skills/resplendent-resume-builder/assets/templates/matching-cover-letter.md

# Matching Cover Letter Template

Use for a concise one-page letter that visually matches the ATS Classic resume. The letter must add reasoning, method, tradeoffs, or motivation that the resume does not make obvious.

## Layout contract

- Page: US Letter
- Margins: 0.72 in on all sides
- Typeface: Arial
- Name: 18 pt bold
- Contact line: 9.5 pt
- Date, recipient, salutation, body, and close: 10.5 pt
- Body: 1.03 line spacing with semantic paragraph spacing; no blank spacer paragraphs
- Length: ordinarily 250-400 words, shorter when the evidence supports a tighter letter

## Content skeleton

[Candidate Name]
[City, State] | [Phone] | [Email] | [LinkedIn or portfolio]

[Month Day, Year]

[Recipient Name]
[Title]
[Organization]

Dear [Name or Hiring Team]:

[Open with the role and a specific, supportable reason this opportunity deserves attention.]

[Use one relevant example. Add diagnosis, judgment, method, constraint, or a tradeoff that the resume does not make obvious.]

[Connect that evidence to a material responsibility or problem in the posting. Do not repeat a headline metric only for emphasis.]

[Use one short, direct close.]

Sincerely,
[Candidate Name]