A cover letter heading forms your professional identity.
As per current industry standards, a company requires the following information from you to know who you are:
- Name
- Phone number
- Email address
- Location
Including a link to your LinkedIn profile results in a proper cover letter heading. It is a great way to complement your career trajectory and offer extra details.
Additionally, you can include links to other websites such as GitHub or Behance only if you think it holds relevance to the profile you are applying for. You can also add your designation, which will indicate your current professional stature.
Knowing the right things to showcase in the compact space of a cover letter heading will give you a head start and engage prospective employers in what you have to offer.
Let’s delve deep into the attributes mentioned above and the right way to put it through the following sections:
- What is the Proper Heading for a Cover Letter?
- Which of the Following is Not Included in the Heading of a Cover Letter?
- Should Your Resume and Cover Letter have the Same Heading?
- Additional Details to Include in Your Cover Letter Heading.
With our Cover Letter Builder, you will receive a guided rundown on creating an exemplary cover letter. Equipped with AI features, it ensures that you have the proper cover letter heading format and provides several options to customize it.
Cover Letter Heading: Inclusions
We will discuss the five important attributes of a cover letter heading one by one:
Name
A professional document showcasing your details should always start with your name. Therefore, the first thing in your heading will be your complete name.
Make sure to capitalize only the initials of your name and, in case you have a middle name, only mention the initials. For example, Jacob J. Peralta.
Phone number
Phone number is the vital contact information for prospective employers to reach out to you. Provide your primary phone number, which is available to you at all times.
In US cover letters and resumes, the area code is not required, so the current phone number format is: (555) 123-4567
Email Address
You must mention your phone number and email address in your contact information and CTA.
Mailing platforms such as Gmail, Yahoo Mail, and AOL are acceptable and widely used. The only thing you need to be certain of is your username. Your username should not sound unprofessional.
Location
In traditional cover letters and resumes, the complete address was required for mailing. Nowadays for location, you can simply mention the city and the state.
Our advice is to add the zip code while writing the salutation. If not, the city and state are enough information for hiring managers to process your cover letter.
In the remote work culture, your digital presence is crucial. Therefore, adding your LinkedIn profile will give recruiters access to your professional records.
LinkedIn gives you the option to personalize your profile URL, you should do this before incorporating the link in your cover letter.
In case you are concerned whether your LinkedIn profile is up to the industry standard or not, visit our LinkedIn Review platform, where our in-house industry experts will analyze your profile and will be able to help you make it meet business trends.
Also read: How to Start a Cover Letter
Cover Letter Heading: Exclusions
We have covered the mandatory aspects of a cover letter heading. Let’s now focus on the things that you should strictly avoid:
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Grammatical and spelling errors: A mistake that can cost you your dream job. Make sure to proofread your cover letter heading because errors will leave a bad impression on hiring managers, and you don’t want it.
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Discrepancy in contact information: Triple-check your details to avoid errors. A discrepancy in contact information would cause trouble for employers to contact you.
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Unprofessional details: Casual social media accounts (which have no relevance/job-related data) or an unprofessional username in your email is a big no.
Cover Letter Heading: Match it with Your Resume
Whenever you come across cover letter header examples, the sample resumes that come with them have a matching font and color scheme. It is important. It gives uniformity to your documents because a cover letter complements a resume.
Look at these examples below:
You will see the consistency in the above examples. With color scheme and font, make sure that the divisions are also the same.
For example, if you choose a cover letter template divided horizontally, make sure that the resume has the same division and not a vertical one.
Hiration Pro Tip: When sending your cover letter via email, make sure to include your name and job title in the subject line. Also, rather than the body of the letter, include your contact details in your signature:
Sincerely,
FirstName LastName
Your Email
Your Phone Number
Your LinkedIn Profile URL (optional)
Also read: Cover Letter Template
Additional Details to Include in Your Cover Letter Heading
There are a few additional elements that can make space and prove well.
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Job Title: Stating your current job title in the cover letter heading will give the recruiters a definite idea of your current position.
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Mailing Address: Most businesses follow digitized methods of mailing, but in case your target company follows traditional norms, you can include your mailing address in the cover letter heading.
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Online portfolio or Website: In professions such as photography, graphic designing, and software development, you need to have a portfolio. You can add links to Behance, Kaggle, Github, and similar/relevant websites or link to your digital portfolio in your cover letter heading.
With Hiration’s Digital Portfolio Builder, you can develop a top-notch portfolio as per your work experience and industry requirements.
Some Additional Tips to Consider
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Letterhead position: The cover letter heading works equally well with every alignment: top left, center, or right of the page. The key is to make sure it matches the one on your resume
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Name font: Use italicized or bold text and larger font size, and stick with a style that delivers a professional and classic appearance such as Times New Roman or Arial
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Subject line: Begin with RE: which means 'Regarding', followed by the name of the position or the classified listing number so the hiring manager knows immediately which role you are seeking
Key Takeaways
- Your cover letter heading should comprise Name, Phone number, Email address, and Location.
- You must also state the link to your LinkedIn profile as per current industry standards.
- Proofread your cover letter to check spelling, grammar, and contact information.
- Make sure that your cover letter heading matches the format of your resume heading.
- A few additional details suitable for your cover letter heading are Job Title, Mailing Address, and Online Portfolio or Website.
We hope you have a better understanding of how to write a cover letter heading and its do’s and don’ts.
Hiration provides you a complete career service platform with 24/7 chat support for all your professional needs from cover letter & resume building, CV, interview preparations, LinkedIn review to building a digital portfolio.
Feel free to drop us a mail at support@hiration.com for any queries or concerns.
