How to Design a Cover Letter for a Job in 2025 (Sample)

Cover Letter Design

Once you have decided to start a job search, identified a job you’d like to apply for, and dusted off and updated your resume, it’s time to think about your cover letter. Job seekers who create compelling cover letters are more likely to stand out from a crowd of applicants. In fact, the perfect cover letter can be as instrumental in securing a job interview as a professional resume. So, what is cover letter design, and how can a good cover letter design make a difference?

What Is a Cover Letter Design?

Cover letter design is a term that relates to the look and layout of a cover letter, including things like font, margins, color schemes, and any other design elements that impact its appearance. While a cover letter is a professional letter, it is also an extension of a job seeker’s resume and, therefore, has an impact on how hiring managers treat their job applications. For this reason, you should view it as being equally as important as resume design. In fact, your cover letter and resume designs should be as consistent as possible; making sure that you use the same fonts, color scheme, and logo (if you have one) is a great way to ensure you make a good first impression on recruiters.

Important Elements of a Professional Cover Letter Design

The design elements that go into a cover letter, whether it is simple or complex, are basically the same. Even if you are using an infographic resume template, you should try to keep your cover letter fairly simple and easy to scan. Consider these business letter samples from ResumeHelp to get a good idea of how any professional correspondence should be formatted. The basic design elements you will have to consider when creating your own cover letter are:

Font type

Choose a clear and professional sans serif font such as Arial or Calibri to ensure readability.

Font size

Your font sizing should be between 10.5 and 12 and should be consistent with the font size in your resume.

Margin size

The ideal margin size is one inch all around, but you can reduce this to a minimum of half an inch all around if needed.

Color usage

A consistent color scheme between your cover letter and resume is an easy way to ensure that your job application has a professional, cohesive aesthetic.

If you ensure that these features are in good order during your cover letter writing process, then you will be able to create a simple but effective cover letter. If you want to make your cover letter stand out, further, you might want to consider using a cover letter template with more intricate design elements.

How to Find a Great Cover Letter Design

Whatever industry you are working in, finding a good cover letter template can make it easier to land your dream job. Knowing which cover letter design is the best choice for you can be difficult, but there are some simple things you can consider when making this choice.

First and foremost, you need to think about whether you work in a traditional or creative industry. That is, are you considered a profession, for example, a lawyer or doctor, or a creative, for example, a graphic designer or illustrator. If you work in a traditional, “professional” field like academia or law, then simplicity will be best. A simple cover letter template or traditional cover letter template with a clean-cut or minimalist look is more likely to help you land a new job than a bold and funky cover letter design using a creative cover letter template. If you work in a role that mixes creativity and technology, however, then a modern cover letter template that has both professional and creative features could really help you stand out to potential employers. Here’s how you can figure out what cover letter design will be best for you:

Research the company you are applying to.

If they focus on creativity, then choosing a more vibrant cover letter design might put you in line with their company culture.

Consider the job description again.

If words like “creative” and “innovative” appear in the job description, then it is likely that a creative cover letter template will be acceptable.

Think about your work experience.

Unless you are changing careers, your previous work experience is a great resource for deciding how you should approach your next job application. Have your previous jobs been creative in nature or very traditional? If you work in accounting, for example, then it’s likely that you have not used a creative template before, and, so, sticking to a minimalist cover letter design is probably best.

ResumeHelp has a range of professional cover letter templates as well as a cover letter builder that you can utilize. So, don’t be afraid to create a few different versions of your cover letter so that you can consider their pros and cons. You can also consider cover letter examples from people in your industry to get design ideas.