Does anyone read cover letters anymore?

Some recruiters never open them. Others read every one. Since you cannot tell which you are dealing with, the practical rule is simple: if the application has a field for it, fill it. An empty optional field costs you nothing with the recruiters who ignore letters and costs you the job with the ones who do not.

A cover letter earns its place in four situations in particular:

• You are changing industries and your resume does not obviously fit.
• You have an employment gap you would rather explain in your own words.
• You are relocating and want to make clear the move is already decided.
• The posting is at a small company, where the hiring manager is often the person reading applications.

Length and format

Keep it to 250 to 400 words — three or four short paragraphs on a single page. Use the same font and header as your resume so the two documents look like a set. If you are pasting it into an email or a text box, drop the formal letterhead and start with the greeting.

Never open with "To Whom It May Concern." It reads as a form letter. Look for the hiring manager's name on LinkedIn or in the posting; if you genuinely cannot find one, "Dear Hiring Manager" is acceptable and neutral. Never guess a name you are not sure about.

The three-paragraph structure that works

Paragraph one — the hook and the fit. Name the exact role and where you saw it, then state in one sentence why you are a credible candidate. Skip "I am writing to apply for..." — the reader knows. Try instead: I've spent six years running inventory for multi-site retail operations, and the Operations Coordinator role at Ridgeline is the kind of scale I've been building toward.

Paragraph two — the proof. Pick one or two requirements from the posting and show how you have already done that work, with a result attached. This is not a summary of your resume; it is the story behind one line of it. Numbers belong here.

Paragraph three — the company. Say something specific and true about the employer: a product, a market they just entered, an approach that matches how you work. One honest sentence beats three of flattery. Generic praise ("your company is a leader in the industry") signals that you sent the same letter to thirty employers.

Closing. A single line stating that you would welcome the chance to discuss the role, then "Sincerely," and your name. Do not demand an interview and do not say you will follow up on a specific date unless you actually will.

A short example

> Dear Ms. Alvarez,

>

> I saw the Customer Success Manager opening at Brightpath on your careers page. For the last four years I've managed a book of 45 mid-market accounts at a B2B software company, and renewals on my accounts have run at 93 percent against a company average of 81 percent.

>

> The posting emphasizes onboarding new customers quickly. When my previous employer shortened its onboarding target from 60 days to 30, I rebuilt the first-touch process and ran the pilot with 12 accounts; the median time to first value came down to 24 days, and we rolled the process out across the team the following quarter.

>

> Brightpath's move into healthcare accounts this year is what caught my attention — regulated customers need a very different onboarding pace, and that is the part of this work I find most interesting.

>

> I'd welcome the chance to talk about the role.

>

> Sincerely,

> Daniel Okafor

The mistakes that get a letter deleted

• Repeating the resume line by line. The letter should add context, not duplicate content.
• Writing about what you want. "This role would be a great opportunity for my growth" is about you. The employer is hiring to solve their problem.
• The wrong company name. It happens constantly, and it ends the application. Proofread the letter every time you reuse it.
• A wall of text. Short paragraphs, white space, no more than one page.
• Generic AI output. A letter that could have been written for any job at any company reads exactly that way. Use a draft as scaffolding, then put your own specifics into every paragraph.

Where the letter fits in the application

Attach it as a separate file when the form allows one, named Firstname-Lastname-Cover-Letter.docx. If you are emailing a hiring manager directly, put the letter in the body of the email and attach only the resume — an email whose body says "please see attached" wastes the one paragraph you were guaranteed to have read.

Get the resume format right first, then use the letter for what a bullet list cannot carry. If the application routes through an applicant tracking system, the same parsing rules apply to the letter: plain text, no graphics, no tables.

You can build the resume that goes with it, free and ATS-safe, on Monta meu currículo?.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are cover letters still required in the US in 2026?

They are rarely required, but they are frequently read — especially at small companies and for career-change applications. If the application offers a field, use it.

How long should a US cover letter be?

Between 250 and 400 words, on one page. Three or four short paragraphs.

What should I write if I cannot find the hiring manager's name?

Use "Dear Hiring Manager." Avoid "To Whom It May Concern," and never guess a name.

Should I use the same cover letter for every application?

No. Keep a reusable structure, but rewrite the proof paragraph and the company paragraph for each employer. Those two paragraphs are the entire value of the letter.