Cover Letters
Best Cover Letter Structure
A four-part cover letter structure with word counts: hook, two proofs, why this company, and a clear ask—built to survive a 20-second skim.
Hiring managers do not read cover letters the way you write them. They glance. Twenty seconds, maybe thirty. In that window they are answering one question: is there a reason to look at this person more carefully than the next PDF?
Structure is how you survive the glance. A beautiful sentence in paragraph four might as well not exist.
This is the deep-dive companion to the Complete Cover Letter Guide. The pillar decides whether to write. This page decides how the page is built.
The four blocks
| Block | Job | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Hook | Name their problem or your sharpest relevant win | 1–2 sentences |
| Proof | Two evidence points mapped to must-haves | ~80–120 words |
| Why them | One true product, team, or constraint—not the About page | 1–2 sentences |
| Ask | Interview / conversation, not "I look forward to hearing from you" | 1 sentence |
Target 220–320 words unless the posting asks for something else. Half a page is a feature. Past 400 words you are writing a memo.
1. Hook
Two honest options:
- Problem hook: their constraint, in their language. "You're hiring a CSM to stop mid-market churn after month four."
- Proof hook: one metric that maps to the job. "I cut logo churn 18% on a 120-account book last year—that is the problem this role is paid to solve."
What is not a hook: "I am writing to apply," "I am excited to submit," "I have always been passionate about." Those sentences cost you the skim. More on that in Cover Letter Mistakes.
2. Proof
Two points. Not five. Each point is a compressed resume bullet: verb, scope, tool, outcome—then one clause that maps it to this posting.
If you cannot map a point to a must-have, it belongs on the resume, not here.
3. Why them
One fact you could not have copied from ten other letters. A product launch, a market they just entered, a staffing model, a paper their team published. Wikipedia praise ("industry leader") is a skip signal.
If you cannot name a true detail in two minutes of research, the letter may not be worth sending. Spend the time on resume fit instead—the pillar is explicit about when to skip.
4. Ask
Name the role and the next step. "I'd welcome 20 minutes on the Lifecycle Manager role and how I would spend the first 90 days." Close. No "please find my resume attached" if they already have it.
Header, greeting, file
Structure inside the body matters more than stationery. Still:
- Portal paste: no address block. Start at the greeting or the hook.
- Attachment: date, their team name if you have it, your name and phone in the signature—not a graphic.
- Greeting: person if public; otherwise "Dear [Team] hiring team."
- File:
FirstLast-Role-CoverLetter.pdfwith selectable text. Same parse rules as ATS resume format: no text boxes, no headers for contact.
Structure check before you send
- 220–320 words unless the posting says otherwise
- Sentence one is a hook, not a purpose statement
- Exactly two proofs, each mapped to a must-have
- One company detail you could defend in a screen
- Ask names the role
- No resume-bullet paste
- Readable in twenty seconds by a friend who does not know you
Worked examples of this skeleton: Cover Letter Examples. Role-specific fillings: software, nursing, marketing.
Related reading
- Complete Cover Letter Guide — when a letter is worth writing
- Cover Letter Examples — annotated fills of this structure
- Cover Letter Mistakes — how the structure gets abandoned
- Cover Letter vs Resume — what belongs in each document
- Get started with Kyrolane