Cover Letters

What makes for a good cover letter? Mark Alfano suggests that they should, "be short and sweet – at most one page unless you have strong indications that a long letter is required." But what, beyond that, does a good cover letter look like? Also, what do people (particularly people in the know) make of Mark's suggested one-page limit? For my part, I've found it very difficult to write something that short. I'm operating under the assumption that my letter should search committee readers a brief overview of my main "selling points" -- e.g., a brief overview of my research programs, teaching experience and philosophy, and finally, my campus and community involvement. Yet all this comes out to be quite a lot, well over a page. Given that I'm no longer fresh out of grad school, I don't just have one central research program (centering on my dissertation): I have four, and saying a little about each of them takes a little time. Is this a mistake? I'd love to hear -- and would be very appreciative for -- everyone's thoughts on this, and on anything else about good cover letters more generally. Thanks! 

Comments

[Mark Alfano]

In light of some comments I've received, I think it might have been better if I had given the following advice:

Cover Letter Template. There are three types of cover letters. For an R1 university, keep the letter short and sweet -- at most one page unless you have strong indications that a long letter is required. For a big state teaching university, it should be a bit longer -- probably 1.5 pages -- and include at least a paragraph on your teaching experience and philosophy (probably the second paragraph), as well as a short description of your research program (probably the third paragraph). For a SLAC, the letter should be at least 2 pages, probably 3. It should include as many "fit" details as you can muster: look up the school's mission (catholic? into the arts? into their location?), the department's mission (into applied ethics? into interdisciplinarity?), and the events that the philosophy department (co-)sponsors. Explain how you would be an especially good fit given these features of the school. Regardless of the type of school, put it on electronic letterhead, and be sure to include inside addresses and a scan of your signature.

[Marcus Arvan]

Mark: okay, cool. That makes a lot of sense. Thanks! Quick follow-up: what if your school has no electronic letter-head? Believe it or not, mine doesn't! (I suppose I could try to scan it, but I think it might look a bit chintzy).