You found a federal job posting on USAJOBS. You tailored your resume. You uploaded your documents. Then you saw the optional cover letter upload and thought, "Do I really need this?"

Yes. You do. Some agencies barely glance at cover letters. Others read every word before they open your resume. You have no way to know which type you are applying to. So you write one every time.

But writing a cover letter for a federal job is not the same as writing one for a private sector role. Federal cover letters need to match the job announcement. They need to reference the specific qualifications the agency listed. And they need to show how YOUR experience fits THEIR requirements. Not in vague terms. In exact terms.

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I spent 1.5 years applying for federal jobs after I separated from the Navy with zero callbacks. When I finally figured out what worked, cover letters were part of the equation. Not the whole thing, but a real piece. This guide walks you through exactly how to write one. Paragraph by paragraph. Line by line.

Why Federal Cover Letters Are Different from Civilian Ones

A private sector cover letter can be loose. You talk about your passion. You mention a few highlights. You keep it to half a page and move on.

Federal cover letters do not work that way. Here is why.

Every USAJOBS posting has a section called "Qualifications." Inside that section is a list of specialized experience requirements. The hiring manager and HR specialist use those requirements to decide if you are qualified. Your cover letter needs to speak directly to those requirements.

Think of it this way. Your resume proves you have the experience. Your cover letter explains why that experience matters for this specific job. It connects the dots for the person reading your application.

Federal HR specialists review hundreds of applications per announcement. They are looking for reasons to move you forward, not reasons to read between the lines. A good cover letter puts your strongest qualifications up front so they do not have to hunt for them.

See the difference? The federal version is specific. It names the announcement. It states years of experience. It matches the language from the job posting. That is what gets noticed.

What Goes in the Opening Paragraph

Your first paragraph does four things. It names the job. It gives the announcement number. It states your top qualification. And it tells the reader why you are a strong match.

That is it. No life story. No paragraph about how excited you are. Just the facts that matter most.

Here is what a strong opening looks like:

"I am writing to apply for the Supply Management Specialist position, Announcement Number DE-12345678, GS-2003-9. I have five years of specialized experience managing federal supply operations, including procurement, inventory accountability, and vendor coordination for organizations with $8M+ annual budgets."

Let me break down why this works. The announcement number tells HR you read the posting. The GS series and grade show you understand the federal system. The specific experience line matches what the posting asked for. All in two sentences.

If you are a veteran, this is also where you mention your veterans preference status. One sentence. Something like: "I am a veteran eligible for 5-point veterans preference." Keep it short. Your SF-15 and DD-214 handle the details.

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How to Write Body Paragraphs That Match the Announcement

The body of your federal cover letter is where you prove you meet the qualifications. Not where you restate your resume. Not where you list every job you have ever held. You match their requirements, one by one.

Go back to the USAJOBS posting. Find the "Qualifications" section. Look for the specialized experience paragraph. It will say something like:

"You must have one year of specialized experience at the GS-7 level that includes: managing procurement actions, coordinating with vendors, and maintaining supply chain databases."

Your body paragraphs should address each of those requirements directly. Here is how to structure them.

Match Each Qualification to Your Experience

Write one paragraph per major qualification area. If the posting lists procurement, vendor coordination, and database management, write a paragraph for each one.

For procurement:

"In my role as a Supply Technician at Naval Station Norfolk, I processed 200+ procurement actions per quarter using the Defense Logistics Agency system. I managed purchase orders from initial request through delivery confirmation, with a 98% on-time fulfillment rate."

For vendor coordination:

"I coordinated with 15+ vendors on maintenance contracts for ship repair parts. This included negotiating delivery timelines, resolving quality discrepancies, and managing vendor performance evaluations in accordance with FAR Part 42."

Notice how each paragraph uses numbers. 200+ actions. 15+ vendors. 98% rate. Federal hiring managers want to see scale and results. Give them real numbers from your actual work.

Use the Same Language as the Job Posting

If the posting says "procurement actions," write "procurement actions." Not "purchasing duties" or "buying stuff." The HR specialist screening your application may not know that your military term means the same thing. Match their words exactly.

This is not about being robotic. It is about being clear. When you use the exact language from the job announcement, the person reading your cover letter can quickly confirm you meet the requirement.

Pull keywords from the "Duties" section too. That section tells you what you will actually do in the role. Weaving those terms into your cover letter shows you understand the job, not just the minimum qualifications.

How to Translate Military Experience in Your Cover Letter

If you served in the military, your cover letter has an extra job. You need to translate your experience so a federal HR specialist can match it to the qualifications. Your resume does the heavy lifting here, but your cover letter fills in context.

Do not dump your military job title and expect them to figure it out. Write out what you actually did in terms the posting uses.

If you were an E-6 managing a maintenance shop, say: "I supervised a team of 12 technicians performing corrective and preventive maintenance on 45 vehicles valued at $12M. My shop maintained a 94% operational readiness rate across a 15-month deployment."

That sentence works for a GS-1152 Production Control Clerk position or a GS-1601 Equipment Facilities Management role. The HR specialist can see the supervision, the maintenance management, and the results. You did the translation for them.

Many veterans write cover letters that read like military performance evaluations. Those are written for a military audience. Your cover letter needs to read like a federal job application. Use civilian terms. Say "supervised" not "maintained good order and discipline over." Say "managed maintenance schedules" not "executed the CMMS IAW SOP 4790."

If you need help finding the right civilian terms for your military role, the BMR career crosswalk tool can map your MOS, rating, or AFSC to civilian job titles and keywords.

What Goes in the Closing Paragraph

Your closing paragraph wraps up the letter with a clear call to action. Short. Direct. Professional.

Here is a strong closing:

"I am confident my five years of supply chain experience and federal procurement background make me well qualified for this position. I welcome the opportunity to discuss how my skills align with the needs of your organization. I can be reached at (555) 123-4567 or [email protected]. Thank you for your time and consideration."

That is four sentences. It restates your top qualification. It asks for the interview. It gives your contact info. Done.

Do not use the closing to repeat everything from the body paragraphs. Do not add new information. And do not write "I look forward to hearing from you soon" like every other applicant. Be specific about what you bring and make it easy for them to contact you.

Which Agencies Actually Read Cover Letters?

Not every federal agency treats cover letters the same way. Some barely look at them. Others consider them a key part of the evaluation.

From my experience on the hiring side and from what BMR users report back, here is a general breakdown:

Agencies that tend to weigh cover letters heavily:

• Department of State (DOS)
• Intelligence community agencies (CIA, NSA, DIA)
• Department of Justice (DOJ)
• Small independent agencies (USAID, Peace Corps, CPSC)
• Excepted service positions across agencies

Agencies where cover letters matter less (but still help):

• Department of Defense (DoD) competitive service roles
• Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for most positions
• Large agencies with high-volume hiring (IRS, SSA)

The problem is you often cannot tell which camp your specific hiring manager falls into. The safe play is to write a strong cover letter every time. It takes 30 minutes when you know the formula. And it could be the thing that sets you apart from 200 other applicants who skipped it.

If you are still wondering whether federal jobs even require a cover letter, our guide on whether USAJOBS requires a cover letter in 2026 breaks down exactly when it is mandatory vs. optional.

How to Format Your Federal Cover Letter

Federal cover letters follow a standard business letter format. Nothing fancy. Clean and easy to read.

Here is the structure:

• Your contact info: Name, address, phone, email at the top
• Date: The date you submit the application
• Agency contact info: The hiring point of contact or agency name from the posting
• Subject line: Job title, announcement number, and GS grade
• Salutation: "Dear Hiring Manager" works when no name is listed
• Body: Opening paragraph, 2-3 body paragraphs, closing paragraph
• Signature: Your typed name

Keep the whole letter to one page. Federal cover letters do not need to be long. They need to be targeted. If you are running past one page, you are either repeating your resume or including information that does not support your qualifications.

For detailed formatting rules and salutation options, check our federal cover letter format guide.

Save as PDF or .docx. Both work fine on USAJOBS. Upload it as a separate document in the "Additional Documents" section of your application.

Common Mistakes Veterans Make on Federal Cover Letters

After helping 17,500+ veterans through BMR, I have seen the same cover letter mistakes show up over and over. Here are the ones that hurt the most.

Writing a Generic Letter for Every Job

This is the biggest one. You cannot send the same cover letter to 10 different USAJOBS postings. Each posting has different qualifications, different duties, and different keywords. Your cover letter needs to match each one individually.

Yes, this takes more time. But a tailored cover letter for five jobs will outperform a generic one sent to 50 jobs. Every time.

Restating Your Resume Word for Word

Your cover letter is not a summary of your resume. The hiring manager has your resume. They do not need to read the same bullets again in paragraph form.

Your cover letter adds context. It explains WHY your experience matters for THIS job. It highlights the two or four things that make you the best match. It connects your background to their specific needs.

Skipping the Announcement Number

Some veterans write cover letters that never mention the specific position. No announcement number. No GS grade. No job title from the posting. That is a missed opportunity. The announcement number is a signal that you wrote this letter for this specific job.

Using Military Jargon Without Translation

Writing "served as the LPO for a 30-person division executing PMS in accordance with 3-M requirements" does not help a civilian HR specialist. They may not know what LPO, PMS, or 3-M means. Translate it. "Supervised 30 technicians performing scheduled maintenance on shipboard systems using a computerized tracking system."

Making It Too Long

One page. That is the target. If you are writing two pages, you are including too much. Pick your strongest qualifications and let those carry the letter. Your resume handles the full details.

How Specialized Experience Connects to Your Cover Letter

Your federal cover letter and the specialized experience section on your resume work as a team. They are not the same document, but they reinforce each other.

The job announcement states the specialized experience requirements. Your resume lists the experience in detail. Your cover letter highlights the strongest matches and adds context that a resume cannot.

For example, your resume might say: "Managed inventory of 8,000+ line items using DPAS." Your cover letter can add: "This inventory management experience directly aligns with the property accountability requirements listed in the announcement. I maintained a 99.2% accuracy rate across two annual audits while supporting a 500-person organization."

The cover letter gives you space to make the connection explicit. Your resume states what you did. Your cover letter explains why it matters for this job.

If you are not sure how to identify specialized experience in USAJOBS postings, start there. Once you can spot the requirements, writing the cover letter becomes much easier.

What to Do Next

Writing a federal cover letter is a skill. It gets faster with practice. Here is how to get started right now.

First, pick a job on USAJOBS that you are qualified for. Read the entire announcement, especially the Qualifications and Duties sections. Write down the specialized experience requirements word for word.

Next, open a blank document. Write your opening paragraph with the announcement number, job title, and your top qualification. Then write one body paragraph for each major requirement. Close with a four-sentence wrap-up.

Read it out loud. If it sounds like a military eval, rewrite it in civilian terms. If it runs past one page, cut the weakest paragraph.

Need help getting your resume ready before the cover letter? BMR's Federal Resume Builder handles the military-to-federal translation and formatting for you. It is free for your first two resumes. And if you want to understand the full USAJOBS application process, we have a step-by-step guide for that too.

Your cover letter is one page. It takes 30 minutes when you know the formula. And for the jobs that matter, those 30 minutes can make the difference between "referred" and "not referred."

Once your cover letter and resume are ready, your next step is interview prep. Federal interviews use a specific format. Our guide on situational interview questions for federal jobs walks you through the exact question types agencies use and how to structure your answers using military experience.