The Cover Letter Editing Checklist
The first draft of a cover letter is for you. The edited version is for the reader. Most people send the first draft. Run through this before you hit send and you will catch the things that quietly sink an application.
The name and company are right
This is the cheapest mistake to make and the most expensive to send. Confirm the company name, the role title, and - if you have it - the hiring manager's name. A letter addressed to the wrong company is an instant reject, no matter how good the rest is.
The opening earns the next line
Read your first sentence on its own. Does it make the reader want the second one? "I am writing to apply for the role of..." does not. A specific hook - a result, a reason you want this exact job - does. If the opening is generic, rewrite it before anything else.
Every claim is backed
Go through each sentence and ask: did I show this or just assert it? "I am a strong communicator" is an assertion. "I rewrote our onboarding docs and cut support tickets by a third" is proof. Cut or fix the empty claims.
It is about them, not just you
Count how many sentences start with "I." If almost all of them do, the letter is a monologue. Reframe a few around the company's needs and what you would do for them.
The length is right
One page. Three or four short paragraphs. If it runs longer, you are explaining your whole CV again. Cut anything the CV already says better.
The mechanics are clean
- No typos - read it backward, sentence by sentence, to catch them
- No repeated words or copy-paste leftovers from another application
- Consistent tense and tone throughout
- A clear, confident closing line and a real sign-off
Read it aloud once
The final test. Anything you stumble over reading aloud is a sentence the reader will stumble over too. Smooth those out.
Editing is not the boring part after the writing. It is where an average letter becomes one that gets read to the end. Spend the ten minutes.