Short Cover Letter Samples for Four Situations
Four complete letters under 150 words, for a referral, a high-volume application, an internal move and an email body, with the sentence each one cannot lose.
Kazifi Careers Team · Careers & ATS specialists
A short letter is not a compromise. For several common situations it is the better document, because it makes one point and gets out of the way.
When short is right
Four situations, all covered below.
A referral, where the name does the work. An internal application, where the reader already knows you. A high-volume application to a role you plainly fit. An email body, where the resume is attached and the email is a delivery note.
When it is not right: a career change, a significant gap, a relocation needing explanation, or a senior role where scope has to be argued. Those need the fuller structure in the cover letter outline guide.
Purdue’s cover letter guidance treats concision and targeting as the essentials, which is exactly what a short letter is forced to do.
1. The referral, 96 words
Dear Hiring Team,
Priya Raghunathan suggested I apply for the Operations Manager role. We worked together on the supplier consolidation at Halvorsen last year, where I took our vendor base from 40 to 12 across eight months without a stockout.
Your posting leads with consolidating suppliers after the acquisition, which is why she thought of me.
My resume is attached and I would welcome a conversation.
Thank you, Tomasz Wieczorek
The sentence it cannot lose: the first one. A referral belongs in the opening line, not in the third paragraph where most people put it.
Change: ask Priya before you use her name, and be accurate about how you worked together. A referral that surprises the referrer is worse than no referral.
2. The high-volume application, 118 words
Dear Hiring Team,
I am applying for the Warehouse Supervisor role at Kestrel Distribution.
I have supervised warehouse shifts for six years, most recently a team of 18 across two shifts at Halvorsen Foods, where I cut order turnaround from three days to one. I hold current forklift certification and a clean safety record over that period.
I have attached my resume and would welcome the chance to discuss the role.
Thank you for considering my application.
Sincerely, Tomasz Wieczorek
The sentence it cannot lose: the second paragraph’s first clause, which states the length and shape of the relevant experience before anything else.
Change: the certification line. For roles with a hard requirement, name it here rather than trusting the reader to find it on the resume.
3. The internal move, 104 words
Hello Marcus,
I would like to apply for the Regional Operations Manager role posted internally last week.
I have run the Denver site for three years and took on the Boulder handover last spring, so I have effectively been operating across two sites since then. The supplier work I did with Priya’s team is the closest thing in my history to what the role description calls for.
I have spoken to Adaeze about my current responsibilities and how they would transfer.
Happy to talk whenever suits.
Tomasz
The sentence it cannot lose: the third paragraph. Confirming you have already thought about your own backfill is what separates a serious internal candidate from an opportunistic one.
Change: the tone. Internal letters can be warmer and less formal, and the salutation should match how you actually address the person.
4. The email body, 71 words
Subject: Operations Manager application, Tomasz Wieczorek
Dear Hiring Team,
I am applying for the Operations Manager role. My resume and cover letter are attached.
The short version: I ran a supplier consolidation from 40 vendors to 12 last year, which is the project your posting leads with.
Thank you,
Tomasz Wieczorek (555) 014-2287 · tomasz.wieczorek@example.com
The sentence it cannot lose: the short version line. An email that only says “please find attached” wastes the one thing a reader definitely sees.
Change: nothing, and do not turn this into the full letter. If a letter is attached, the email must not duplicate it. See the job application email guide.
How to cut to 150 words
Start from a normal letter and remove, in this order.
- Every sentence about the company.
- Every expression of enthusiasm.
- Any sentence already on your resume.
- The recap paragraph.
- All hedging: “I believe”, “I feel”, “I would like to think”.
- Preamble on each remaining sentence.
What survives is usually the role, one example and a close, which is the correct content.
What short letters must not do
Skip the example. A short letter with no evidence is a compliance slip. The one thing you cannot cut is the specific fact.
Read as curt. Keep the greeting and the thanks. They cost eight words and their absence is noticed.
Omit an explanation you actually need. If you have a gap or are applying from out of area, a short letter is the wrong choice. One factual sentence of context is worth more than brevity.
Related
For the full structure, see the cover letter outline guide and the cover letter length guide. For graded full-length examples, see the best cover letter examples. For openings, see how to start a cover letter.
Or generate one at any length with the cover letter generator, free at Kazifi.
Common questions
How short can a cover letter be?
Around 120 to 150 words works when you have one clear thing to say. Below about 100 you are announcing an application rather than making a case, unless it is an email accompanying an attached letter.
Is a short cover letter unprofessional?
No. A short letter with one specific example reads as confident. A long letter restating your resume reads as padding, which is the more common failure.
When should I write a short cover letter instead of a full one?
For referrals, internal applications, high-volume applications to roles you clearly fit, and any email body. Save the fuller version for career changes and anything needing explanation.
What has to be in even the shortest cover letter?
The role you are applying for and one specific piece of evidence. Everything else, including the greeting and the close, is formality that can be minimal.