15 Free Cover Templates That Will Impress the Socks off Employers

15 Free Cover Templates That Will Impress the Socks off Employers Youve labored over the words, measured out the margins, nailed down the font. Your cover letter is ready to send.Except that it looks like youre off for the New Years ball dressed in sweats and a tee. Your cover letter definitely needs some fancier threads.I know youre rolling your eyes now. The internet is full of horrid examples, its hard to find something nice, and even harder to tailor it to your needs.Well, weve done the searching for you and found the best cover letter templates there are so you can have your cover letter decked out and ready to go in no time.Best of all, theyre free!This article will show you:Free cover letter templates better than 9 out of 10 others.Examples of downloadable free cover letter templates categorized by source so you can choose which you like best.Our selection of professional free cover letter templates that will grab the recruiters attention.Easy to follow instructions on how to use the selected free cover letter templates.Or take the hassle ou t of everything and give our cover letter builder a try. With more than 20 cover letter templates, youll definitely find something that suits you and the position youre applying for.Sample Cover Letter for a ResumeSee more cover letter templates and create your cover letter here.One of our users, Nikos, had this to say:[I used] a nice template I found on Zety. My resume is now one page long, not three. With the same stuff.Create your resume now1Free Microsoft Word Cover Letter Templates1. Graphicpups Free Resume TemplateThis simple yet modern cover letter template is a versatile go-to for almost any position.Your name and job title is on prominent display in the cover letter header and your contact information is neatly arranged between two sleek lines and cleverly categorized with nifty icons.Download it here.ProsThe large amount of white space on the page is particularly ideal for those who need more room to demonstrate their career experience.ConsJob seekers with less career expe rience may find it difficult to fill up the entire page. The cover letter may end up looking a little empty.2. Graphicpups Resume FreebieThis cover letter template takes a more personalized approach by using your photo in the upper left hand corner of the cover letter.Your personal information is nicely arranged at the top for convenience, leaving a lot of white space to demonstrate your value and skills.Download it here.ProsGreat option for those with lots of career experience and industries where a headshot is necessary (e.g. modelling, acting, etc.).Theres a lot of room for career skills and examples of achievements.ConsIts not customary to include your photo on cover letters or resumes for most jobs so the photo slot would need to be filled with something else.Job seekers with less experience may find it difficult to fill up the page.Its easy to clutter up the page with walls of text and make it difficult for the hiring manager to read.3. Bold MonogramBold Monogram offered by Mi crosoft Word has the perfect title to describe it. Bold in both color and concept, the bright red block on the left of the page both draws attention to your contact information as well as sets apart the rest of the page to focus the readers attention on your career experience and skills.The eye-catching monogram at the top gives a personal touch and a reason for the hiring manager to remember this cover letter from among the sea of others.Download it here.ProsIdeal for industries such as sales, marketing, or other creative sectors.Great for candidates with less experience as the red bar takes up a large portion of the page.ConsNot an ideal template for industries such as law or business management.How to Use Free Microsoft Word TemplatesThe free cover letter examples above belong to the standard package of freebies offered through the Microsoft Office Suite.Heres how to access them:Open MS Word.The main page will open with format options for your new document. Go to the more templat es option on the right hand side.Youll get several categories to choose from. Choose Resumes and Cover Letters.Choose the template you like and click open.Fill in your experience and skills and youre done!MS Word templates usually arent the most beautiful when it comes to cover letters, but they are usually quite easy to format, edit, and save. That said, if you start playing around with the formatting too much, you might find yourself with the famous problem of having one letter totally skew your entire cover letter.Free Cover Letter Templates by Canva1. Turquiose Typography LetterheadCanva really comes through with this colorful, yet light cover letter template. A wide, turquoise bar on the left side includes your name and personal information. Large initials in the middle of the bar help draw attention and make it memorable.The rest of the page is space left for the body of your cover letter.You can download it here.ProsProfessional template for candidates looking for jobs in cre ative sectors (e.g. marketing, sales, designers, etc.).ConsMight not be the best template for conservative sectors like business and law.Graphics take up some space and leave less room for your experience.2. Orange Shapes Creative LetterheadAnother bold idea from Canva, this cover letter template uses color and graphics across the whole page to really make your cover letter stand out from the rest the hiring manager sees.Your contact information is neatly arranged at the bottom in a dark bar while your name and current title are emphasized at the top of the cover letter. The light, circular graphics help give a bit of personality to the cover letter without being overwhelming and overshadowing your career experience and skills.Download this here.ProsA great choice for creative industries, especially marketing, advertising, or design.ConsThe template format leaves a little less space than usual so this wouldnt be a great template for job seekers with years of experience.Not a good op tion for business, law, or government sectors.How to Use Free Canva Cover Letter TemplatesCanva is what you would call a freemium site, which means there are things that you can use without having to switch to a paid plan.Access the templates on Canva here. Note, downloading or saving may sometimes require setting up a free account.Some job seekers may find that formatting and adding information to Canva templates is more complicated and less familiar than through Google Docs or MS Word. Thats because Canva is geared more towards artists while MS Word and Google Docs are more focused on the text.If you have little time or are digitally/artistically challenged, Canva probably isnt for you.Google Docs Cover Letter Templates1. SpearmintFor fans of designer simplicity, this Google Doc cover letter template is a good choice.Mostly offering white space for your cover letter, there are subtle geometric designs in the right corners of the page, adding an artistic touch to the page, but not drawing attention away from whats important.A sparing use of coloring brings attention to your name and date.ProsGood for job seekers just starting their career.ConsNot the best choice when it comes to conservative industries.Might need reformatting as the colored letters might not be suitable for most positions.2. Business LetterThis free cover letter template puts a little bit of pizzazz into professional. Dark letters stand out against a plain, white background, giving your cover letter a real air of professionalism. Your name and contact details are displayed on the left side of the page.A bit of color draws attention to the important things like your name and contact information, but doesnt distract from the rest of the letter.ProsA good choice for entry-level positions orinternship cover letters.This template is versatile enough to suit most positions.ConsText color should be changed to black, if youre using this template to apply for managerial positions or within conservativ e industries.3. SwissThis free cover letter template goes back to basics and opts for a simple, no nonsense layout. Your name is prominently displayed at the top of the page and separated from the rest of the page with a thick line.Your contact information goes right underneath and then the rest of the page is devoted to your career experience and job skills.ProsThis conservative template would work for sectors such as business, law, medicine, or city/state/federal jobs.ConsThis will probably be too plain for design/creative industries.The font might be considered outdated and you might want to change it before sending.How to Use Free Google Docs Cover Letter TemplatesThese free cover letter templates can be accessed through your Google account (which is also free).All you need to do is:Log on to your Google account.Enter Google DocsYoull see a screen that asks to start a new document. Click on Template Gallery to the right hand side.Youll get a new screen with a list of all of Goog les templates. Scroll down to Letters.Click on the template of your choice and Google will open it up as a lorem ipsum document.Fill it in with your experience and skills and youre done!Google Docs are nifty since they can go wherever you have an internet connection. The downside may be that Google Docs sometimes have random formatting issues when saving to other formats such as Word or PDF.Never send a Google Docs cover letter straight from your account.Why not take all the hassle out of handling the format of your cover letter template? Get an added bonus of a template that looks 10 times more professional than any of the examples youd find for free.You can write it in our cover letter builder.When making a resume in our builder, drag drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building your resume here.Create my resume nowWhen youre done, Zetys resume builder will score your resume and tell you exactly how to make it better.Free Cover Le tter Builders1. Cover Letter Template (Max Romeo)This template focuses on minimalism and the use of white space. Sleek lines are used to separate your paragraphs, giving a new twist to an old look.Your contact information is neatly stowed away at the bottom and highlighted by modern icons.Get yours here.ProsA great choice for almost any job with its versatile, clean cover letter layout.ConsWould be great if there was an option to change the background margins to suit the position youre applying for.2. Free Cover Letter Template (Hannah Panizares)Another modern and free cover letter template offered by Venngage. This template goes against the more traditional division of white and black with the use of yellow and black, but still retains a very professional feel.As a bit of a twist, the cover letter has room for a personalized signature at the bottom of the page which the recruiter will definitely notice.Neat icons on the left hand side of the paper draw attention to the personal inf ormation listed there.Download it here.ProsRather versatile template that can be used for different industries and/or positions. Perfect for more creative roles or entry-level cover letters.ConsConservative companies may find this template too colorful. Would look bad if printed in black and white mode.3. Free Cover Letter Template (Sandra Barnes)Venngage brings some really bright and cheerful cover letter templates to the table, and this one is a good example. A bold use of both shapes, color, and font formatting really help capture the hiring managers attention.All the sections of your cover letter are neatly compartmentalized and separated from each other. Despite there being a lot of elements on the cover letter, this template manages to bring it together to form a pleasant reading experience.You can download it here.ProsGreat choice for creative roles, especially design and marketing.Good choice for job seekers with less experience.ConsUnsuitable for public or corporate positio ns.4. Free Cover Letter Template (Sophie Dawson)This cover letter template is definitely in a league of its own. Its a nice cross between the infographic style that the internet has grown to love and the classic letter format of a cover letter body.Fun, engaging icons at the top of the page really draw attention to your skills and passion before the hiring manager even starts reading.Find it here.ProsThe colorful and fun character of this template make it great for entry level candidates or those looking for a job in creative industries.The creative half of the page brings a lot of attention to the personality and character of the candidate over their skills.ConsToo much design to be well received by more conservative sectors such as law or business.Its not customary to send photos in a resume or cover letter so that space in the header most likely will need to be filled with something else.5. Free Cover Letter Template (Linda Jackson)This template really takes a creative approach t o the cover letter.White space has been replaced with a subtle background of small, light triangles. Your personal information along with the summary/objective from your resume can be found neatly arranged at the top of the page.A balanced use of different colors helps guide the reader down the cover letter. A handwritten signature at the bottom adds a nice, last artistic touch.Download it here.ProsGood template for entry level candidates trying to showcase their skills in artistic fields.ConsThis template could be considered difficult to read, especially if printed out.Not a good template for conservative sectors or any positions in management or corporate businesses.6. SeattleThis template takes a more simplistic stance towards the cover letter. It uses color only as a border around the page. Attention to key elements is drawn through the use of different font sizes. A large area of white space gives you enough room to really showcase your experience and skills.You can find it her e.ProsA relatively versatile template for a variety of roles and positions.ConsThis template may be considered a little too lackluster for designer/creative roles.7. DallasAnother cover letter template from CoolFreeCV that introduces a little more color than its predecessor. A sleek, blue bar decorates the left side of the page, giving it a colorful yet professional look. The rest of the format remains pretty much the samecontact info at the top, plenty of white space over the page.Check it out here.ProsThe simple layout and subtle use of color make it a good choice for almost any field or position.ConsThis template may be a little dull for creative industries.Candidates with little experience may also find it difficult to fill up the page.How to Use Free Cover Letter BuildersEach one has their own rules and policies. For the most part, you can download their free sample cover letters for your resume directly off their site. In some cases, you may have to register or set up a free a ccount.Looking for a deep dive into different resume styles? Check out our guide here: Resume Styles Best Suited for Your Needs [20+ Tips]Key TakeawayThe internet is full of free cover letter templates, but for the most part its you get what you pay for.''Dont settle for lessif you look long and hard enough, you can find some great cover letter templates.Feeling more artistic? Try Canva. Prefer to focus on your text? Go for Google Docs or MS Word.Be mindful of what job youre applying for and your own experience level. Choose a cover letter template that suits both the best.Google Docs and MS Word may cause formatting issues while Canva may result in a frustrating user experience. Other sites may ask you to register and send spam to your email. Set realistic expectations.Remember that a great cover letter template may be the spice, but that means little if the main course is a bowl of water.Get some helpful tips with this reading list:Get started with this nifty intro to help you und erstand what you even need a cover letter for: What is a Cover Letter?Check out this outline to help make sure that your cover letter makes sense and nothing ends up missing: Cover Letter Outline as Suggested by Career ExpertsTop it off with some professional examples and advice on writing a great cover letter: How to Write A Cover LetterAre there any great free cover letter templates that weve missed? Let us know!