Cover Letter Header Examples, Templates & Guide

One of our users, Valcia, had this to say:

What Is a Cover Letter Header?

A cover letter header (or a cover letter heading) is the top part of your document that highlights your personal information, contact details, the date you’re writing, and the recipient’s details, such as their name, job title, and company address.

Since a cover letter heading is the first thing the recruiter will see after opening your cover letter, you must ensure it’s highly professional to convince your recruiter that you’re a serious person with great attention to detail. After all, you don’t want them to have a problem with identifying your cover letter among other documents on their desk. Plus, they can quickly find all the information they need before contacting you with an interview invitation!

What to Include in a Cover Letter Heading?

Time to dive deeper into what the cover letter header format consists of:

1. Personal Details

Start your cover letter by listing all the necessary information about yourself so the recruiter will immediately know who the author is. 

Every cover letter header should include:

• Your full name
• Your job title
• Contact details (phone number and professional e-mail address)

You can write your name in a larger professional font than the rest of the cover letter contents.

Your contact details can be left-aligned, center-aligned, written in two columns, or a single line, one next to the other. If you don’t feel too confident about your typographic skills, simply left-align all the contents of your cover letter header. 

There are some more details you can include in your cover letter header:

• Your LinkedIn profile
• Other relevant social media handles, such as X or Instagram
• Link to your online portfolio or your website
• Your mailing address

2. Date and Location of Writing

Follow your personal information with the date and location of writing your cover letter. It’s especially important to include the date; as for the location, the city alone should do the trick.

3. Recruiter’s Details

This part is another way of showing your professionalism and willingness to walk the extra mile just to get better results. 

Every cover letter header should include:

• Recruiter’s full name
• Recruiter’s job title
• Company’s name
• Company’s address

Never use the “To Whom It May Concern” or “Dear Sir or Madam.” Try also to avoid “Dear Hiring Manager”. They both seem lazy, and that’s not the impression you want to start with. Instead, add a personal touch by addressing your cover letter directly to the person who will read it: a recruiter, a CEO, a hiring manager, etc. Calling people by their names can work in your favor. To do it well, find out who that will be by doing some online research, and if that fails, call the office and find out who to write to.

And that’s it. Since you already know what to put in your cover letter header, let’s figure out one more important issue.

Should Your Cover Letter Header Be the Same as Your Resume Header?

The heading of your cover letter should always match the heading of your resume. Use the same setup, fonts, and margins. This will again show your professionalism and attention to detail, which are important transferable skills. 

Plus, if the hiring manager prints out multiple job applications and they get disorganized, it will be easy to spot your documents. When as many as 56% of employers expect to see a cover letter with a resume, you’re guaranteed bonus points for having your documents well planned. 

Okay, time to see some examples.

10 Cover Letter Header Examples

Here, you’ll find 10 cover letter heading examples that made a great first impression on their readers.

1. Marketing Specialist Cover Letter Header Example

2. IT Manager Cover Letter Header Example

3. Graphic Designer Cover Letter Header Example

4. Data Analyst Cover Letter Header Example

5. UX Designer Cover Letter Header Example

6. Senior Project Manager Cover Letter Header Example

7. Social Media Coordinator Cover Letter Header Example

8. Junior Front-End Developer Cover Letter Header Example

9. Barista Cover Letter Header Example

10. Legal Assistant Cover Letter Header Example

Cover Letter Header Template

You’ve seen some great cover letter heading examples. Now it’s time to see a template that’s ready to copy, paste, and use. Fill the brackets with correct information and add it at the beginning of your cover letter.

Learn more about writing a job-winning cover letter:

• Email Cover Letter
• Letter of Application
• Letter of Interest
• Creative Cover Letter
• Proposal Cover Letter
• Scholarship Cover Letter
• How to Start a Cover Letter
• How to End a Cover Letter
• How to Format a Cover Letter
• Cover Letter Examples for Different Types of Jobs

Key Takeaway

There are just two things you need to remember about the cover letter header:

1. Include only your basic contact information: your full name, job title, home address, phone number, email address, and LinkedIn profile.
2. Make your cover letter heading identical to the one on your resume.

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Sources

• Dennis P. Carmody, Michael Lewis, Brain Activation When Hearing One’s Own and Others’ Names
• Nancy M. Schullery, Linda Ickes, Stephen E. Schullery, Employer Preferences for Résumés and Cover Letters