Overview
In the US, the cover letter is usually the first document a search committee reads. For research-intensive universities it typically spends most of its length on your dissertation or current project, its contribution and your next project, with a shorter paragraph on teaching. For liberal arts colleges and teaching-focused institutions, teaching and mentoring undergraduates move forward, and generic research-heavy letters can signal that you have not thought about the role.
In the UK, many institutions ask for a supporting statement that addresses the person specification. Shortlisting panels often score applications against each essential criterion, so a letter that is eloquent but does not show evidence against every essential point can be screened out. Organizing your evidence under the criteria — or clearly signposting it — matters more than style.
We give line-level and structural feedback on your drafts, or co-draft sections with you from notes when a deadline is close. You remain the author and approve every word; we make sure the letter is specific, accurate and readable.
Who it’s for and the problems it solves
This is for you if you are…
- PhD candidates and postdocs applying for assistant professor or lecturer roles
- Applicants moving between institution types, such as from an R1 postdoc to a liberal arts college
- International applicants writing their first UK supporting statement or US cover letter
- Faculty applying for senior or leadership positions who need to frame a larger record concisely
Common problems we help with
- Your letter is a prose version of your CV and does not explain why your research matters
- You send nearly the same letter everywhere and the tailored paragraph feels bolted on
- You cannot fit research, teaching, mentoring and fit into the expected length
- A UK posting has twelve essential and desirable criteria and you are unsure how to cover them
- English is your additional language and you worry about tone and idiom
What’s included — and what isn’t
Included
- Structural review: opening, research paragraphs, teaching paragraph, fit and close
- Tailoring advice for research-intensive, teaching-focused and regional or community-oriented institutions
- Criteria mapping for UK and similar postings, showing where each essential and desirable criterion is evidenced
- Checks that the teaching paragraph names specific courses from the department's catalog you could teach or develop
- Guidance on mentioning colleagues, centers or programs without name-dropping
- Tone and language editing for clarity and confident but not inflated claims
- A reusable master letter plus tailoring notes for your remaining applications
Not included
- Inventing research plans, teaching experience or collaborations you do not have
- Researching and contacting department members on your behalf
- Submitting applications through institutional portals for you
- Promising shortlisting, interviews or offers
What you receive
- Annotated letter
- Your draft with tracked edits and comments on structure, specificity and tone.
- Criteria map (UK-style postings)
- A table linking each essential and desirable criterion to the sentence or example in your statement that evidences it, with gaps highlighted.
- Master letter and tailoring notes
- A clean core letter plus notes on which paragraphs to adapt and how, for the institution types in your list.
How it works
Share draft and posting
Send your draft (or notes), CV and the posting. Tell us the other institutions on your list if you want a master letter.
Structural feedback
We comment first on argument and structure, since polishing sentences that will be cut wastes your time.
Revision and tailoring
You revise; we then edit for language and help adapt the letter to other postings.
Final read
A last check for department names, dates, criteria coverage and length before you submit.
Letter types and conventions we cover
- Research-intensive US letter
- Usually around two pages: research agenda and contribution first, future projects and funding plans, then teaching and a specific closing on fit.
- Teaching-focused and liberal arts letter
- Teaching philosophy in practice, undergraduate mentoring and research that can involve students feature earlier and more concretely.
- UK supporting statement
- Evidence against the person specification, often with criteria as signposts or subheadings, plus teaching experience relevant to UK modules and assessment.
- Canadian, Australian and European postings
- Conventions vary; many ask for selection criteria responses or specific documents. We follow the posting's instructions first.
- Senior and leadership roles
- Letters that frame strategy, funding record, supervision and leadership in a selective, forward-looking way.
Research-intensive versus teaching-focused emphasis
The same candidate often needs two different letters. For a research university, readers want to know what question drives your work, what your dissertation or current project found, what comes next and where it will be published or funded. For a teaching-focused institution, they want to see you in the classroom: what you taught, how students responded, how you would teach their introductory and upper-level courses, and how your research could involve undergraduates.
We help you write both from one set of facts, so neither version feels like a disguised copy of the other.
Addressing essential criteria in UK applications
UK person specifications list essential and desirable criteria, often with how each will be assessed (application, interview or presentation). Shortlisting panels commonly check each essential criterion. We map your evidence to each one and flag criteria you can only partially meet, so you can address them honestly — for example by describing transferable teaching experience from a related context.
- Use the criteria's own language where natural, so panel members can find your evidence
- Give one concrete example per criterion rather than repeating general claims
- Keep citizenship or collegiality examples specific: committees served on, events organized, outreach delivered
Tailoring that reads as genuine
A good tailored paragraph names courses in the department's catalog you could teach, a research center or lab whose work connects to yours, or a student population you have experience teaching. Listing every faculty member's name, or praising the institution in generic terms, adds length without persuading. We check that each tailored claim is accurate and relevant.
What the work can look like
Illustrative example — fictional data
Illustrative excerpt: turning a generic teaching paragraph into a tailored one
A fictional chemistry postdoc is applying to a small undergraduate-focused college. Her first draft says she is "passionate about teaching and would be happy to teach a range of courses."
Feedback given
The paragraph could appear in any letter. The college's catalog lists a sophomore analytical chemistry sequence and a first-year seminar program; your experience running a teaching lab and mentoring two undergraduate researchers is relevant to both but not mentioned.
Revised direction
Name the analytical chemistry sequence and describe how you would redesign one lab around an undergraduate-scale version of your environmental sampling project; mention the two undergraduates you mentored and what they produced; propose one first-year seminar topic briefly.
Illustrative example with an invented applicant and institution. Your feedback will depend on your own record and the posting.
What you’ll need to provide
- Your current draft or bullet-point notes
- Your CV and, if available, research and teaching statements for consistency
- The full posting, including any person specification or selection criteria
- Your list of target institutions if you want tailoring support
You don’t need everything ready to ask for a quote — tell us what you have and we’ll say what’s missing.
What affects price and turnaround
Price depends on
- Whether we give feedback on an existing draft or co-draft from notes
- Number of institutions requiring tailored versions
- Length and complexity of any selection criteria
- Whether language editing for English as an additional language is needed
Turnaround depends on
- Closing dates — UK postings can close within a few weeks of advertisement
- How many letters are due in the same week
Every project is quoted individually. How we price our work.
Questions people ask before starting
How long should a faculty cover letter be?
In the US, one and a half to two pages is common for research-intensive roles, and shorter letters are fine where the posting asks for them. UK supporting statements vary widely; follow any stated limit and prioritize evidence against the criteria.
Will you write the letter for me?
For career applications, co-drafting is normal: we can turn your notes into a draft and refine it with you. You remain the applicant and author, approve all content, and every claim must be true.
Should I mention a diversity or community engagement commitment?
Requirements differ by institution, country and, in the US, by state and year; some institutions have changed or removed such requirements since 2025. We follow what each posting asks for and help you describe genuine work — mentoring, outreach, inclusive teaching — accurately and in the terms the posting uses.
Can you help if I am applying to jobs in different countries?
Yes. We help you produce versions that follow each system's conventions, such as a US-style letter and a UK supporting statement mapped to criteria.
What if my advisor has already commented on my letter?
Send us their comments. We will not contradict discipline-specific advice without explaining why, and we often help you reconcile feedback from several readers.