It’s February 2025. Without trying to sound political, lots of folks are finding themselves unemployed with very little notice. As a former college professor who now works as an executive search consultant, I’ve seen lots of resumes and cover letters. If you are in a rush to turn out these documents, I’ve got a short list below. This will help get you started and show you a sample of what should go in a cover letter.

Most everything else, BTW, does NOT go in a cover letter. If you need more help, I am here to assist.

FIRSTLY, for cover letters: keep it to 2 pages or less, 10-12 point font, single spaced, ideally formatted to match your CV/Resume. 

And it should cover the following:

1. start with what you are really good at and what you would bring to this job (be specific, giving 1 example is better than a list, and giving numbers/dollars/metrics for that 1 example is better than speaking in overarching vagueries)
2. briefly discuss what you love doing/want to do next (again, be specific and give a couple of examples)
3. give 1-2 examples of recent “wins” (large or small) you had in your current role
4. discuss your desire to lead a team and how you and your team might start strategizing the work ahead.
5. Absolutely discuss what appeals to you about the role (personally and professionally).
6. do not shy away from discussing why you are looking for a new role or why you are considering a move at this time. Very appropriate to include this!

ONE TACTIC is to write each of these sections on their own (so start with #6 if that feels easier) and then arrange them into an order where your strongest strengths/wins are on the first page (1, 2,3) and your reasons for making the change (4, 5 6) go on page 2 (or 3).

Do NOT include your age, anything negative about your current or former employer, your religion, sex, gender, and do not include a photo! It is ok to share your pronouns (let’s just normalize this because it is reasonable).