How to Use Bullet Points in a Cover Letter

When writing a cover letter, it’s important to keep it concise and engaging for hiring managers. One way to do this is by including bullet points to draw the reader’s attention to key information that you don’t want them to skim over.

You can use bullet points to:

• provide a brief snapshot of your most valuable skills
• summarize your professional accomplishments
• feature specific keywords or phrases from the job description
• highlight information that’s not on your resume

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Cover letter with bullet points (example)

Here’s an example of a cover letter with bullet points for a sales role:

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1. Showcase your most valuable skills

To show off your skills in your cover letter bullet points, choose hard and soft skills that prove your qualifications for the role. Focus on including the ones that aren’t immediately obvious from your resume, or that set you apart from other candidates.

Here’s an example of how to list skills in the bullet points of an accountant cover letter:

2. Highlight your strongest professional accomplishments

Bullet points can also improve your cover letter by showing off your professional accomplishments.

A recruiter’s eyes will be automatically drawn to the bullet points on your cover letter, so you should list the work achievements that are most likely to impress them, either from your current position, or from multiple prior roles.

Begin each bullet point with an action verb, and include numbers measuring what you accomplished to make them even more impressive.

Here’s an example of professional accomplishments from an elementary teacher cover letter:

3. Make your bullet points relevant and targeted to the job

It’s important to tailor your cover letter to the specific job that you’re applying for.

The best way to do this is to mention skills and keywords from the job description in your cover letter bullet points. This confirms to hiring managers that you satisfy the requirements they set out in the job listing and shows that you’ve done your research and are a great fit for the position.

For example, if the job description mentions specific tools or technical skills, list your experience and proficiency with them in your cover letter bullet points.

Here’s an example of a software engineer cover letter that targets specific keywords from the job description:

4. Highlight information that’s not on your resume

Your cover letter is an opportunity to tell employers who you are in a way that your resume doesn’t, by providing additional context and threading multiple pieces of your story together.

One way to make the best use of your cover letter is to include bullet points highlighting important information that isn’t on your resume.

For example, you can explain an employment gap on your cover letter by mentioning what you did during that time (emphasizing your personal or professional development, for example).

Here’s an example: