letter via email.
Having a short cover letter makes it easy for you to use it as your job application email.
It eliminates the need to add a separate cover letter to the job application.
5 Short Cover Letter Samples
These short cover letter samples include all the components needed to grab the recruiter’s attention and get shortlisted for an interview.
Short Cover Letter Sample #1 (Software Engineer Cover Letter)
Also Read: How to write a software engineer cover letter in 2023?
Sample Short Cover Letter #2 (Product Manager Cover Letter)
Also Read: How to write a product manager cover letter in 2022?
Beginner Short Cover Letter Sample #3 (Java Developer Cover Letter)
Also Read: How to write a java developer cover letter in 2022?
Sample Short Cover Letter #4 (CNA Cover Letter)
Also Read: How to write a CNA cover letter in 2022?
Short Cover Letter Example #5 (Federal Cover Letter)
Also Read: How to write a federal cover letter in 2022?
Short Simple Cover Letter Examples #6
How to Write a Short Cover Letter?
To write an effective short cover letter, you need to summarize your experience, achievements, and skillsets efficiently.
Here are some tips for creating an effective short cover letter.
Short Cover Letter Format
Here is the format a short cover letter should follow:
- Cover Letter Salutation
- Paragraph #1: Your introduction
- Paragraph #2: Skills and achievements and why you’re fit for the job
- Paragraph #3: Why the company is the perfect place for you
- Paragraph #4: Call to action
- Closing Statement
- Enclosure
Start the Short Cover Letter Right
Addressing the hiring manager's cover letter sets you apart from the other candidates. But unfortunately, only 16% of candidates take the time to find out the recruiter’s name to address them.
If you want to shorten your cover letter, you need to focus on these small details, which will be much more effective without making the cover letter longer.
Add Only Relevant Job Skills and Achievements
Adding all your job skills and achievements in the cover letter will only increase the length of a cover letter and reduce its impact.
Instead, you should only add relevant skills and experience in the short cover letter.
Avoid Writing Buzzword in the Short Cover Letter
To make the short cover letter more effective, try to avoid writing buzzwords like “detail-oriented” or “customer-oriented.”
These words don’t hold much value. Instead, you should demonstrate your ‘detail-oriented’ skills with an achievement example in the cover letter. It will have a more positive impact on the recruiters.
For instance, you could write “Optimized back-end code for 2 apps while improving data-retrieval efficiency by 21%.”
Avoid Using Lengthy Paragraphs
It’s our nature to sometimes emphasize some statements by writing long phrases.
But in a cover letter, this does more harm than good.
Avoid using long phrases in cover letters, where a single word is more-than-enough.
Below are some long phrases that we frequently use on a cover letter.
| Short Phrase | Long Phrase |
|---|---|
| To | In order to |
| I can | I am capable of/I am able to |
| Because | Due to the fact that |
| Accomplished | Successfully accomplished |
| Many | A large number of |
| Regarding/About | With regard to |
Also Read: How long should a cover letter be in 2022?
Always End the Cover Letter With a Call To Action
You should always end the short cover letter by asking recruiters to schedule an interview.
It will help recruiters take action immediately after they read a cover letter.
Lastly, end the cover letter with a formal closing.
A simple “sincerely” should do the trick. But you can choose any closing salutation from the below list:
Also Read: How to end a cover letter in 2022?
Short Cover Letter Closing Salutations
Here are some of the closing salutations for a short cover letter:
- Thank you,
- Best regards,
- Kind regards,
- Sincerely,
- With best regards,
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some of the frequently asked questions about a short cover letter:
1. What do I include in a short cover letter?
Here are the elements you need to include in a short cover letter:
- Short cover letter heading
- Contact Information
- Name of the hiring manager & address
- Proper cover letter salutation
- Short cover letter body
- Closing salutation
- Enclosure
2. Is it bad to have a short cover letter?
The recruiters have approximately 7.4 seconds to read a job application. So, the shorter you can create the cover letter, the better. An exception would be when the job description has a word limit for the cover letter.
3. How do I format a short cover letter?
Here are some of the formatting tips for a short cover letter:
- Keep the margin for the cover letter 1-inch
- Left align the content of the cover letter to follow the standard practice.
- Keep the line space between 1 - 1.15 points
- If you are changing paragraphs, put a double space between paragraphs
- When you send your cover letter, send it in PDF format
4. When shouldn’t I use a short cover letter?
Here are some situations where you shouldn’t use a short cover letter:
- If the job description has a set word limit
- If you have highly relevant experience, skills, certifications, and achievements, you can increase your cover letter's length.
- If writing skills are one of the essential requirements for the job, you can showcase those skills with the long cover letter
Note: No matter what, never write the cover letter beyond 1 page.
5. How short should a cover letter be?
Although there are no guidelines about the length of a short cover letter, you can keep the short cover letter between 150 - 300 words.
However, make sure to optimize the cover letter to share all your relevant experiences with the recruiter.
Key Takeaways
Now, you have all the information necessary to write a short cover letter. Here are some key takeaways from this guide:
- Keep the short cover letter length between 150 - 300 words
- Do not go beyond 1 page to write the short cover letter
- Personalize the cover letter by directly addressing the hiring manager
- Talk about your experiences and skills in the body of the cover letter
- Finish the cover letter with a call to action for an interview
- End the cover letter with a professional closing salutation
Go to Hiration Cover Letter Builder, which has 24/7 chat support, and create a professional short cover letter for yourself.
You can also write to us at support@hiration.com for any queries regarding cover letters.
