Harvard Cover Letter Guide — Write the Perfect Cover Letter
Learn the one-page cover letter approach documented by Harvard Career Services, then let Harvard CV Maker draft yours from your real CV — with the evidence to back every claim.
What Harvard Career Services Recommends in a Cover Letter
Harvard's Office of Career Services publishes clear, practical cover letter guidance. The core principles are simple — and they work because they respect the reader's time. (Harvard CV Maker follows these publicly documented conventions; we are an independent product, not affiliated with or endorsed by Harvard University.)
Harvard Cover Letter Format — Structure Breakdown
A Harvard-style cover letter follows a standard business letter structure. Here is each part, top to bottom.
Header
Your name and contact details (email, phone, city), the date, and the recipient's name, title, and company. Match the header styling of your CV so the two documents read as a set.
Greeting
Address a specific person by name whenever you can find one ("Dear Ms. Rivera,"). If no name is available, use a role-based greeting like "Dear Hiring Manager" — never "To Whom It May Concern."
Opening Paragraph
State the role you are applying for, where you found it, and a one-sentence summary of why you are a strong fit. The reader should know your purpose within two lines.
Body (1–2 Paragraphs)
Connect your strongest, most relevant evidence — quantified achievements, skills, and experience — to what the job description actually asks for. Pick two or three points and develop them; don't list everything.
Closing
Thank the reader for their time, restate your interest in the role, and invite next steps. Sign off with "Sincerely" or "Best regards" and your name.
Your cover letter works best alongside a matching CV. Learn the Harvard resume format or build one directly with our Harvard CV generator.
AI-Powered Cover Letter Generation, Grounded in Your CV
Our AI cover letter generator doesn't write fiction. It writes a Harvard-style letter from the facts already in your CV — and shows its work.
Paste the Job Description
Enter the job title, company, and job description. The AI detects the key requirements and signals the employer cares about.
AI Drafts from Your Real CV
Using your saved CV — or CV text you upload or paste — the AI writes a one-page Harvard-style letter and shows which CV evidence it matched to which job requirement. Missing skills are flagged, not fabricated.
Edit, Improve, and Save
Refine the draft manually or ask the AI to improve it. Every letter is saved to your account, so you can reopen and adapt it for the next application. Prefer to write from scratch? Manual writing and editing are fully supported too.
