A killer cover letter is an essential part of any job application. And since it can seem daunting to try to summarize all your professional expertise and goals into just a few short, well-designed paragraphs, we've got some tips to help make the process easier.

Cover letter length and margins

Your cover letter should be one page. It can be less, but definitely not more. Ideally, the margins should be set at one inch on all sides. If your finished letter doesn't fit on a page with those margins, edit it for length and clarity until it does. Make it single-spaced with double-spaced breaks between the main cover letter sections (all profiled further on in the article).

Font colors

And as for using multiple colors or fonts, well, that depends. "If you're in a creative field, it's understandable to send something that has some beautiful design to it, but the substance has to be there," Victoria Vitarelli, a career consultant and marketing expert who has worked with brands including Garnier and Bausch & Lomb. You can consider using a font color that is not black for your name and perhaps your contact information (to give it an extra pop so it stands out), but the body of the letter should be in black font.

Read the rest of this article by Audrey Brashich over on My Perfect Resume