A resume lists what you have done: jobs, dates, results, education, skills. You reuse it, with small edits, for many applications. A cover letter is written for one job. In one page it names the role, picks the two or three results that match the post, says why this company, and asks for an interview. Prospects puts it simply: the letter should complement your CV, not duplicate it.
Side by side
- Purpose. Resume: a record a recruiter scans for facts. Cover letter: an argument for one job, and, as Harvard's career office notes, a writing sample that is part of the screening.
- Length. Resume: depends on experience and country (see how long a resume should be). Cover letter: one page at most, in three to five short paragraphs, per Prospects and the UK National Careers Service.
- Format. Resume: sections and bullet points. Cover letter: a letter, with a greeting, paragraphs and a sign-off.
- Tailoring. Resume: adjust the summary, skills and bullet order for each post. Cover letter: rewrite it for every job; the National Careers Service and Prospects both say so.
- Voice. The letter is written in full sentences, in the first person. Harvard cautions against overusing "I".
How much should they overlap?
Facts should match exactly: the same job titles, dates and numbers. The wording should not. The University of Duisburg-Essen's career service warns against repeating your CV in the letter and suggests linking what the job asks for to your own experience. Take one result from your resume and tell the story behind it: the problem, what you did, and what changed. Let the resume carry the rest.
Make them look like a set
The National Careers Service and Harvard both say to use the same font and size in the letter and the resume, and the National Careers Service adds that your contact details must be correct on both. Send both as PDFs unless the post asks for something else, and open each PDF before you send it to check the layout survived.
Do you need both?
The National Careers Service says to include a cover letter whenever you apply with a CV. Some portals have no field for one, and some posts say not to send one; follow the post. When you apply by email, the email body is the letter.
If you need the resume, build it here and download the PDF free. Then start the cover letter from it: your details and results carry over, and the letterhead uses the same design. Before you send, run the letter through the cover letter checker. For the US and UK naming difference, see resume vs CV.
Questions people ask
- What is the main difference between a cover letter and a resume?
- The resume is a structured record of your work, education and skills. The cover letter is a one-page letter for one job that explains why you fit it, using two or three results from the resume, and asks for an interview.
- Should my cover letter repeat my resume?
- No. Keep the facts consistent, but pick only the results that match the job and explain one of them in more detail. Prospects and Duisburg-Essen's career service both warn against repeating the CV.
- Which comes first, the cover letter or the resume?
- Write the resume first, so you have results to pick from. When you send them, the cover letter goes on top or in the email body, and the resume is attached.
- Should the cover letter and resume use the same design?
- Use the same font and size in both, as the National Careers Service and Harvard's career office advise, with the same contact details.