The Philosophers' Cocoon

A safe and supportive forum for philosophers.

Owned & Moderated by Marcus Arvan (University of Tampa)

Contact: marvan@ut.edu

Blog mission & moderation policy

IMPORTANT NOTE on how to ensure anonymity in commenting
Job-Market Reporting Thread (2026-27)
Job-Market Discussion Thread (2026-27)

recent posts

about

How long should cover letters be for UK jobs?

In our July "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

UK cover letters: I recently heard that these should be 3-4 pages, which goes against everything I have been told (1-1/2 pages). Who is right, if anyone?

Good question – I'm not sure. What I do seem to recall hearing at some point is that a cover letter for jobs in the UK should be sure to address every single part of the job ad, specifically everything that the job ad says is "required" or "desired" in a successful candidate for the position. I can't quite remember if I'm right about this, but I seem to recall hearing that this is in part because letters are read by HR people, not just people in the department to which one is applying. Is this right, or am I misremembering/confabulating?

Do any readers from the UK have any helpful tips or other insights? 

Posted in

12 responses to “How long should cover letters be for UK jobs?”

  1. UK Anon

    Marcus is partially right. Cover letter should explain how you fit all of the essential (and ideally desirable) criteria. Some might be obvious, but others are not, and likely those are the ones that people are looking for and will decide who gets interviewed. (HR doesn’t read letters, but reasons why someone is rejected/hired need to be given to HR and the criteria are the terms used to do this – i.e. ‘x did/did not fulfil y essential criteria’. This is mostly bureaucratic though and how the unis protect themselves from possible lawsuits).
    On length, 3-4 pages is fine. Remember that many uk places don’t need/ask for research statements/DEI statements/teaching portofolios, so some of that stuff should be in the letter. In most places I know of, letters and CVs are used for longlisting and shortlisting for interviews, so getting the letter right is key. (Often references are less important, or even not used at all these days; often on writing samples of long/shortlisted group will be looked at)

    Reply
  2. saying too much?

    A follow-up question, hopefully not misplaced: I had always been told that cover letters for US academic jobs should be two pages, but recently I’ve seen a few people say that cover letters for US philosophy jobs should be one page (or 1 1/2), which is what the OP says.
    Any thoughts about cover letter lengths more generally, especially from search committee members?

    Reply
  3. Prof L

    Re US jobs: Anything over 2 pages will probably annoy some committee members, people will start skimming, and also they may begin to think you are not smart enough to be concise.
    I’m sure there are exceptions, but that was my experience on a search.

    Reply
  4. academic migrant

    Mine was two pages, just under 1000 words. (I shrank the font to make sure they fit into two pages.) I got 5 interview invitations and an offer. So I think it’s within the norm.
    The information I included was quick overall summary, existing research and a publication list, very short summary of research plans, teaching, and then services.

    Reply
  5. JDF

    For US jobs, I would keep it closer to one page than three.
    My advice for UK jobs is that cover letters should start with a short version of what you would write for an American cover letter. Something like 3/4 a page which says “I am applying for this, this is my research, this is my teaching”. They should then go to a section in which you explicitly explain how you meet each of the essential and desirable criteria. So it should look like
    1. “Have a PhD in philosophy or a cognate discipline”
    I took my PhD from X in Y, writing a dissertation on Z under A with B and C on my committtee.
    2. “Have an international research profile appropriate to career stage.
    I have published essays on X in Journal A and Journal B. I have essays which extend that project to questions Y and Z under review, and I have such-and-such in the works and expect to have a submittable version by next Spring.
    And so on.

    Reply
  6. REA

    Seconding JDF’s advice. You don’t have to integrate each of the selection criteria into a long-form “letter.” Rather, have a brief introduction paragraph and then say “Below I address how I meet each of the selection criteria” and then list the criteria in bullet points or numbers and respond to each. It doesn’t really look like a typical US cover letter.

    Reply
  7. MeAPhilosopherM8

    FWIW, I think you’ve been given bad advice. I’ve 9 years on UK job market. Plenty of interviews–I’ve been fortunate enough to turn down offers–and now a permanent (i.e. tenured) lectureship. Go for 1.5 – 2 pages.

    Reply
  8. UK Philosopher

    I second the preceding comment: I applied for UK jobs for quite a few years. Half way through this process, a lecturer advised me to cut my cover letter to about 1.5 pages (2 pages max). I did this and started getting more interviews. It could be coincidence, of course.
    Also, having been on interview panels, I think 1.5 – 2 pages was the sweet spot.

    Reply
  9. OP

    Thanks everyone, your advice and experiences have been very useful!
    I have a few followup questions for which I’d really appreciate answers. Some of you explicitly framed your letter in terms of the Person Specification questions/requirements/etc. Did others (especially those who have had success on the UK market) do likewise? For those who have served on search committees in the UK, what is your reaction to such structuring?

    Reply
  10. UK Philosopher

    Hello OP,
    Yes, I did tailor my letter to the person specification. I’m not sure if this is the best thing to do, but I probably had 15-20 interviews for jobs (ranging from one-year to permanent) before getting my current position, so I’m not sure doing this was an active hindrance.
    Have been on interview panels / search committees, we did want the applicants to address the person specification. I think it is helpful. After all, what the panel/committee want to know, first and foremost, is whether you meet the job criteria. Thus, making this clear, in a short, clear narrative, is helpful.
    Howvever, you can also get in useful details about yourself. Thus, a UK job description might have something like:
    “Essential: An established research profile and the ability to publish world-leading research, or the proven potential for this”
    In the cover letter, you could have something like:
    “I have established a strong research profile, commensurate with my career stage. I have published X books and X articles on the following topics… This includes a paper in this snazzy top journal and a book with this press, which address these issues… This reflects my strong interest in this and that, which underlies much of my research”.
    My point is that you can show the areas you work on, which is really helpful for the panel/committee working out your fit with the department, their teaching needs, etc.
    Of course, others might well think this is bad advice, but I think it worked OK for me.
    Best of luck with your applications!

    Reply
  11. UK Philosopher

    P.S. In my experience, UK jobs ask for a C.V. and a cover letter (plus the application portal often asks you to answer some job questions about teaching and research). As you submit your C.V., you don’t need to replicate information in the cover letter. Thus, when writing about your research or teaching in the cover letter, you don’t need to list every publication or course you have taught. Instead, discuss the highlights. The panel can look at your C.V. for the rest (and you can write, “I’ve published X number of things to date (please see C.V. for the full list). This inlcudes a paper in…”).

    Reply
  12. OP

    UK Philosopher,
    Thank you. That’s the type of paragraph I have used in the past, but without explicitly referring to a criterion from the job description.
    And thanks for the good luck! I have had much more luck in several other European countries, but I want to end up in an English speaking country, so the UK is appealing for me. So I’m alert to things that might be hurting me in the UK market vs. other countries.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Discover more from The Philosophers' Cocoon

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading