Keep the letter to one-page maximum. Less is better. If you’re writing a cover letter that will be emailed, keep it even shorter—like three brief paragraphs. The need for brevity is one reason not to waste space on stock phrases, stilted language and obvious statements (like “It is herewith my pleasure to provide you with . . . in response to your recent posting for .

. .”). A nice way to save space, which lets you invent a more interesting lead, is to write “In application for the X position” at the top of the letter, or as a subject line under the salutation