Cover letter

What belongs in an application?

Follow the employer’s posting. Mention work you actually did, name a referrer who referred you, and list only files you are attaching. If you do not know the recipient, choose a generic greeting. You can leave your years of experience out.

For a federal job, check the announcement’s Required Documents and How to Apply sections. A cover letter may describe relevant skills or goals. Other required materials, including proof of eligibility or transcripts, have their own instructions. Review the facts in every attachment before certifying your application.

Pay expectations and remote work

If you want to discuss compensation, you can ask for the pay range or state your desired annual pay for this job. The letter does not ask for previous pay. In California, the rules distinguish proposed pay, an employer’s requests for prior salary, and an applicant’s unprompted disclosure. Applicants can request a pay scale. Additional posting duties apply to covered employers with 15 or more employees.

New York’s posting rule covers employers with four or more employees and qualifying work in New York or an applicable reporting relationship to a New York supervisor, office or worksite. New York’s Labor Department distinguishes a role at an out-of-state employer whose supervisor merely works remotely from a New York home. An applicant’s residence or a company’s mailing address alone cannot resolve these questions.

Academic applications

Describe research, teaching or service if it relates to the opening and you want to include it. You can enter other academic work in your own words. Texas law restricts covered public institutions from soliciting diversity, equity and inclusion statements or giving preference for submitting them, subject to statutory exceptions. Separately, the law exempts specified scholarly research and teaching activity. An applicant’s choice to describe work does not establish that a school requested a statement.