How to Write a Cover Letter When One Isn't Required
Optional cover letters are the part of an application most people skip — here is how to decide, what to gather, and how to draft one that earns its page.
By Desmond Okafor-Lee · Oct 05, 2026 · 10 min read
When a job posting leaves the cover letter field blank or marks it "optional," you have a choice most people resolve by doing nothing. Writing one is usually worth the thirty minutes: Indeed (June 2026) notes that a cover letter can only help your application unless the posting specifically asks you not to send one, and that including one signals you take the opportunity seriously. This guide covers what to collect first, how to draft each paragraph in order, and what a short, adaptable excerpt looks like.
The bar for an unrequested letter is higher, not lower. Nobody asked for it, so it has to say something your resume cannot — which means specifics about this employer and this role, not a restatement of your work history.
What to Gather Before You Start
Open a blank document and paste these in before you write a word. Drafting from a collected pile is far faster than drafting from memory.
- The full job posting, copied as plain text. Postings get taken down. Save the wording, including the exact job title and any reference or requisition number, so you can quote it back accurately.
- The exact target job title. Write it out separately: "Senior Logistics Coordinator," not "the coordinator job." It goes in your opening sentence and often in the filename.
- Three to five quantifiable achievements from your own records. Pull them from performance reviews, project wrap-ups, dashboards, invoices or your current resume. Each one needs an action, a task and a measurable result — for example, "Rebuilt the weekly inventory report, cutting preparation time by [X] hours per week." Use real numbers you can defend in an interview; never invent them.
- Your current resume file. The letter must not contradict it on dates, titles or employers, and matching the font keeps the pair looking like one application.
- The hiring manager's name and title, if the posting, the company careers page or the job board lists it. If you cannot confirm a name, stop looking — Indeed's sample letter (June 2026) uses "Dear Hiring Manager," which is a safe default.
- Two or three specific details about the employer, taken from its own website, product pages, annual report or recent announcements. Note where you found each one so you can reference it precisely.
- The application instructions. Check whether there is an upload field, a text box with a character limit, or an email address only. This decides your format before you draft.
- Your contact block: full name, phone number, professional email address, city and region, and a portfolio or professional profile link if relevant.
- The date you intend to submit. Indeed's formatting guidance (July 2026) places the date and contact information at the top of the letter, so you need it as written content, not an afterthought.
- Your formatting defaults. Indeed (July 2026) recommends a standard professional font such as Arial, Calibri, Georgia or Times New Roman at 10–12 point, 1-inch margins on all sides, and left-aligned text.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Draft in this order. Writing the opening last is a common trick, but when the letter is optional the opening is the whole argument for reading on, so build towards it deliberately.
1. Confirm a letter is welcome. Scan the posting for explicit instructions. Indeed (June 2026) advises that where a cover letter is listed as optional you should err on the side of submitting a good one, and that a letter can only help unless the posting specifically requests you not send one. It also notes that an employer may expect to see one attached even if nobody reads it in the first pass. - Example: if the field says "Cover letter (optional)," write one. If it says "Please do not attach a cover letter," don't — follow the instruction and put the effort into your resume. 2. Set up the page before you type sentences. Apply the formatting defaults you gathered: a standard font at 10–12 point, 1-inch margins, left-aligned text, single spacing with a blank line between paragraphs and after the salutation (Indeed, July 2026). 3. Write the header: date and contact information. Indeed's structure (July 2026) runs date and contact information, salutation, opening paragraph, middle paragraph or paragraphs, closing paragraph, then ending and signature. - Example: `Jordan Ellis | [City, Region] | [phone] | [email]` on one line, the date beneath it, then the employer's name and address if you have it. 4. Choose the salutation. Use the hiring manager's name if you confirmed it; otherwise use the generic form from Indeed's example (June 2026). - Example: `Dear Hiring Manager,` 5. Draft the opening paragraph: role, source, and the one-line reason you are writing. Name the exact job title so there is no ambiguity about which posting this is. - Example, adapted from Indeed's sample opening (July 2026): "I am excited to be applying for the [Job Title] position at [Company Name], which I saw advertised on [source]." - Add one sentence stating your angle: "I have spent [X] years running [function] in [industry], and your posting's emphasis on [specific requirement] is the part of the work I do best." 6. Draft the first middle paragraph: one proof point with a measurable result. Pick the achievement from your list that maps most closely to the top requirement in the posting. Indeed's sample letter (July 2026) illustrates the pattern with a line about improving a click-through rate and reducing a landing page bounce rate through AB testing — an action, the method, and two numbers. - Example: "At [Current or Former Employer], I redesigned the onboarding checklist used by [X] new hires per quarter, which cut time-to-first-task from [X] days to [Y] days." 7. Draft the second middle paragraph: why this employer, specifically. This is the paragraph a resume cannot do. Use one of the details you gathered from the company's own materials and connect it to something you can contribute. - Example: "Your careers page describes [specific programme or product] as the next focus area. I built something similar at [Employer], where I [action] and [measurable result]." 8. Draft the closing paragraph. State what you want to happen next, make any practical point the employer needs (notice period, location, availability), and thank them once. Indeed (June 2026) suggests closing with an attention-grabbing final thought rather than a limp sign-off. - Example: "I would welcome the chance to talk through how I would approach [specific challenge from the posting] in the first ninety days. I am available for a call on any weekday afternoon." 9. Add the ending and signature. A simple "Sincerely," followed by your typed full name is enough; add a scanned or typed signature only if you are sending a formal PDF letter. 10. Cut to length. Indeed (July 2026) recommends keeping the letter to one page, aiming for three to five concise paragraphs totalling 250–400 words; its June 2026 guidance sets the same 250–400 word range across three to four paragraphs, with half a page to a full page as the acceptable span. Delete any sentence that only repeats your resume. 11. Check every fact against your resume, then read the letter aloud to catch repetition. Confirm the company name, job title and hiring manager's name are spelled correctly — these are the errors that get noticed. 12. Save and submit in the right format. Indeed (July 2026) recommends saving as a PDF unless the posting specifies otherwise, to preserve formatting, with a clear filename such as FirstName_LastName_CoverLetter.pdf. If the application uses a plain text box instead of an upload, paste the text and re-check the paragraph breaks survived. Avoid putting your contact details only in a document header or footer, or laying the letter out in tables or columns — those are the elements an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is documented to parse poorly.
Example Snippet
Both excerpts below are templates to adapt, not copy. Every bracket is a decision you have to make with your own facts; a letter submitted with brackets still in it, or with generic filler left in place, reads worse than no letter at all.
Opening and proof paragraph
Template to adapt, not copy — do not submit with brackets intact
Dear [Hiring Manager Name or "Hiring Manager"],
I am excited to be applying for the [Exact Job Title] position at [Company Name], advertised on [job board or careers page]. I have spent [X] years in [function] within [industry], and the posting's focus on [specific requirement quoted from the ad] describes the work I have been doing since [year].
At [Current or Former Employer], I [action verb] the [specific process or project], which [measurable result — e.g. reduced processing time by [X%] across [X] accounts]. The same approach would transfer directly to [specific responsibility named in the posting].
Closing paragraph
Template to adapt, not copy — do not submit with brackets intact
[Company Name]'s work on [specific product, programme or initiative you found on their own site] is the reason I applied rather than waiting for a similar role elsewhere. I would like to talk through how I would handle [specific challenge from the posting] in the first [X] weeks.
Thank you for considering my application.
Sincerely, [Your Full Name] | [phone] | [email]
A quick test before you submit: if you could swap in a different company name and the letter would still make sense, you have written a summary of yourself rather than an application. Replace at least one sentence in each middle paragraph with something only true of this employer.
Frequently asked questions
The application has a text box instead of a file upload. Does that change what I write?
The content stays the same, but strip the formatting. Remove the date and address block, keep the salutation and paragraphs, and check after pasting that your line breaks survived — some forms collapse them. If the box shows a character limit, write to the limit rather than trying to squeeze in a full page, and lead with the sentence naming the job title in case the reader only sees the first line in a preview pane.
Should I paste the letter into the email body or attach it?
If you are applying by email with no form, do both in a sense: write a short note in the email body naming the role and saying your resume and letter are attached, then attach the letter as a PDF, which Indeed (July 2026) recommends unless the posting says otherwise. Use a clear filename such as FirstName_LastName_CoverLetter.pdf. Don't paste the full letter into the body and also attach an identical copy — pick the attachment and keep the email note to two or three lines.
Can I reuse one letter across several applications?
You can reuse the structure and your proof paragraph, but not the employer-specific sentences. Keep a master file with your three to five quantified achievements written out, then rebuild the opening and the "why this employer" paragraph for each application. That is usually ten to fifteen minutes of work once the master exists, and it is the part a reader can tell you skipped.
Should I mention salary expectations or availability?
Only if the posting asks. If it does, answer in the closing paragraph in one plain sentence and check current market rates for your role, level and location on a reputable salary source or national statistics body before you name anything. Norms differ sharply by country and sector — in some markets stating a figure unprompted is routine, in others it is not — so follow the employer's instruction rather than a general rule.
How do I know whether my draft is too long?
Count the words rather than eyeballing the page. Indeed (July 2026) suggests three to five concise paragraphs totalling 250–400 words on a single page, and its June 2026 guidance puts acceptable length at half a page to a full page across three to four paragraphs. If you are over, cut whole sentences that restate your resume before you cut anything specific to the employer.
What if I genuinely have nothing to add beyond my resume?
Then you are probably underselling your context. A letter can explain a career change, a relocation, a gap you are comfortable addressing, why you want this particular employer, or how one specific achievement maps to one specific requirement in the posting. If after gathering your materials you still have nothing beyond a restatement, a very short three-paragraph note naming the role, one proof point and your availability is better than a padded page.
Sources
Written by
Desmond Okafor-Lee
Desmond writes about gig work, contracting, and the shifting idea of a 'normal' job. He tracks how people patch together income and what gets lost or gained in that patchwork. He's wary of easy verdicts on whether freelancing is freedom or precarity.
