Endings are where good cover letters go to apologize for themselves. A writer who spent three paragraphs presenting real evidence will suddenly close with "I hope you will consider my application, and please do not hesitate to contact me at your earliest convenience should you require any further information" — a 27-word shrug. Knowing how to end a cover letter is mostly knowing what the last paragraph is for: it restates your value in one line, thanks the reader without groveling, and signals a next step with the calm of someone who expects to be taken seriously. This guide covers the closing paragraph, the sign-off line beneath it, and the mistakes that quietly undo everything above them.
What a closing paragraph must do: restate value, signal next step
A closing paragraph has exactly three jobs, usually in two or three sentences:
- Compress your case into one line. Not a summary of the letter — a distillation. If the reader remembers a single sentence, this is your nomination.
- Signal the next step without demanding it. You'd welcome a conversation; you're available. Confidence lives in the assumption that a conversation is a reasonable outcome, not a favor.
- Thank them, once, plainly. "Thank you for your consideration" or "Thank you for your time." One sentence of thanks reads as courtesy; two reads as anxiety.
Structurally, the close mirrors the opening: the opening argues for reading the letter, the close argues for acting on it. And like openings — which we've covered in equal depth in how to start a cover letter — closes are formulaic in the useful sense. The formula: value line + forward signal + thanks. Everything else is padding.
What the close must not do: introduce new qualifications (they belong in the proof paragraph), re-argue the whole letter, negotiate ("my salary requirements are flexible"), or apologize for anything. The close is the letter's handshake, and handshakes don't carry footnotes.
The confident close vs the desperate close: examples of both
The same candidate, ending the same letter two ways:
Desperate:
"I truly believe I could be a great fit for this role, and I would be so grateful for the opportunity to discuss my qualifications further. I know you must receive many applications from candidates with more experience than me, but I promise that if given a chance, I will work harder than anyone. Please feel free to contact me at any time, day or night. Thank you so much in advance for your consideration, and I hope to hear from you very soon."
Confident:
"If Beaconview wants someone who's already lived through two payroll migrations and kept the tickets from piling up, that's the experience I'd bring in week one. I'd welcome a conversation about the transition. Thank you for your consideration."
The desperate version undermines itself five separate ways: "I truly believe" (hedge), "so grateful for the opportunity" (supplication), "candidates with more experience than me" (self-sabotage — never argue the other side's case), "day or night" (boundary-free eagerness), "thank you so much in advance" (presumptuous and anxious at once). The confident version makes a claim, opens a door, says thanks, and stops. Thirty-nine words. Note that confidence here isn't bravado — it's the absence of begging.
The tone test: read your close aloud and ask whether the person speaking sounds like someone the company would be lucky to interview or someone bracing for rejection. Readers absorb that difference even when skimming.
10 closing paragraphs by situation
All examples invented, each tuned to its scenario:
Standard application: "Four years of keeping enterprise clients renewed is the short version of what I'd bring to Kestrel. I'd welcome the chance to talk through the role, and I'm glad to work around your team's schedule. Thank you for your consideration."
Career change: "I know a pivot asks the hiring team to connect dots, so I've tried to connect them first — the certification, the volunteer casework, and six years of doing this job's hardest parts under a different title. I'd welcome a conversation about the rest. Thank you for your time."
No experience / entry level: "What I lack in job titles I've tried to make up in evidence — the capstone, the club newsletter's growth, and references who will vouch for how I work. I'd be glad to walk through any of it. Thank you for considering my application."
Referral: "Dana suggested this team because she's seen how I handle carrier chaos firsthand; I'd welcome the chance to make my own case. Thank you for your consideration — and for running the kind of process Dana speaks so highly of."
Internal application: "Two years in the support queue taught me where the product creaks; I'd like to spend the next two fixing it from the other side. Dee Okonkwo is glad to speak to my readiness whenever it's useful. Thank you for considering an internal candidate seriously."
Cold / speculative: "If operations isn't hurting yet, keep this letter for the quarter when it starts. If it already is, fifteen minutes would let me show you what the first ninety days could look like. Either way, thanks for reading a letter you didn't ask for."
After a gap / returning: "My recertification is complete, my references are current, and my reasons for the pause are fully resolved — what I'm looking for now is a team worth being back for. I'd welcome a conversation. Thank you for your consideration."
Relocation: "The lease is signed and the moving date is set, so Denver logistics won't cost your team anything but a calendar invite. I'd be glad to interview by video before the move or in person after September 1. Thank you for your time."
Senior / executive: "The throughline of my last decade is turning founder-led chaos into systems that scale, and Marrow is at exactly the inflection point where that work matters most. I'd welcome a conversation with the board's timeline in mind. Thank you for your consideration."
Short-form / email application: "Happy to share work samples or references — and thank you for reading. Best, Simone Adjei." (In email, the close and sign-off compress into nearly one gesture.)
Each of these runs 25–55 words. If your close is pushing 80, it's re-arguing the letter — cut it back to value, signal, thanks. Length discipline across the whole letter is its own craft, covered in our guide to how long a cover letter should be.
Sign-off ranking: from "Sincerely" to the ones to avoid
The sign-off is the single line between your closing paragraph and your name. Ranked:
Always safe:
- Sincerely, — the default. Invisible in the good way.
- Best regards, — marginally warmer, equally professional.
- Kind regards, — same tier; slightly more common in UK and European correspondence.
Safe in context:
- Respectfully, — government, military-adjacent, judicial clerkships.
- Regards, — fine, if a touch clipped.
- Best, — appropriate for email-body applications and follow-up messages; slightly light for a formal attached letter.
Avoid:
- Cheers, — too casual for a first professional contact in most markets.
- Warmly, / Warm regards, — fine between colleagues; presumes intimacy from a stranger.
- Yours faithfully, / Yours truly, — reads as period costume outside genuinely formal British conventions.
- "Thanks" with an exclamation mark — the enthusiasm undercuts the professionalism, and the punctuation does it no favors.
- Anything clever — "Eagerly awaiting your reply," "Hopefully yours," or a quote. The sign-off is not a personality slot.
Beneath the sign-off: your typed full name. No scanned signature needed; if your letter is an attachment, your phone and email already live in the header, and if it's an email body, they go under your name. Placement and spacing details are in the cover letter format guide.
The postscript trick — and whether it's ever worth it
You'll occasionally see advice to add a "P.S." line after the sign-off — "P.S. I noticed your team just launched in Canada; I ran a Toronto expansion in 2024 and would love to compare notes." The theory: postscripts draw the eye and get read even by skimmers, a pattern borrowed from direct-mail marketing.
Our honest assessment: the eye-catching part is true — a P.S. is visually isolated and does get noticed. But the device carries a cost the direct-mail heritage should warn you about: it reads as a technique. Recruiters who've seen the tactic recognize it, and a letter that ends twice can feel gimmicky in exactly the contexts (formal industries, senior roles) where polish matters most.
When it can work: casual-voiced companies, sales and marketing roles where a little showmanship is on-brand, and cases where the P.S. content is genuinely additive and genuinely specific. When it can't: any letter where the P.S. contains your best material. If the Canada expansion is your strongest card, it belongs in the proof paragraph, not the basement. Rule of thumb — a P.S. should be a bonus fact, never a rescue attempt, and if in doubt, fold it into the letter and end once, well.
Closing mistakes that undo a great letter
The recurring ways strong letters fumble the last fifty words:
- Thanking in advance. "Thank you in advance for the interview" presumes the outcome you're requesting. Plain thanks, no advance.
- The double-hedge. "If you feel my qualifications might be a fit, perhaps we could possibly arrange a time to talk." Three hedges in one sentence; each one spends credibility.
- The demand. The opposite failure: "I will call your office Thursday at 2 p.m. to schedule my interview." Assertiveness scripts from the 1980s read as boundary problems in 2026. Signal availability; don't seize their calendar.
- Salary and logistics. Availability dates, notice periods, and compensation belong in the application form's fields or a later conversation — in the close, they read as negotiating before being asked.
- New evidence. "I should also mention I'm proficient in SQL and Tableau..." — the close is too late; material introduced here reads as an afterthought and gets an afterthought's attention.
- Trailing off. Ending on "I hope to hear from you soon" alone, with no value line, means your final impression is hope rather than substance. Hope is not a claim.
One more boundary worth drawing: the close signals the next step — it doesn't perform it. Actual follow-up happens days later, through the right channel, with its own etiquette; our guide to following up on a job application covers the timing and scripts so your letter's calm "I'd welcome a conversation" stays calm.
For how the close fits the architecture of everything above it — hook, proof, fit — the full blueprint is in our pillar guide on how to write a cover letter.
Frequently asked questions
Should I say "I look forward to hearing from you"?
It's serviceable but slightly passive — it centers waiting rather than value. "I'd welcome a conversation about the role" carries the same forward signal with more agency. If you like the traditional phrase, pair it with a strong value line before it so it's the second-best sentence in your close, not the only one.
How do I end a cover letter when the posting says "no calls"?
Respect it completely: no "I'll follow up by phone," no workarounds. Close with your value line, availability, and thanks — "I'd welcome the chance to discuss the role through whatever process works best for your team" acknowledges their control of the channel without groveling.
Is "Thank you for your consideration" overused?
It's common, but common isn't a flaw in closing courtesies — the sign-off zone is where convention works for you. Readers don't reward novelty in thanks; they notice its absence or its excess. Spend your originality on the value line and let the thanks be boring.
Do I need to mention attachments or references in the close?
Only if instructions require it. "References available upon request" is assumed and wastes a line. If the application asked for specific documents, confirm them in the email body rather than the letter itself — the letter should end on your value, not your paperwork.
End the letter, then check what they open next
The strongest close hands the reader directly to your resume — make sure it holds up to the momentum. Workplacea's free resume checker audits parsing, evidence, and consistency in about two minutes, so the document your letter sets up doesn't let the argument down.