# How to End a Cover Letter With a Clear Ask, Not a Plea URL: https://ohboiler.com/journal/how-to-end-a-cover-letter Type: blog Locale: en Published: 2026-10-28 Updated: 2026-10-29 --- > The last paragraph is the only one that asks for something. Here is how to end a cover letter with a clear next step, the right sign-off and no filler. How to end a cover letter comes down to three moves in about fifty words: name one specific reason you fit, ask for the next step in plain language, and sign off in the register the employer uses. Skip the summary of everything above, skip the apology for taking their time, and type your full name beneath a simple "Sincerely," or "Best regards,". Everything below is the reasoning, plus endings you can adapt. ## The last paragraph is the only one that asks for something I read cover letters for mid-market tech roles, and the endings blur together. They thank me for my time, restate that the writer is passionate, and then hope to hear from me. Nothing in that paragraph requires an answer, so none arrives. The rest of your letter argues that you can do the job. The ending is the only place you get to say what should happen next. That is a different job from the body, and it deserves a different kind of sentence. A closing paragraph has three parts, in this order: - One sentence that ties your strongest point to something this employer cares about. - One sentence that names the next step you would like. - A sign-off and your name. That is it. If you have written four sentences before the sign-off, delete the one you like best, because it is probably the one repeating your opening. ## Does anyone actually read the ending? Yes, but not with the weight advice columns suggest. In a [Resume Genius survey of 625 US hiring managers](https://resumegenius.com/blog/cover-letter-help/cover-letter-statistics), 13 percent said a letter's format left the biggest impression, and only 6 percent named the closing remarks. So a flawless last line will not rescue a weak letter. That is useful information, not a reason to coast. A weak ending does not lose you the job, but it wastes the one place where a small, specific request costs you nothing. Most applicants leave that space empty, which is why a plain ask stands out. ![A hand signing the bottom of a letter with a fountain pen](https://fdzlnqpwsaniezitwiuw.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/cms-media/ohboiler/2026-10/13a807-i1.webp) ## What a good ending says, in four plain steps ### Tie one strength to one need Do not recap. Pick the single point from the body that matters most to this particular role and connect it to something the employer is trying to do. For example: - "The pipeline work I described is the same problem your platform team is solving this year." - "Your move into the Nordic market is where my two years of localisation work would be useful." Notice what these avoid. There is no "I am confident that my skills" and no "I would be a great asset". They name a thing, and the reader can check it. ### Ask for the next step The ask is the part people skip because it feels pushy. It is not. A hiring manager with forty letters in front of them is relieved when one of them says what to do. Phrases that work: - "I would welcome a short call to talk through the platform migration." - "I can send a work sample on request." - "I will follow up by email next Thursday if I have not heard from you." The last one is the strongest, and only use it if you will actually do it. It turns a hope into an appointment you keep with yourself. ### Thank them once One thank you, one sentence, no adjectives. "Thank you for reading" is enough. "Thank you so much for taking the time to consider my application" asks the reader to wade through eleven words to reach the same point. ### Sign off and type your name Leave a line, type your full name, and add a phone number or LinkedIn address only if they are not already in your header. If you are emailing the letter as the body of the message, put your contact details beneath your name, because the email may be forwarded without the attachment. ## Which sign-off, and does it matter? It matters a little, mostly for what it signals about whether you know the local convention. The [University of Pennsylvania's career services](https://careerservices.upenn.edu/blog/2021/01/08/how-to-end-any-professional-email-plus-a-list-of-sign-offs-for-when-youre-tired-of-saying-best/) lists "Sincerely," as the line to use when sending a cover letter, with "Best regards," as the other safe option. That matches what I see in practice. Here is how I would choose: - **Sincerely,** is the default in the US and works almost everywhere. If you cannot decide, use it. - **Best regards,** is a notch warmer and suits corporate, consulting and HR roles, or any case where you have already exchanged emails. - **Yours sincerely,** is the British form when you have addressed a named person. **Yours faithfully,** is for "Dear Sir or Madam", which you should be avoiding anyway. - **Best,** is fine for startups and creative teams, mostly when the letter is the body of an email. - **Warm regards,** is a risk on a cold application. The warmth has not been earned yet. - **Cheers,** only if the job advert itself says "cheers". Capitalise only the first word, and put a comma after it. Then stop. Nobody has been rejected for choosing "Regards," over "Sincerely,", but plenty of letters have lost a little polish to a sign-off the writer clearly copied from a template without reading. ![Person typing at a laptop beside a notebook and pen](https://fdzlnqpwsaniezitwiuw.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/cms-media/ohboiler/2026-10/72f40b-i2.webp) ## Endings that do the job Use these as a structure, not a script. The specific detail in the first sentence must be yours. **For a role where you have a clear result to point at:** "The retention work I described is the problem your growth team is hiring for. I would welcome thirty minutes to talk about where I would start. Thank you for reading. Sincerely, Your Name" **For a career change, where the risk on their side is real:** "I know the move from teaching to customer success is not an obvious one. I can send two examples of onboarding material I built, if that would help you judge. Thank you for considering it. Best regards, Your Name" **For an email cover letter sent to a named person:** "I will check in with you on Thursday of next week in case a call is easier than an email. Thank you for reading. Best, Your Name 07700 900123 | linkedin.com/in/yourname" **For a formal sector such as law, finance or government:** "I would welcome the opportunity to discuss how my compliance experience could support the team. Thank you for your consideration. Respectfully, Your Name" Each runs between thirty and fifty words. None of them uses an exclamation mark, and none of them says the writer is excited, passionate or eager. Those words cost nothing to write, so readers have learned to ignore them. ## Phrases to cut from the last paragraph I have a list. These come up in a large share of the letters I read, and each one can be replaced with something shorter. - "I look forward to hearing from you." The reader cannot act on this. Use a concrete ask instead. - "Please do not hesitate to contact me." Nobody was going to hesitate. It is filler. - "I believe I would be a great asset to your team." Belief is not evidence. Cut it, or replace it with the specific thing you would do. - "Thank you for your time and consideration" as the only closing line. Fine in a pinch, but then the letter has not asked for anything. - "I hope this email finds you well." This belongs at the start of an email, not the end of a letter, and it is better deleted from both. - "Attached please find my CV." If it is attached, they can see it is attached. If you notice that deleting a phrase leaves the paragraph shorter and clearer, that is the correct result. The ending should be the shortest paragraph in the letter. ## Emailed letters, attached letters and application forms The ending changes slightly with the delivery method. If the letter is the body of an email, drop the formality one step. "Sincerely," becomes "Best," and the sentence about next steps can be warmer. Put your phone number under your name. If the letter is a PDF attachment, keep the full business format, but write a two-line email to carry it. The email is the thing most likely to be read first, so it should contain your one-sentence reason for applying, and the attachment can carry the detail. If you are pasting into an application form with a text box, there may be no space for a formal sign-off. A last line of "Thank you for reading. Name." is acceptable, and stripping the formatting is better than sending a letter that arrives as one unbroken block. ![A stack of blank cream paper on a desk with a pencil beside it](https://fdzlnqpwsaniezitwiuw.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/cms-media/ohboiler/2026-10/11ab78-i3.webp) ## Should you use a template or an AI tool for this part? For the sign-off and layout, yes. Those are the parts that should be identical every time, and typing them from memory is how people end up with "Yours faithfully" after addressing a named person. A saved block with your name, contact line and preferred sign-off removes that whole class of error. For the first sentence of the ending, no. That sentence is the only one in the whole letter that depends on the specific employer, and it is the sentence a generic tool is most likely to fill with something plausible and empty. If you do use an assistant, treat its draft as a first pass and check that every claim names something you did. Three tools are worth knowing here, each for a narrow job. Grammarly is useful for the final read, because typos in the last paragraph are the ones people remember. Turn off the tone suggestions that push you towards the word "excited". Kickresume builds a full letter and gives you the layout, which saves time on the format. Rewrite its closing paragraph by hand, because it will give you the same one it gave everyone else. Jobscan compares your letter against the job description. That is helpful for finding which employer phrase to echo in your ending, as long as you echo it in your own words. ## The last check before you send Before I send mine, I read the last paragraph aloud and ask two questions. Could this paragraph appear unchanged in a letter to a different company? If so, rewrite it. Does it contain a verb the reader can act on, such as call, send or reply? If not, add one. If both answers are right, the ending is done. The point is not to find a clever closing line. It is to leave the reader with a clear next step and an easy way to take it, which is more than most applicants manage. ## FAQ ### How do you end a cover letter professionally? Finish with one sentence that links your strongest point to the employer's need, one sentence asking for the next step, a single thank you, and a sign-off such as Sincerely or Best regards followed by your full name. ### What is the best sign-off for a cover letter? Sincerely is the safest default. Best regards is slightly warmer and suits corporate roles. Use Yours sincerely in the UK when you have addressed a named person, and avoid Warm regards on a cold application. ### How long should the last paragraph of a cover letter be? Two to four sentences, roughly thirty to fifty words. It should be the shortest paragraph in the letter, because its only job is to state the next step. ### Should you say 'I look forward to hearing from you' at the end? It is acceptable but weak, because the reader cannot act on it. Replace it with something concrete, such as offering a work sample or saying when you will follow up. ### Do you need a signature on an emailed cover letter? No. A typed full name is enough for emails and online applications. Add your phone number or LinkedIn address beneath it if they are not already visible elsewhere. ### Is it a good idea to say when you will follow up? Yes, if you will actually do it. A line such as 'I will check in on Thursday next week' turns a vague hope into a step the reader can expect and plan around.