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Free Cover Letter Templates

Make a memorable first impression with a professionally designed cover letter template.  Pick unlimited options, customize your letter in MS Word, and print it out.

Modern Cover Letter Templates

A cover letter is your introduction to potential employers. Think of it as your business attire. If it looks badly mismatched and wrinkled at the back, you’ll struggle to make a solid first impression. Same with your cover letter. Wonky fonts, weird margins, sloppy spacing — those things won’t win you extra points. So why leave things to chance? Elevate your job application with a cover letter design that indicates your impeccable aesthetical taste.

Professional Cover Letter Templates

Our free cover letter templates make it easy to create a professional-looking document in less than five minutes. Download unlimited cover letter designs for your personal use. Then print them out to send out to employers.

Simple Cover Letter Templates

Go with a time-tested cover letter design, bound to land with every employer in every industry.

Creative Cover Letter Templates

Pique the employer’s interest with a standout cover letter template, hinting at your unique personality and skillset.

The Ideal Cover Letter Format, Pre-Designed For You 

Cover letter writing doesn’t come easy. You have to convey so many things with your tone and words: Professionalism, courtesy, enthusiasm, dedication, qualifications, and so on. And fit all of that in under one page (or 250 words to be precise). 

Sounds overwhelming? It shouldn’t be because our cover letter templates are here to guide you. Each version includes a sample cover letter format , to help you getting started faster. Use the predefined cover letter layout to effortlessly pierce together a compelling summary of your career, key accomplishments, and educational credentials. 

Simple Cover Letter Outline 

A cover letter is a professional business document. As such, it follows a standard four-section structure, which you can outline beforehand, then customize for each job application. 

Cover Letter Header

• Include your name, address, phone number, and email address at the top of your cover letter.

Cover Letter Opening 

• Choose a professional greeting . Address the hiring manager by name if possible. 
• Mention the position you’re applying for and where you saw the job posting.
• Briefly explain why you believe to be a great fit for the role in one sentence. 

Read more about the best cover letter opening lines . 

Cover Letter Body 

• Allocate the first paragraph to your most marketable skills and achievements 
• Use the second paragraph to provide specific examples that demonstrate your skills and expertise
• Add a third short paragraph if you need to address any resume gaps or elaborate on how you’ve developed transferable skills. 

Read more about writing a persuasive cover letter . 

Cover Letter Closing Paragraph

• Express your enthusiasm for the position and thank the hiring manager for considering your application.  
• Add a call-to-action — a sentence offering the next steps — e.g. to connect with you via phone or reach out for further information. 
• End your document with a professional closing, such as “Sincerely,” and include your full name and signature.

Read more about writing a closing paragraph for a cover letter . 

Remember to keep your cover letter concise and focused, typically no more than one page. Use clear, easy-to-read language, and proofread your letter for spelling and grammar errors before sending it. 

Learn More from 50+ Cover Letter Examples 

Need some more inspiration? Discover our ever-expanding collection of sample cover letters , written for different roles and industries. Entry-level candidate or seasoned manager, you’ll find real-world examples and helpful writing tips for producing your best cover letter ever. 

FAQs about Cover Letter Templates 

Got some more questions about cover letter formatting and writing? We have answers!

What Font Size Should a Cover Letter Be?

The recommended font size for a cover letter is 10-12 points, depending on the typeface. That’s a good size both for digital and printed cover letters. Using a font size smaller than 10 points can make your letter difficult to read while using a larger font size than 12 points can make your letter look unprofessional and take up too much space.

What is an Enclosure in a Cover Letter?

An enclosure is any additional document you include alongside your letter to provide additional context for the reader (e.g., your resume, a copy of your professional license, a character reference letter, etc). When mentioning enclosures in a cover letter, you have to clearly list them. To do this, you can add a line after the signature line that says “Enclosure” or “Enclosures” followed by a list of the documents or materials included with the letter. 

How to Name Drop in a Cover Letter?

The introduction paragraph is the best way to name-drop your connection to the company (e.g., a person who referred you). Doing so immediately will grab the reader’s attention and make them more attuned to hearing what else you have to say. In the body of your cover letter, you can explain how your connection has given you an insight into the company.

How to Include References in a Cover Letter?

References should be on your resume or provided as a separate list, not included in your cover letter. However, you can briefly state mention that you have references available upon request. This shows that you are prepared and transparent about your past career history. 

How to Sell Yourself In a Cover Letter?

Instead of using adjectives like “qualified”, “experienced”, or “motivated”, provide the reader with the context behind them. Use specific examples to demonstrate your hard and soft skills in real-world settings. Highlight both how you’ve applied these skills, plus what outcomes they’ve generated for the company. Quantify your accomplishments whenever applicable.

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ATS Resume Templates

Download an ATS-friendly resume template for free. These templates can be edited in Microsoft Word and can be accurately scanned by an applicant tracking system.

If you’ve made it to this page, then you probably already know more about applicant tracking systems (ATS) than the average job seeker. That gives you an advantage! Why?

Many companies use ATS to manage resumes and applications. In fact, Jobscan research shows that over 97% of Fortune 500 companies use an ATS.

If an ATS can’t read or understand the information on your resume, then your application might not be seen when a recruiter searches for candidates with specific skills or experience – even if you have those skills or the experience!

Your resume needs to be ATS-friendly in order to give you the best chance of getting a job interview. That means that you need an ATS resume template.

We’ve designed 15 ATS resume templates that can be downloaded as Microsoft Word files and easily edited. Download one for free or use our free resume builder to get a customized ATS-friendly resume in minutes.

Free ATS Resume Templates

Executive and Management ATS-Friendly Resume Templates

As a leader, you want your experience and accomplishments to shine. These resume templates give you opportunities to show the measurable results you’ve achieved, as well as your hard and soft skills .

Using correct formatting is critical here. The ATS needs to be able to parse all of that vital information and categorize it correctly. You also need your resume to be searchable by an ATS so that when a recruiter filters candidates by skills, your application stays on the list.

Entry-Level ATS-Friendly Resume Templates

You might not think you have a lot to show on your resume, but you do! These templates provide sections where you can highlight your education, internships, volunteer experience , personal accomplishments, and more.

An ATS-friendly resume will help you get found by recruiters and hiring managers. This is important because an entry-level position could have hundreds of applicants! Use these templates to make sure the ATS picks up your skills and experience.

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ATS Resume Templates - What You Need to Know

How to make the perfect ats resume.

Remember, an ATS is just a computer filing system. It needs to be able to scan and understand the text on your resume in order to correctly parse the information and sort it properly.

An ATS will never auto-reject a resume, but an ATS optimized resume does make it easier for a recruiter to find you among the sea of applicants.

Even more importantly, an ATS-friendly resume naturally follows expert-recommended resume writing standards as well. That means that when the recruiter personally views your resume, it will include the relevant information they’re looking for and will be formatted in a way that makes it easier to read

Follow these tips for making the perfect ATS resume :

1. Tailor your resume to the job you are applying for

Focus on quality over quantity. Each job you apply for is unique, even if they all have the same title. Every company has different needs for that role. The job description will make it clear which hard skills, soft skills, experience, and education the company is looking for. So tailor your resume to show them that you are the perfect candidate.

Tailoring each and every resume can be time consuming, but it’s worth the effort!

You can speed up this process by using a tool like Jobscan’s resume scanner . Powered by AI-technology , this tool analyzes your resume against the job description and provides you with a resume score that tells you how closely your resume matches the job description. It also tells you exactly what you need to do to increase your score.

2. Match your resume keywords to skills found in the job description

Recruiters might use an ATS’ search function to find applicants with specific skills. How do you know what skills they will search for? By examining the job listing. Use a resume scanner to automatically pick out the hard and soft skills the recruiter might search for, and then include those on your resume.

Even if the recruiter doesn’t search applications for those skills, they’ll definitely be looking for mentions of them on each resume they review.

3. Use long-form and acronym versions of keywords

Some ATS will only return resumes with the exact keywords the recruiters would search for. For example, if you included “Search Engine Optimization” in your resume but the recruiter searched for “SEO,” your profile may not appear in the results. Try to include both the acronym and the unabbreviated form of the term.

Use a tool like Jobscan’s resume fixer to make sure your resume doesn’t contain mistakes that will eliminate you from consideration.

4. Use Chronological or Hybrid resume format to write your resume .

Recruiters do not like the functional resume format . Unless you’re making a career change, a functional resume is going to work against you. (And even then, we recommend you steer clear of the format for a career change resume .)

The best format for the ATS is traditional reverse chronological. You can also use chronological and hybrid resume formats as these are familiar to most recruiters.

5. Use an easy-to-read, traditional font

For readability, use a traditional serif or sans serif font. Untraditional or “fancy” fonts can cause parsing errors, which means the full text of your resume won’t be searchable.

6. Use standard resume section headings

Section headers like “Where I’ve Been” in place of “Work Experience” will confuse applicant tracking systems, causing them to organize information incorrectly.

7. Save your file as a .docx if possible

A docx file is most compatible with ATS.

What is the best resume format for ATS?

There are three standard resume formats to choose from in your job search. They shape your first impression and determine the way recruiters and hiring managers view your fit as an applicant.

Your resume formatting can also determine how well your resume is parsed within an applicant tracking system (ATS) and how likely you are to be noticed as a result.

Regardless of the format you use, the most important thing is to use standard section headings like Experience, Skills, and Education. That will make it easier for the ATS to categorize the text.

How to tailor your ATS-friendly resume to a job

Tailoring your resume proves to recruiters that you’re an experienced professional. Most importantly, it shows them that you’re the perfect fit for this role.

Follow these three steps for tailoring your resume to a job description:

1. Examine the specific job description of the position

Go line by line through the job description and ask yourself these questions:

• “Does my resume experience section clearly state that I can do what’s required of this role?”
• “Am I using the same language found in the job description or job posting?”

You might find several different or missing skills and keywords in your generic resume.

2. Match skills and keywords from the job description

Mirroring the language, keywords, and buzzwords found within the job description is the easiest way to demonstrate you’re a better match than the competition.

The best way to show you’re the best fit for the position is to take words from the job posting and strategically put them in your job descriptions and other resume sections. A resume scanner will automatically pull out these keywords in seconds and speed up this process.

3. Write your job title clearly

Recruiters might search for people who have done the job they’re hiring, so list your job titles clearly and match the titles to the one in the job posting when possible. If you haven’t held the job before, list it under your name at the top or as part of your summary section.

What is Applicant Tracking Software (ATS)?

An applicant tracking system (ATS) is software used to assist with human resources, recruitment, and hiring. While each system offers a different package of features, applicant tracking systems are primarily used to help hiring companies organize and navigate large numbers of applicants.

For example, an ATS stores job candidate information like resumes, cover letters, references, and other recruitment and hiring data that HR teams can easily access and organize. It will also track job candidates and their application status throughout the hiring pipeline.

Ultimately, an ATS automates time-consuming administrative tasks such as manually screening applicants, reading resumes, scheduling interviews, and sending notifications and emails to job candidates and employees.

Can you add graphics to your resume?

When it comes to creating an ATS-friendly resume , the rule is: The simpler, the better. ATS are improving at scanning different formatting features, but not all of them are good at this.

Adding graphics and images could cause ATS parsing errors , which means the text on your resume won’t be fully searchable or accurately categorized by an ATS. We recommend that job seekers err on the side of caution. Avoid graphics, images, and photos.

Are Google Docs or Microsoft resume templates ATS-friendly?

They can be. We talked about some formatting features to avoid on your resume – fancy graphics and non-traditional fonts. Those features can trip up an ATS, even if they’re on a Word document or Google Docs file.

However, as long as you follow the guidelines on this page, or use one of these ATS resume templates, you’ll be fine.

How to get your cover letter past the ATS?

To increase your cover letter’s chances of passing an ATS, focus on using a clean format without complex formatting, incorporate relevant keywords and phrases from the job description, and ensure that your content is easy for the ATS to parse.

Consider using a tool like Jobscan’s cover letter generator to help you create an ATS-friendly cover letter. If you already have a cover letter, run it through our cover letter checker tool to get personalized feedback on how to improve your cover letter and make it more compelling to employers.

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