# Essential Cover Letter Tips and Checklist > A cover letter checklist for addressing, format, opening, body, closing, and tone, with red flags and a prompt for Claude or ChatGPT. ## The cover letter checklist Read your cover letter against each item before you send an application. The items find small mistakes that are hard to see in your own writing. Examples are a wrong company name, a general opening, and a typo. ### Addressing - [ ] The name of a person, if you can find one in the job posting, on the company website, or on LinkedIn - [ ] The correct spelling of the name and the job title of that person - [ ] The correct company name in all of the letter (search the file for the names of other companies that you applied to) - [ ] The job title exactly as the posting writes it ### Your details and format - [ ] Contact details that are the same as on your resume - [ ] The date on which you send the letter - [ ] One page or less - [ ] The same font as your resume, 10 to 12 point, with equal margins - [ ] A PDF file, unless the posting asks for a different format - [ ] A clear file name, for example `FirstName-LastName-CoverLetter.pdf` ### Opening paragraph - [ ] The position in the first sentence - [ ] Where you found the posting, or the name of the person who referred you - [ ] One specific reason to work at this company, a reason that does not fit every company ### Body - [ ] Two or three of your experiences, each connected to a requirement in the posting - [ ] At least one result with a number (for example, "increased email open rates from 18% to 31% in six months") - [ ] One current fact about the company (a product, a market, or a goal) and how you can help with it - [ ] Information that your resume does not give: how and why you got a result ### Closing paragraph - [ ] A request for a next step (a call or an interview) - [ ] Your availability or start date, if the role needs it - [ ] Two or three sentences at most ### Tone - [ ] Confident words, not arrogant words ("I believe that my five years in SaaS marketing fit this role", not "I am the perfect candidate") - [ ] Interest, not desperation (no "this job means everything to me") - [ ] No negative words about a current or past employer - [ ] No sentence that you can remove without a loss of information ### Final read - [ ] You read the letter aloud one time - [ ] You ran spell-check, then read slowly for wrong words that spell-check accepts ("form" for "from") - [ ] A second person read the letter, if possible ## The three parts of a cover letter A cover letter has three parts, and each part has one job. The opening gives the position and a hook. The body gives examples, and the closing asks for the next step. ![Cover letter structure: the opening paragraph names the position and gives a hook, the body paragraphs give specific examples, and the closing paragraph ends with a call to action](/assets/blog/cover-letter-checklist/diagram_opening-paragraph-body.webp) The opening gives the position and a hook. A hook is a reason for the reader to continue. "I am applying for the Senior Marketing Manager position on LinkedIn" tells the reader which role you want. This is important when a company hires for many roles at the same time. Then give a reason that fits only this company, for example a recent product, a new market, or a problem that the company wrote about. "I am passionate about marketing" fits every employer. Do not start with "My name is." Your name is already on the page. The body gives proof. It does not repeat your resume, because the employer already has your resume. Select the two or three most important requirements in the posting, and tell a short story for each one. For example, the posting asks for "experience managing cross-functional teams." Describe a launch that you managed with engineering, design, and marketing, and tell the result. A number makes a claim real. Select results that match the needs of this job. The closing asks for the next step. "I am glad to discuss how my B2B content experience can help your expansion into Europe" asks for a conversation. "Thank you for your time" alone asks for nothing. Repeat your interest one time, suggest the next step, thank the reader, and stop. ## Red flags to remove A red flag is a sign that makes a reader reject a letter. This table shows six red flags and how to remove them: | Red flag | Why it hurts | Fix | |---|---|---| | Wrong company name | It shows a copied template | Search the file for each company name before you send it | | General content | It looks like a mass application | Name the products, goals, or requirements of the company | | Resume repeated in sentences | It wastes the time of the reader | Tell how and why, not only what | | Typos and grammar errors | They suggest careless work | Read aloud, run spell-check, and ask a second person to read the letter | | Negative words about employers | The reader expects the same words about this company later | Write about the job that you want, not the job that you leave | | More than one page | It shows that you cannot edit | Remove repeated and general sentences | If you must explain why you leave a job, write about the future. "I want a role with more responsibility for strategy" is better than "My current role is boring." ## Use this checklist with Claude or ChatGPT An AI assistant can do the first review of your letter. Paste the checklist into Claude or ChatGPT. Then paste the job posting and your cover letter. Ask the assistant to compare the letter with each item. ```text Below are a cover letter checklist, a job posting and my cover letter. Check my letter against every checklist item. For each item, answer Pass or Fail and quote the sentence that shows it. Then list what is missing or weak, most important first, and point out any requirement from the posting that my letter does not address. CHECKLIST: [paste the checklist] JOB POSTING: [paste the posting] MY COVER LETTER: [paste your letter] ``` Make sure that each point is correct in your letter before you change the letter. The assistant can miss a mistake, and it can report a mistake that is not there. If the assistant rewrites sentences, keep your own voice and your own facts. A letter that sounds generated does not pass the item "one specific reason to work at this company." Do not paste details that you want to keep private, for example your home address or your salary history. Also read the data settings of your workspace. ## Review order Do the review in the same order each time. Start with the format, then the content and the tone, and then do a final read. ![Cover letter review process: draft the letter, formatting check, content review, tone assessment, final verification](/assets/blog/cover-letter-checklist/diagram_draft-cover-letter.webp) Make sure that the correct company name is in each paragraph. This mistake is easy to make when you reuse an old letter. A docs portal with Ask AI and support tickets Connect a repository, or describe your product to start. Each docs site has search, Ask AI, an API console, an MCP server and support tickets. Publishes from GitHub on every push Works with Mintlify repositories API console from your OpenAPI file MCP server and llms.txt for AI agents Ask AI and support tickets Analytics for people and AI agents Start Free → Questions? Ask AI in our docs No card required. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Do I put my salary expectations in a cover letter? Only if the job posting asks for them. If the posting asks, give a range that is based on research for the role and the location. If the posting does not ask, discuss salary later in the hiring process. ### How do I send a cover letter by email? Follow the instructions in the job posting. If the posting gives no instructions, put a short version of the letter in the email body, and attach the full letter as a PDF. Use a subject line with the job title and your name. --- [View the canonical page](https://revdoku.com/blog/cover-letter-checklist/) · [Browse llms.txt](https://revdoku.com/llms.txt)