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How to Sign a Cover Letter (With Examples)
- How To Sign A Cover Letter
- Salary Requirements In Cover Letter
- Referral In Cover Letter
- Cover Letter Body
- Use Dear Sir Or Madam?
- Use Mrs. Or Ms.?
Find a Job You Really Want In
With so many applicants competing for the same job, you want to make sure every element of your application leaves the right impression . Regardless of your letter’s contents, an improper closing section conveys a sense of unprofessionalism and ruins the entire application. This article will show you exactly how to sign and end your cover letter professionally — so you leave a positive impression rather than a negative one. Key Takeaways: The end of your cover letter is what will create your final impression, so it’s important to summarize what makes you a good fit for the job, convey confidence, and thank the reader . Avoid more casual phrases and avoid using exclamation points; express excitement about the job without slipping into less formal prose. To be as professional as possible, you might want to physically sign your cover letter if you’re giving someone a hard copy, or use a digital signature for an electronic submission. In This Article Skip to section How to End a Cover Letter Examples of How to End a Cover Letter Examples of How NOT to End a Cover Letter Does your Cover Letter Need a Written Signature? How to Sign an Uploaded or Printed Cover Letter Cover Letter Signature Examples How to Sign an Emailed Cover Letter Signature Examples for Emailed Documents Final Thoughts Sign Up For More Advice and Jobs Show More How to End a Cover Letter
Your cover letter should maintain a professional and formal tone throughout. This is especially true for the closing, as it’s the section that leaves a final impression on the reader.
“Formal” doesn’t require that you’re robotic and cold. Feel free to be friendly or positive, but always avoid casual language. Don’t use “thanks” or “cheers”, and avoid acronyms.
Every effective cover letter closing accomplishes three goals:
Summarizes your strengths. Sum up the relevant skills and qualifications you’ve mentioned and explain how you can bring value to the company.
Shows confidence and initiative. A generic cover letter closing such as “I look forward to your reply” will be read as nothing more than an empty courtesy.
Stand-out and convey a more action-oriented tone, with a line such as : “I look forward to discussing with you how my skills can create value and solutions for the team.”
Thank the reader. Be sure to show appreciation and offer thanks to the reader for their time and consideration.
As always, remain professional rather than casual. Avoid phrases such as “Cheers” or “Yours.”
Examples of How to End a Cover Letter
While reading the following examples, note how they achieve the three goals:
Summarizes strengths
Conveys initiative and confidence
Thanks the reader
“I believe my six years of experience as a marketing specialist , specifically in the food industry, will be a perfect match for this role. I look forward to speaking with you on how my skills can bring value to the team. Thank you for considering my application.”
“With my extensive software engineering experience, I believe I can develop effective technical solutions for your firm. I would welcome the opportunity to further discuss with you how my qualifications can contribute to the team’s success. Thank you for your time.”
“With my eight years of experience as managing director of similar projects, I am confident I can provide insight and value towards your firm’s goals. I would love the chance to speak with you on the position and what skills I could bring. Thank you for your consideration.”
“I am fascinated by your firm’s approach to creating effective user experiences. I would be delighted to discuss with you how I could leverage my ten years of UX experience to upgrade your solutions even further. Thank you for considering my application.”
“I look forward to any chance to speak about the position and what I can bring to the firm. I believe my personal values and extensive experience in the medical research field would make me a great fit for your organization. I appreciate your time and consideration.”
Examples of How NOT to End a Cover Letter
See if you can spot the more subtle errors in the next few examples.
“I believe my eight years of experience as a commercial trucker , especially in long-haul, will be a great match for this role. I look forward to speaking with you on how my skills can bring value to the team.”
“I look forward to an opportunity to discuss with you the position. I greatly appreciate your time and consideration.”
“With my two years of experience as a sales representative , I am confident I can provide the necessary qualifications and skills. Thank you for considering my application.”
While they thanked the reader and summarized their abilities, the writer offered no call to action for the reader to follow-up with them.
Does your Cover Letter Need a Written Signature?
It’s commonly asked if it’s really required to end cover letters with a handwritten signature. The answer is it depends on your letter’s format.
Cover letters written on paper should always include a handwritten signature. Doing so is considered proper business etiquette, and forgetting to do so will be seen as unprofessional by recruiters .
Even if the particular reader of your letter doesn’t care, it’s smart to err on the side of caution.
For cover letters delivered through email, a signature isn’t required. However, there’s no harm in creating an electronic signature to add a touch of professionalism.
Keep reading to see exactly how you should sign both an emailed and printed cover letter.
The formal rules for how to write a cover letter may seem numerous and pointless, but it’s important to follow them to avoid standing out as unprofessional amongst other applicants following them.
How to Sign an Uploaded or Printed Cover Letter
Most cover letters are emailed these days. However, you might find yourself needing to upload or mail a printer cover letter and wonder how to sign it.
In these cases, a handwritten signature would be included between the sign-off and your printed full name. Keep this in mind when you’re typing it out so you remember to leave enough room.
Your signature should always be written in black ink. The sign-off should always use professional language. Use the same font as the rest of your cover letter and avoid using italics. Consider the following choices:
“Sincerely,”
“Sincerely Yours,”
“Best Regards,”
“Most Sincerely,”
Avoid casual sign-offs such as:
[Your Name]
There is never really any reason to use a sign-off other than the proper four listed above. Just as is the case for greetings such as ” Dear Hiring Manager ” or “ Dear Sir Or Madam ,” using uncommon sign-offs just isn’t worth the risk.
The cover letter should be formatted single-spaced throughout, with an additional space between sections. This includes between your closing paragraph and sign-off. If your contact details are not written in the header, include them after your name.
Cover Letter Signature Examples
Here we’ll provide you both a template and a visual example to help you sign your own printed cover letter. Note the spacing used in these examples.
Template Example:
“….thank you for considering my application.” [Sincerely, Best Regards] [Written signature in black ink] [Your full name (typed)] [Your e-mail address] [Tel:(including country/area code)]
Visual Example:
“…thank you for considering my application.” Sincerely, Alex Loizos [email protected] (555) 333 2222
How to Sign an Emailed Cover Letter
Emailed cover letters do not need a handwritten signature. However, doing so adds a touch of professionalism and won’t hurt your letter.
An emailed letter with a signature looks the exact same as a printed one, except that your signature would be created electronically. Look up how to generate an electronic signature for whatever email service you use.
If you choose to not include a signature, then the rest of the sign-off stays the same. Same single-spacing, with consistent font and no italics.
Signature Examples for Emailed Documents
Visual Example #1:
Visual Example #2:
“…thank you for your time.” Best Regards, Stacy Smith [email protected] (321) 412 2552
Final Thoughts
The importance of sending a well-written cover letter is underrated. Even with an impressive resume , hiring managers know you as nothing more than a name on a paper and a list of achievements.
Cover letters convey two things that resumes alone cannot: professionalism and initiative.
A discussion of your qualifications and achievements in your letter, followed by an offer for further discussion, is what will lead the recruiter to pick up the phone.
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Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
Matt Warzel a President of a resume writing firm (MJW Careers, LLC) with 15+ years of recruitment, outplacement, career coaching and resume writing experience. Matt is also a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Certified Internet Recruiter (CIR) with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Marketing Focus) from John Carroll University.
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How to Sign a Cover Letter: Paper vs Digital
Written by Evgeni Asenov
Content Manager and Resume Expert
In This Guide:
Do you need to hand sign your cover letter
What to include in your cover letter signature
How to sign a cover letter when emailing
How to sign a paper cover letter
How to sign a cover letter when it is an attached file
When it comes to your cover letter, you usually have just one chance to make a good first impression.
That’s why you would want to make it all perfect.
You might think that your signature is not important, and it wouldn’t matter what you put there, but you can not be more wrong.§
As employers receive hundreds of resumes for every open job position they have, even the smallest detail might be used against you for the purpose of pre-selection.
So, how to perfect your cover letter signature?
Well, that depends greatly on the method you choose for sending your cover letter. So we are going to explore the 3 cases:
- Signing your email cover letter
- Signing your hard copy cover letter
- Signing your uploaded cover letter
And as we go along, we are going to give you examples for each method .
If you have some doubts about your overall cover letter performance, that would be a good time to learn how to tell a story with your cover letter and build your perfect cover letter .
But if you are ready to dive into the details of your cover letter signature, stick around.
Do You Need to Hand Sign Your Cover Letter?
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Every cover letter needs some kind of sign-off with at least a closing phrase and your names.
But apart from that, a hand signature inserted into your cover letter is entirely up to you.
If you are emailing your cover letter, your potential employer would not be expecting a hand signature. However, if you are mailing a physical cover letter, or uploading it, hand signing your cover letter can be a nice touch.
What to Include in Your Cover Letter Signature?
What you include in your cover letter signature depends on the method you use for sending it over to your potential employer.
However, every cover letter signature should include a closing phrase and your names.
From this point forward, you can include a handwritten signature, or your contact information, depending on the type of cover letter you are sending.
If you have chosen to email your cover letter, it is nice to include your contact information just after your names, but you usually don’t need a handwritten signature.
And if you decide to mail a hard copy of your cover letter, it is a charming touch to include a handwritten signature, but don’t really need the contact information, as it would only clutter the page.
How to Sign a Cover Letter When Emailing?
When emailing your cover letter to a potential employer, it is essential for you to list your contact information in the bottom of your email .
At the very least, a hiring manager should be able to find your name, email address, and phone number, but you can also include an address, LinkedIn profile , or a portfolio.
Your contact information is so essential because the hiring manager would need to be able to easily contact you.
It would be a shame if you nailed your cover letter, and build a perfect resume , and the hiring manager has no way to contact you for an interview.
If you want to really nail it, you need to make sure you are sticking to the same font throughout, and not use anything too special in your signature, as it might come across as childish.
Last but not least, send out your cover letter using a professional email address. That does not mean that you need to use your work email address, as that would be a huge mistake.
To get the best result, use a free online email service like Gmail, and set up your email in the format [email protected] .
Just to make things easier on your part, here is how your email signature should look like:
(555) 555-5555
And if you want to add in some additional contacts, you can do so by listing them below these like this:
Sincerely, John Doe [email protected] (555) 555-5555 https://linkedin.com/in/john-doe
How to Sign a Paper Cover Letter?
When it comes to a hard copy of your cover letter, you no longer need to list the contact information in your signature. In most cases, both your contact information and that of the employer is listed at the top of the page.
Here, just like in any other cover letter sign-off, you need to add a closing phrase and your names.
What you can add here as a nice touch is including a handwritten signature.
Typically, you would want it to be positioned between the closing phrase and your full name, so make sure you leave enough space between the two for you to sign it after you print it out.
And here is how your paper cover letter sign-off should look like:
Sincerely, (leave enough white space here) Jane Doe
So that when you print it out, you can add in your signature in the blank space.
How to Sign a Cover Letter When It is an Attached File
When you have decided to attach your cover letter to your email, or upload it to a job site, you can only type in a closing phrase and your names, and that would be perfectly fine for a signature.
However, a handwritten signature might really make some good impression on the hiring manager.
If you decide to go for it, you have two options:
- Print out your cover letter with a structure for a hard copy, sign it and then scan it, and you are ready to upload it
- You can sign on a blank piece of paper and scan it, and then insert it into your cover letter digital file
Either way, it would make a good impression.
Just make sure you leave enough blank space for a signature if you go for it.
If you decide to go for the basic version of your cover letter signature, you just need that:
Sincerely, Jane Doe
But if you are determined to add in your handwritten signature, make sure you go for that:
Sincerely, (leave enough white space here)
So that when you print it out, you can add in your signature in the blank space. And from that point forward, you only need to scan it, and you are ready to go.
We are all done, now you know how to get the best out of your cover letter signature.
Let’s go through the most important points once again:
- If you are emailing your cover letter, make sure you list your essential contact information in your email signature, so that it would be easy for the hiring manager to contact you
- If you are sending out a hard copy of your cover letter, you don’t need to list your contact information in the signature, but it is a nice touch to include a handwritten signature
- When you are attaching your cover letter to an email, or uploading it to a website, you can go with the basics – closing phrase and your names, but it is again a nice touch to add your scanned signature to the document
Now upgrade your cover letter signature, and perfect your application documents to get your dream job.
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