Cover letter structure and format – Page 3

Yes for well-known ones in your field, but write out less common terms the first time. The first reader may be an HR officer rather than a specialist.

Guidelines:

• Common qualifications or tools are fine as abbreviations, such as MBA, CPA, ACCA, SQL or HSE.
• For company-specific or uncommon terms, write the full name first: "key performance indicators (KPIs)".
• Use the same terms as the job advert, so the reader recognises them.
• Avoid text-message abbreviations like "pls", "thx" or "asap".

A letter full of unexplained acronyms is hard to read, even for experts.

Generally no. Inspirational quotes take up space, rarely relate to the specific job, and can come across as unprofessional or clichéd. Start with your own words instead.

If you want an engaging start, use something specific to you and the role:

• "When our warehouse switched to barcode scanning last year, I trained the night shift on the new system within a week."
• "Your new pharmacy delivery service caught my attention because I helped launch a similar service in my current role."

These lines grab attention and also give evidence of your skills.

Add links only when they point to evidence the reader would want to see, such as a portfolio item, a published article or a project page. Keep them short and place them where they support a specific point.

Tips:

• Write the link text clearly, for example "my portfolio (link in the header)" or a short web address.
• Avoid long tracking links or shortened links that hide the destination.
• Make sure links work in the PDF by clicking them before sending.
• Use one or two links at most in the body.

Example: "You can see the onboarding videos I scripted for new retail staff in my portfolio, linked above."

Print it on plain white A4 or Letter paper, matching your CV, and sign it by hand above your typed name. Keep it clean, flat and in the same envelope or folder as your CV.

Checklist:

• Use good-quality plain paper, not coloured or textured.
• Print in black, or with a modest accent colour that matches your CV.
• Put the cover letter on top of the CV.
• Use a paper clip rather than staples, if possible, so the pages can be separated.
• Do not fold the letter if you are handing it over in person; use a folder.

Bring an extra copy in case the interviewer wants one.

Use the name you use professionally, written the same way on your cover letter, resume and application forms. You do not have to include every part of a long legal name.

Tips:

• Use your first name and family name, and include a middle name only if you normally use it.
• If people know you by a shorter name, you can show it once: "Mohammed (Mo) Al Rashid".
• Keep the same spelling as your passport or official documents if the employer will need to match them later.
• Avoid initials alone if they make your name hard to search.

Example: "Venkata Ramana Subramanian" could appear as "Ramana Subramanian" if that is the name you use at work, as long as you are consistent.

Because software and people need to read and search the text. A scanned or photographed letter is an image: the words cannot be selected, copied or searched, and an applicant tracking system may not be able to read it at all.

How to check:

• Open the PDF and try to highlight a sentence with your cursor.
• If you can select and copy the text, it is text-based.
• If the whole page selects as one picture, it is an image.

Create your letter in a word processor or builder and save or export it as a PDF, rather than printing and scanning it. ResumeBuilder.ae's PDFs are text-based, with selectable text.

Usually because it was sent as a word-processing file, and the other computer has different fonts, page settings or software. Text can move, line breaks can shift and the letter can spill onto a second page.

How to prevent it:

• Send the letter as a PDF unless the employer asks for another format.
• Use standard fonts that are widely available.
• Check the page size (A4 or US Letter) before saving.
• Open the saved file yourself, ideally on another device, before sending.

A PDF keeps the layout fixed, so what you see is what the reader sees. If an employer requires Word, keep the formatting simple: one font, no text boxes and no tables.

No. A summary section belongs on your resume. A cover letter should go straight from the header and greeting into your opening paragraph, which does the job of a summary in sentence form.

Instead of a summary block, write an opening like:
"I am applying for the HR Generalist position at Silverline Group. With four years in recruitment and onboarding for a 300-person manufacturing company, I am confident I can support your growing team."

This tells the reader who you are, what you want and why you fit, in two sentences, while keeping the letter in proper letter form.

Write it in the first person, using "I", "my" and "me". A cover letter is a personal letter from you to the employer, and writing about yourself as "he", "she" or "the candidate" sounds unnatural.

Compare:

• Third person (avoid): "Ms Okonkwo has five years of experience in logistics."
• First person (use): "I have five years of experience in logistics, most recently planning routes for a fleet of 30 trucks."

Some resumes drop "I" in bullet points, but a cover letter uses full sentences. Vary sentence openings so not every line begins with "I".

Use the past tense for finished work and achievements, the present tense for your current role and skills, and the future or conditional for what you would bring to the job.

Examples:

• Past: "I led the migration of our customer records to a new CRM."
• Present: "I currently manage a team of four accounts assistants."
• Present perfect for experience up to now: "I have worked in retail banking for six years."
• Future or conditional: "I would bring the same attention to detail to your audit team."

Keep each sentence's tense consistent with the time it describes. Mixed tenses within one example can confuse the reader.

Use the spelling that matches the employer's country or the spelling used in the job advert, and keep it consistent across your cover letter and resume.

General guide:

• US and often Philippine employers: American spelling (organize, color, center).
• UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, India, much of the Gulf and Africa: British spelling (organise, colour, centre) is common.
• International companies: follow the advert's style.

Set your spell checker to the right variety of English. Mixing "organise" and "organize" in one letter looks careless, even though both are correct.

Write the company name exactly as the company does, and capitalise a job title when it is used as a specific title, especially the one you are applying for.

Examples:

• "I am applying for the Senior Quantity Surveyor position at BlueRock Contracting."
• "I worked as a sales assistant at two stores before becoming a supervisor." (general description, lower case is fine)

Check the company's own website for spelling, capital letters, spaces and abbreviations, for example "ADNOC", "Al Futtaim" or "eBay". Getting the employer's name exactly right is one of the simplest ways to show care.

Use them very rarely. Underlining is mostly associated with links today, so underlined words can look like broken hyperlinks. Italics are acceptable for titles of publications, books or projects, but not for emphasis throughout.

Good uses:

• Italics for a publication: "my article in the Gulf Engineering Review".
• A real hyperlink, which may be underlined automatically.

Avoid underlining or italicising phrases to make them stand out. If something is important, put it early in a sentence or give it its own short sentence instead.

It is better not to in most cases. Tables can look cramped, may not display well in email or online forms, and some software reads table contents out of order.

One table style you may see is a two-column "your requirements / my experience" comparison. If you like that idea, use a short bullet list instead:
"Your advert asks for:

• Experience with SAP: I have used SAP MM daily for four years.
• Supplier negotiation: I renegotiated our top ten supplier contracts last year."

This gives the same clear match without the formatting risks of a table.

When an employer asks you to respond to listed criteria, address each one in the order given, using a short heading or bolded criterion followed by a paragraph of evidence. This is common in some public-sector and academic applications.

Example structure:

• Short introduction paragraph naming the role.
• "Experience managing budgets": three or four sentences with a specific example.
• "Stakeholder communication": another example.
• Brief closing paragraph.

Follow any word or page limit exactly. Use each criterion's wording so the reader can find your answer quickly. If the employer provides a form for the criteria, use the form rather than writing a separate letter.

Yes. A popular alternative is the "problem and solution" structure: you briefly name a challenge the employer is likely facing, then show how your experience helps solve it. It still fits on one page with an opening and closing.

Example flow:

• Opening: "Your advert mentions rapid growth in online orders."
• Problem: the pressure this puts on order accuracy and delivery times.
• Solution: "At Swift Mart, I set up a pick-and-pack checklist that cut wrong shipments during our busiest season."
• Closing: interest in discussing how you could help.

Keep the "problem" grounded in the advert or public information; do not assume the company has issues it has not mentioned.

Yes, if you know it. Putting the name and job title together makes the letter look complete and confirms you are writing to the right person.

Example address block:
"Ms Hannah Wright
Talent Acquisition Manager
Coastline Hospitality Group
Doha, Qatar"

Tips:

• Copy the title exactly as it appears on the advert or their professional profile.
• If you only know the department, use "Recruitment Team" instead of a title.
• Leave the block out entirely if you have no reliable details.

Name both people in the greeting, with titles and surnames: "Dear Ms Chen and Mr Haddad,". If you are unsure of titles, use their full names: "Dear Lin Chen and Karim Haddad,".

Tips:

• List them in the order they appear in the advert, or by seniority if known.
• Address the body of the letter to "you" in a general way, which naturally includes both readers.
• If there are three or more people, a team greeting is cleaner: "Dear Hiring Panel," or "Dear Recruitment Committee,".

Spell every name correctly; it matters more when there are several.

Strip out formatting and write short paragraphs with a blank line between them. Online text boxes often remove bold, bullets, special symbols and line spacing, so plain text displays best.

Steps:

• Write the letter in a simple text editor or notes app.
• Remove your header block; the form already has your details.
• Start with the greeting, then your paragraphs, then a short sign-off with your name.
• Replace bullet symbols with simple hyphens if you need a list.
• Check any character limit and trim to fit.

After pasting, use the preview if available, and check that line breaks and apostrophes appear correctly.

A simple cover letter has a clean header, a date, a greeting, three or four short paragraphs and a sign-off. Here is a short fictional example showing the shape:

"Rohan Verma
+971 52 555 0199 | rohan.verma@email.com | Dubai, UAE

10 June 2026

Dear Ms Al Hashimi,

I am applying for the IT Support Specialist role advertised on your careers page. With three years supporting 250 users at a property management company, I am keen to join your growing service desk.

In my current role, I resolve hardware, network and account issues, and I introduced a shared troubleshooting guide that helped new team members close tickets faster. I also manage laptop set-up for new joiners.

Your focus on fast, friendly support for hotel staff appeals to me, as I enjoy working with non-technical users.

Thank you for considering my application. I would welcome the chance to discuss how I can support your team.

Kind regards,
Rohan Verma"

Use this as a guide to structure only. Replace every detail with your own experience and the employer's requirements.