When writing a cover letter, you often end up thinking "I only need to cut 200 characters but there is nothing to remove", or "I need 1,000 characters but have nothing to say". Length is not just a number to hit; it is about the density of your writing. Here are techniques you can use right away.
When you need to cut
1. Remove repetition
Phrases that repeat the same meaning are the first to go.
- "I was able to do" becomes "I did"
- "I think that" can usually be dropped and the sentence stated directly
- "various different" becomes "various"
2. Put modifiers on a diet
Words like "very", "really", "extremely" and "doing my best" can usually be removed without changing the meaning. The sentence gets stronger without them.
3. One example, told in depth
Rather than listing three experiences, describing your strongest one in detail is both shorter and more convincing.
4. Combine sentences
"I was president of a club. As president I managed 30 members." becomes "As president of a 30-member club, I managed its members."
When you need to expand
Padded writing is easy to spot. Expand by adding specifics.
1. Add numbers
"I helped increase sales" becomes "Over three months I improved our customer support manual and raised the repurchase rate from 12% to 18%."
2. Show the process
Instead of stating only the result, follow situation, judgment, action, result and lesson. The text grows naturally and gains depth.
3. Connect to the company
Add a sentence or two on how the lesson applies to the role you are applying for. It fills the length and strengthens your motivation.
Adjust while watching the numbers
- Paste your draft into the character counter to see the current length.
- Work out the gap to your target (for example, 1,180 characters against a 1,000 limit means cutting 180).
- Apply the techniques above paragraph by paragraph, checking the count after each change.
- Finish between 90 and 98 percent of the limit. Too short looks careless, and hitting the limit exactly risks going over because systems count differently.
The difference between counting with spaces and counting bytes is covered in the character and byte limits guide.
Splitting length by question type
- Motivation (800 to 1,000 characters): roughly 20% on why the company interests you, 50% on how your strengths fit the role and 30% on your goals after joining.
- Background (around 500 characters): focus on one decisive experience that shaped your values rather than your childhood.
- Job skills (1,000 characters or more): split it into paragraphs of experience, results with numbers and how they apply to the job, so it reads easily even when long.
Final checklist
- The first sentence answers the question directly
- No word repeats three or more times in one paragraph
- Numbers and proper nouns (company and job names) are correct
- No other company's name is left over from copy and paste
- No sentence leaves you out of breath when read aloud
Adjusting length is the best opportunity to improve your writing. Hitting the number makes the text clearer.