2 pg cover letter Forum

[Anonymous User]

Is it acceptable to have a two page cover letter.

Im in a position where do to very low grades I struck out at oci... but I was able to land a summer clerkship job for the summer in a boutique corporate firm. Due to the size of the firm I a permanent offer is not likely, so I am getting ready to apply to firms. My cover letter right now sits at about 1 and 1/4 page. My thinking is because I have gotten some really good hands on experience... even more than some of my friends in biglaw this summer that I can try and have my experience outshine my grades. But its taking a lot longer space than I would have liked.

Is a cover letter over a page ok?

[hellojd]

Is it acceptable to have a two page cover letter.

Im in a position where do to very low grades I struck out at oci... but I was able to land a summer clerkship job for the summer in a boutique corporate firm. Due to the size of the firm I a permanent offer is not likely, so I am getting ready to apply to firms. My cover letter right now sits at about 1 and 1/4 page. My thinking is because I have gotten some really good hands on experience... even more than some of my friends in biglaw this summer that I can try and have my experience outshine my grades. But its taking a lot longer space than I would have liked.

Is a cover letter over a page ok?

Is it "ok"? Perhaps, but it's not ideal.

I've never written one over a page, and I've never seen a template that provides for that. I'd fiddle with margins and font as much as possible to squeeze it onto a page, and also cut out what's not needed.

The point of a CL is to quickly raise relevant experiences related to the job you're applying to and get your foot in the door. A recruiter isn't going to sit there and pour through your cover letter and resume usually - they just want the highlights. They probably won't spend more than 15-30 seconds on each to decide whether you're getting an interview or not. If you're over a page, you're probably going into too much detail and a recruiter will not want to read all that stuff.

[kalvano]

No. A 2-page cover letter would go in the trash. Be brief, point out something awesome not on your resume, and close it up.

[A. Nony Mouse]

I buck the norm by having a 2 pp resume, but even I would say no to a 2 pp cover (there are a few fields where it's okay, but not law). I have never seen a 2 pp cover letter submitted to anyone and even a letter that takes up the full page with the signature squeezed in at the bottom looks too long to me. As noted above, recruiters are wading through tons of paper - they will see 2 pp, think "hell naw", and move on. I suspect you are explaining the experience you've got this summer in way too much detail. Think of it like a TV/movie blurb in the channel listings, rather than the synopsis on Wikipedia.

(Also, to be blunt, if the good experience you're talking about is from your job this summer, unless you are actually personally advising President Obama or something equally out of the ordinary, you don't have enough experience to merit a 2 pp cover letter. Not saying it's not great experience, just saying that's how it will look to practicing attorneys reading your letter. If you're talking about experiences prior to law school that require some explaining, you'd have a bit more justification, but even then, stick to 1 p.)