A short cover letter is 100 to 200 words and keeps three things: one result, one proof that the result was yours, and the ask. Here are ten finished examples, every one under 200 words: four to attach as a page, three written for an application form's text box, and three written as the body of an email. The ten here run from 95 to 122 words.
Key points
- Answer the listing's single most important requirement, then stop.
- Put the result in the first paragraph, and in the first sentence unless a referral or the employer's own need goes there.
- In a form's text box, leave out the header and the date and write plain paragraphs.
- When you apply by email, the message is the letter. Put your phone number under your name.
- Write a full letter if you are changing fields or the listing sets criteria to address.
In this guide
What a short letter keeps, and what it drops
A full letter runs 250 to 400 words and answers two or three of the listing's requirements. A short one answers the requirement that matters most and stops. It keeps three things.
- One result: the thing you have done that best answers the listing's main requirement, with a number or a named thing in it.
- One proof: how you did it, or what came of it, so the reader can see the work was yours.
- The ask: what you want next (a call, an interview, a trial shift) and when you are free.
It drops the other requirements, the company paragraph (one sentence at most), the thanks, and everything the resume already says.
Weak
I am writing to express my interest in the Accounts Assistant position. I believe my strong attention to detail and my experience in a busy finance team make me an excellent candidate for this role.
Strong
In March I cleared a backlog of 340 unpaid supplier invoices at Pennant Flooring in three weeks.
Thirty-five words became seventeen, and only the shorter version has a fact in it. It opens letter 1 below.
To see a whole letter cut in stages, How long should a cover letter be? shows one at 150, 250 and 400 words.
Four short letters to attach as a page
These four are for a listing that asks for a short letter or a brief note, sent as an attached page. Your header goes above each.
1. Accounts assistant
Accounts payable clerk applying to a veterinary group · Professional tone · 114 words
Dear Ms Trevithick,
In March I cleared a backlog of 340 unpaid supplier invoices at Pennant Flooring in three weeks. I am applying for the Accounts Assistant role at Larkfield Veterinary Group, where the listing asks for someone to keep the purchase ledger current across nine practices.
The backlog came from invoices arriving without purchase order numbers. I agreed a rule with our six largest suppliers: no PO number, no payment date1. Unmatched invoices fell from about 40 a month to 5.
I would be glad to explain how I would set up the same check for nine sites2. I am free for a call any day after 3 pm.
Yours sincerely, Yaw Darko
Why this works
- 1The proof. Six words show how the backlog was stopped at its source.
- 2The ask borrows the employer's own number, and that is all the company paragraph a letter this short needs.
2. Frontend engineer
Frontend developer applying to a recipe-box company for a remote role · Confident tone · 122 words
Dear Pellbridge engineering team,
I cut the load time of the search page at Tansy Homeware from 4.1 seconds to 1.91 on a mid-range phone. Your listing for a Frontend Engineer says customers give up on the weekly menu page when it stalls, and that is the kind of problem I like to be given.
Most of the gain came from three changes: loading the search filters only when someone opens them, replacing a 300 KB carousel library with 40 lines of CSS2, and serving images at the size the screen asks for.
I can share the before-and-after traces and talk through what I would measure first on your menu page. I am free most mornings, Madrid time.
Kind regards, Lucía Fernández
Why this works
- 1Both numbers, and the device they were measured on. The list of frameworks stays in the resume.
- 2One proof, as three changes in one sentence. This is where a short letter spends its words.
3. Community nurse
Hospital staff nurse applying to a home care provider · Professional tone · 116 words
Dear Mr Lenihan,
On my ward at Ardcarrig General, hospital-acquired pressure ulcers dropped from nine in one quarter to two in the next after I changed how we hand over at night. I am applying for the Community Staff Nurse post at Westmeadow Home Care, where the listing puts skin care first among the duties.
Each patient at risk got a one-line note at handover: when they were last repositioned, and which skin to check1. Night staff then knew whom to turn first, instead of starting at bed one. I trained 18 colleagues to write the notes.
I hold a full driving licence2 and can attend an interview any weekday except Tuesday.
Yours sincerely, Siobhán Kearney
Why this works
- 1The proof is the detail of the method. Only someone who did the work would know to write it.
- 2There is still room for one practical requirement the listing marks as essential. A clause is enough.
4. Maintenance supervisor
Industrial electrician applying to lead maintenance at a creamery · Confident tone · 112 words
Dear Ms Hostetler,
In 2025 I brought unplanned stoppages on Redfern Bottling's two filling lines down from fourteen a month to five. Millrace Creamery is hiring a Maintenance Supervisor to do the same across three shifts, and I would like to be considered.
I have been an industrial electrician for 22 years.1 The stoppages came down because I stopped waiting for faults: every Monday I walk the motor control panels with a thermal camera and log anything running hot. I trained the other four electricians to do the walk, so it happens when I am off2.
I can come to the plant any Friday to talk it through.
Yours sincerely, Darnell Brooks
Why this works
- 1A long career in one sentence. The resume holds the rest.
- 2The only evidence of supervising in the letter, and it is enough: the work carries on without him.
Three written for an application form's text box
A text box changes three things. The form already holds your details, so there is no header and no date. Formatting may not survive, so write plain paragraphs. And the label decides how you begin: under "Cover letter", keep a short greeting and end with your name; under a question, answer it in your first sentence and leave both out.
If the box has a limit, paste your draft in early and go by the form's own counter.
5. Shift supervisor, answering a question
Nasrin Uddin, a barista, answering "Why are you a good fit?" on a bakery chain's form · Friendly tone · 95 words
I have opened the Marrowgate Coffee kiosk at Leicester station alone five mornings a week for two years1: first customer at 6.15, about 120 drinks before 9.
Your listing asks for a supervisor who can run the morning shift and train new starters. I have trained six baristas on the till and the machine, and I wrote the one-page opening checklist our manager now uses at both kiosks.
Kettle & Quarry's Granby Street shop is ten minutes from my home. I can start two weeks from an offer2 and can work any day, including weekends.
Why this works
- 1No greeting and no "I am applying for": the form knows the role. The first words answer the question on the box.
- 2A form has nobody to ask for a call, so the ask becomes availability.
6. Graduate analyst, to a word limit
Ifeoma Obi, a geography student, answering "What would you bring to this role?" in a box with a 150-word limit · Professional tone · 106 words
For my second-year project I cleaned and joined three years of library loan records for a county council, 4.2 million rows1, and showed that four branches lent a third of all children's books. The council kept all four open in its next budget.
I presented the work to eight councillors using only charts that needed no explaining. Whinfell Mutual's listing asks for analysts who can explain a finding to the people who price policies, and that is the part of the work I am best at.
I finish my degree in June and can start on the September intake. I am applying for the Leeds office.2
Why this works
- 1A student project treated as a job: what was done, at what scale, and what came of it.
- 2When the box is the form's only free text, the start date and the location go in it.
7. Department supervisor, in a "Cover letter" box
Stockroom lead applying on a home and garden retailer's form · Professional tone · 101 words
Dear Hiring Manager,1
At Dunnock Garden Centre I cut the weekly stock count from six hours to two by counting one bay a day in rotation2, and write-offs for lost stock fell by half over the year. I am applying for Department Supervisor at your Paisley store.
I lead a stockroom team of five, do the rota, and place the Monday order for compost, tools and outdoor furniture. Your listing mentions the spring peak: I have planned four of them3, including the delivery slots.
I can work any five days out of seven and could start in three weeks.
Dariusz Wiśniewski
Why this works
- 1The box is labelled "Cover letter", so this one keeps a greeting and a name. It drops the address block, the date and "Yours sincerely".
- 2Result and method in one sentence, which saves a paragraph.
- 3The listing's own concern, answered with a count.
Your first letter in Cover Letter Guru is free and downloads as plain text, ready to paste into a text box or an email.
Write my first letter freeThree written as the body of an email
When a listing gives an email address and asks for your resume, the message you write is the cover letter. Start at the greeting, say the resume is attached, and put your phone number under your name. Put the role and your name in the subject line: "Sous chef application: Lwazi Mthembu". Subject lines, and when to paste or attach, are in the guide to cover letters sent by email.
8. Sous chef
Chef de partie emailing a restaurant's owner · Friendly tone · 103 words
Dear Ms Abrahams,
I run the grill section at Lamplight Kitchen in Woodstock, 140 covers on a Saturday1, and I place its fish and meat orders three times a week. Your listing says the sous chef at Marram House will take over ordering.
Last winter I weighed the grill section's trim every night for a month, changed the portions on two dishes, and brought our meat order down by a tenth with the same number of covers.
My resume is attached. I am off on Mondays and Tuesdays and would gladly work a trial shift on either2.
Kind regards, Lwazi Mthembu 07700 900147
Why this works
- 1An email has no letterhead, so the first line does that job: section, restaurant and scale.
- 2The ask fits the trade: where a trial shift is the usual next step, offer one and name the days.
9. Email marketing specialist
Marketing coordinator replying to a tour company founder's listing · Friendly tone · 111 words
Hi Daniela,1
Your listing for an Email Marketing Specialist asks for someone to rebuild the Wattlebird Tours newsletter before the summer season. At Tidewrack Maritime Museum I took our list from 3,200 subscribers to 9,5002 in twelve months, and newsletter readers now buy one ticket in five sold online.
The growth came from one change at the ticket desk: staff offer to email the receipt, and the receipt carries a sign-up link. I also wrote the three welcome emails new subscribers receive.
My resume is attached, with two of the welcome emails. I am free for a call on Thursday or Friday this week.
Kind regards, Mai Truong 0491 570 1563
Why this works
- 1The listing was signed with a first name, so the greeting matches it. For a formal employer, use the title and surname.
- 2This one opens with the employer's deadline and puts the result second, still in the first paragraph.
- 3In an email, the phone number goes under your name, where a page would have had it in the header.
10. IT support technician, with a referral
IT technician emailing an architecture practice, referred by a former manager · Professional tone · 115 words
Dear Ms Aaltonen,
Renuka Pillai, who managed me at Corvid Print for three years1, suggested I write to you about the IT Support Technician role.
At Corvid I am the only IT person for 45 staff. In May I moved all 45 of them to new laptops over one weekend, and on Monday morning nobody had lost a file or a login2.
Sedge & Marsh is about the same size and, Renuka tells me, moving offices in the spring. I have done one office move and would be glad to tell you what I would do differently. My resume is attached, and I am free any day after 4 pm.
Kind regards, Omar Sayegh 416-555-0142
Why this works
- 1A referral goes first, with how the person knows your work. Ask before you use their name.
- 2The result is the weekend. The proof is the Monday morning.
When a short letter is the right choice, and when it is not
We suggest a short letter in five cases.
- The listing asks for one: "a short note", "tell us in 150 words".
- The form gives you a text box and nowhere to attach a file.
- You are applying by email with your resume attached.
- Someone has referred you, and their name does part of the letter's work.
- The job is hourly, seasonal or shift-based, and what matters is what you have done and when you can work.
Write the full 250 to 400 words in three others.
- The listing sets the terms: selection criteria, set questions or a statement of a stated length. Do exactly what it asks.
- You are changing fields. The link between your old work and the new role needs its own paragraph. See the career change cover letter guide.
- The role is mostly writing, and the letter is a sample of the work.
For those, the method is in How to write a cover letter and twelve longer letters, of about 200 words each, are in our annotated cover letter examples. If you are unsure, write the full letter first and cut it down.
A short cover letter template
Replace everything in square brackets. For a form's text box labelled "Cover letter", delete "Yours sincerely," and keep the greeting and your name. Under a question, delete the greeting and your name as well. For an email, add your phone number under your name.
Short cover letter template
Dear [Mr/Ms Surname or Hiring Manager], [The result that best answers the listing's main requirement, with a number or a named thing.] [The role you are applying for and the company.] [One proof: how you did it, or what came of it.] [One sentence on why this employer, only if you have a specific reason.] [What you would like next: a call, an interview, a trial shift.] [When you are free.] Yours sincerely, [Your name]
How to cut a longer letter to under 200 words
Remove whole sentences, not a word here and there. Keep the opening result exactly as it is. Keep the paragraph that proves one requirement and delete the others. Delete every sentence about your character: "I am a motivated team player" costs six words and proves nothing. Then replace the thanks with the ask.
Cover Letter Guru writes a letter from your resume and the job listing. Press Shorter and it is rewritten at a shorter length in one click, with an Undo if it cuts something you wanted. You can also edit the text in place.
Write it, then shorten itCommon questions
- How short can a cover letter be?
- We suggest about 100 words as the floor for a page or an email: below that there is no room for a result, a proof and an ask. In a form's text box, the box sets the length. How long should a cover letter be? covers the full range.
- Do I need a greeting in an application form's text box?
- It depends on the label. A box called "Cover letter" takes a short greeting and your name at the end. A box that asks a question, such as "Why do you want this role?", takes a direct answer with neither.
- Should a short cover letter go in the email or in an attachment?
- If the listing says, do what it says. If it does not, a short letter works well as the email itself, with the resume attached. See the guide to cover letters sent by email.
- Can I use bullet points in a short cover letter?
- On an attached page, two or three bullets can carry the proof if each one is a result. In a form's text box or an email, write sentences, because the formatting may not be kept.
Related guides
How long should a cover letter be? One letter at 3 lengths
A cover letter should be 250 to 400 words on one page. See one letter at 150, 250 and 400 words, what to cut first, and how to fit a character limit.
How to email a cover letter: 12 subject lines, 3 templates
Follow the listing on whether to paste your cover letter into the email or attach it. Twelve subject lines, three templates and a checklist before you send.
12 cover letter examples that work, with notes on each
Twelve complete cover letters for twelve jobs, from new graduate to operations director, with notes on what the key sentences are doing and why.
How to start a cover letter: 40 opening lines by what they prove
Start a cover letter with the most relevant thing you can prove. Forty opening lines sorted by what each proves, and the nine openings to avoid.
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