How to Choose a Cover Letter Font?

You can write a strong cover letter and still lose attention because of a small formatting mistake.

Font choice may seem minor, but it directly affects whether a recruiter can read your letter quickly and comfortably.

And that matters because cover letters aren’t ignored as often as people think. In a LinkedIn poll of 450 hiring managers, nearly 60% said they read at least some cover letters, with 24% reading every single one.

When a recruiter does open your cover letter, readability becomes the filter.

If the font, size, spacing, or styling makes the letter hard to scan, your message is easy to skip.

But when your cover letter is clean, legible, and professionally formatted, it signals clarity, attention to detail, and good judgment—before a single sentence is fully read.

This guide breaks down how to choose the right cover letter font, size, and style so your letter is easy to read, ATS-friendly, and aligned with professional expectations.

What are the Top 10 Cover Letter Fonts?

The best cover letter fonts are simple, professional, and easy to read. Standard sans-serif and classic serif fonts such as Arial, Calibri, and Times New Roman are widely recommended because they remain clear on screen and are reliably ATS-compatible.

Here are ten cover letter fonts that meet those criteria:

• Times New Roman: If you want to play it safe and go for the traditional approach, Times New Roman is your best choice. This font type is widely used when candidates are applying for government jobs and other traditional industries such as law and medicine.

• Helvetica: Being a contemporary font option, this is a suitable choice for your cover letter font if you are seeking jobs in marketing, sales, or business. Due to its concise design, it does not distract the readers from the content.

• Calibri: With its modern and light design, Calibri makes for an elegant cover letter font. This font’s popularity has toppled Times New Roman as the default font in Microsoft Word.

• Arial: If you are unsure of the type of fonts job seekers generally use in your industry, Arial is a great option for your cover letter font. Due to its sleek and minimal design, the majority of candidates prefer this font style.

• Garamond: Garamond is a popular cover letter font used by job seekers in their applications. It is a classic serif font that is commonly used by professionals in both creative and academic industries.

• Trebuchet MS: Due to its slightly larger and bolder design, Trebuchet MS takes up more space and is well suited for fresh graduates who are writing a short cover letter with less content.

• Didot: Didot is a good cover letter font if you are applying for jobs in the fashion, architecture, or graphic design industries as this cover letter font is considered to be more artist-friendly and creative among others.

• Tahoma: This cover letter font type can be a great option for job seekers from any industry as it is very reader-friendly, modern, and simple.

• Georgia: Since this font is commonly used by newspapers, it is one of the most popular fonts in the writing industry. With its modern yet classic design, Georgia is a good cover letter font if you are targeting jobs in the writing or creative industries.

• Cambria: If you are sending your cover letter in an online format, Cambria is a great font for your cover letter as it was specially designed to facilitate screen reading.

Also read: How to write a cover letter?

What are some Tips for Choosing a Cover Letter Font?

Even if you want to stray away from a traditional font like Times New Roman and want your cover letter to stand out from the rest, your top priority must be your cover letter’s reader friendliness.

Your cover letter font must not distract the recruiters from its content. Avoid using fonts that include special characters or are too stylish.

Since 70% of large companies currently use an Applicant Tracking Software (ATS) to select suitable candidates based on the use of relevant keywords in their resumes and cover letters, it is best to use simple cover letter fonts to ensure that the ATS can easily scan your cover letter for the same.

However, this doesn’t mean that your cover letter font must be bland or outdated. You can choose a modern and sharp font that can help your cover letter stand out by following these tips:

Do Your Research

Yes, you need to research the company you’re targeting to probe the type of font they have used in their websites, job listings, press releases, etc.

The chances of them resonating with your cover letter will be higher when they see a familiar font in your cover letter as opposed to a completely new font.

Accordingly, choose a font (from the recommended list) that matches their font type for your cover letter.

Consider the Industry Type

When you are choosing a cover letter font, you must also consider the nature of the industry you’re in.

For instance, if you are applying for jobs in the creative industry such as graphic design, writing, fashion, marketing, etc, you can choose a font with a slightly stylish design like Didot, Helvetica, Proxima Nova, and Garamond.

While aspiring candidates in conventional industries like medical, law, and engineering fields, must stick with traditional fonts like Times New Roman and Calibri.

Ensure Uniformity

Always ensure that you use only one cover letter font throughout your letter.

Mixing and matching is the last thing you want to do in your cover letter as it will distract the recruiters from the content and it also doesn’t look professional.

Instead, you can use different font sizes and types to segregate the headings and the body.

Choose the Correct File Format

To ensure that your cover letter font remains intact, you must save your file in a PDF format unless the recruiters have specified any other format like .doc or Docx. in the listing.

Also read: What are some good cover letter examples?

How to Choose Cover Letter Font Size and Spacing?

The standard cover letter font size commonly used by candidates is 12 points. However, depending on the type of font you select, the size can be changed between - 10, 11, and 12, points.

The reason is, that certain fonts can appear too small or too large at 12 points due to their spatial proportions.

And since your cover letter must not exceed one page, you can adjust your cover letter font size to fit the page.

But ensure that you don’t go below 10 points and that the smaller cover letter font size does not affect the readability.

If your font size is too small, recruiters may reject your cover letter even before reading it and the ATS may not be able to scan the small font size.

Consider showing your cover letter to your friends and family for feedback on its reader-friendliness and appeal.

As for the cover letter margins and font spacing, ensure you follow the below-given guidelines:

• Maintain 1.5 line spacing if you are following the 3 paragraph cover letter format
• Stick to the universal business letter margin standard and keep 1" margins on all sides of your cover letter
• Use single space in your cover letter and skip a line between each section (Header, date, address, subject line, salutation, and the 3 paragraphs)
• Left-align the contents of your cover letter to follow the universal business letter standard

Also read: How to start a cover letter?

How to Choose a Cover Letter Font Style?

Once you are done choosing the perfect cover letter font size and type, the next step is highlighting crucial details with a different cover letter font style.

While the body of your cover letter will not have any font style, you can use Bold and Italics to draw the recruiters' attention to certain details.

Avoid using cover letter font style like underlining as it serves the same purpose as bolding.

Besides, bolding is the most commonly used cover letter font style to highlight details in professional paperwork.

Also read: How to write a cover letter for resume?

FAQs about Cover Letter Font

Is 11 point font okay for a cover letter?

Yes, depending on the font type of your cover letter, the font size can range between 10-12 points.

Should my cover letter and resume be the same font?

Yes, to maintain uniformity, you must use the same font in your cover letter and resume.

Why are cover letters important?

Cover letters are important because 65% of hiring managers agreed that a well-written cover letter can influence their hiring decision.

Also Read: How to choose an ideal cover letter template?

If you are still confused over cover letter font size and style, you can simply use Hiration’s AI-powered cover letter builder which will help you draft a perfect letter without the hassle of selecting the font type or size.