A cover letter template is a document that is designed to help you with the cover letter writing process. It is already formatted appropriately, so all you need to do is fill in the correct information and your work will be done.
There are several sources for these cover letter templates. The main one is the Microsoft Office website (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/ct101467921033.aspx), which provides 41 cover letter templates for use in Word documents. Some of these templates are designed by Microsoft professionals, while others are uploaded by Word users. These users may be experts in the field, or they may have no clue what they are doing, so make sure you check your template for all of the following:
Appropriate header. In the top, left corner, you should have your name and contact information. The date and the contact information of the company should also be included.
An appropriate address. The letter should open with the words Dear Director of Hiring, or Dear Mr. Smith, or some other appropriate greeting. Use a title (i.e. Director of Admissions) only if you do not know the person’s name. And each greeting should end with a colon (:).
Properly formatted paragraphs. Each paragraph should be block style, meaning there is no indentation. There should be one blank space between each paragraph.
An appropriate ending. Cover letters should end with “Sincerely” or another formal close, and there should be room to sign your name.
Keep in mind that no template can tell you what to write in the body of the cover letter. However, these templates make formatting a breeze.
