How to sign off a covering letter: close with Sincerely or Best regards, leave space for a signature, then type your full name. The same pattern works for a US cover letter uploaded to Workday or Greenhouse—covering letter is simply the UK wording for the same document.
The sign-off is short, but it is the last tone recruiters read before they open your resume on hireflow.net-style checklists or inside Lever. Pair this guide with how to end a cover letter and closing lines that get callbacks .
Key Takeaways
- Covering letter = cover letter for digital US applications
- Default closings: Sincerely or Best regards (with a comma)
- Leave 2–4 blank lines, then type your full name
- Skip slang and overly formal UK-only closings for US ATS
- Keep the closing flush left in the same column as the body
Covering letter vs cover letter: same sign-off job
Searchers who type how to sign off a covering letter usually learned UK English. Employers in the United States still call the file a cover letter. The closing block does not change with the label.
Name the PDF with Cover_Letter or Covering_Letter consistently with the portal instructions. Recruiters care more about a professional closing than which synonym you used in the filename.
If you apply to both US and UK offices of one company, keep one master letter with a US closing and only adjust spelling (organize/organise) if the posting is clearly UK-local.
Inside Greenhouse or Workday, the attachment field often says Cover Letter even when the job is posted from a London office.
Key Takeaway: Use one clean US-safe closing whether you call it a covering letter or a cover letter.
Safe closings that work in US hiring
Sincerely, remains the default for formal applications, government-adjacent roles, and any letter addressed to a named hiring manager.
Best regards, fits most corporate, startup, and tech roles and reads well in email covering letters.
Kind regards, is acceptable but slightly softer; keep it if that is already your email habit and the industry is not ultra-formal.
Always place a comma after the closing phrase. Capitalize only the first word unless the phrase is a single word like Sincerely.
Key Takeaway: Pick Sincerely or Best regards and use it consistently across applications.
Before and after sign-off examples
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Thanks!! Looking forward to chatting :) | Best regards, Alex Morgan |
| Yours faithfully (no name used above) | Sincerely, Alex Morgan |
| Respectfully submitted / Warmest wishes | Sincerely, Alex Morgan 555-010-0199 |
After the closing phrase, leave blank lines so a wet-ink signature could fit on a printed copy. For PDF-only Workday uploads, two blank lines plus the typed name are enough.
Need stronger final sentences before the closing? See how to close a cover letter .
Key Takeaway: Replace casual or mismatched closings with one plain professional sign-off block.
Once the letter ends cleanly, confirm the resume parses in HireFlow's free ATS resume checker before you submit both files in Greenhouse.
Check your resume freeBuilding the signature block for PDF and paste boxes
Order: closing phrase → blank lines → typed full name → optional phone → optional email → optional LinkedIn URL on its own line.
Do not insert a giant script font as an image signature unless asked. Large images can push text off-page and confuse iCIMS attachment viewers.
In paste boxes, type the closing as plain text. Decorative Unicode flourishes and emoji often display as boxes in Taleo.
Keep the block flush left. Right-aligned closings look like marketing mailers, not job applications.
Key Takeaway: Plain-text name under Sincerely beats a decorative signature graphic for ATS uploads.
UK vs US closing habits (what to keep, what to drop)
Traditional UK teaching pairs Dear Sir/Madam with Yours faithfully and a named reader with Yours sincerely. US corporate hiring rarely uses that split.
For US applications—even if you searched covering letter—prefer Sincerely or Best regards regardless of whether you used a name in the salutation.
If you apply only to UK employers that still teach the faithful/sincerely rule, match their convention. Do not mix Yours faithfully into a New York Workday packet.
Spelling differences (favour/favor) matter less than a clean, confident closing tone.
Key Takeaway: For US ATS portals, standardize on Sincerely or Best regards and skip Yours faithfully.
Sign-off checklist before you hit submit
- Finish the final body paragraph with a clear call to next steps.
- Add one blank line, then Sincerely, or Best regards,
- Leave two to four blank lines for a signature space.
- Type your full legal-preferred name as used on the resume.
- Add phone and email if they are missing from the header.
- Remove slang, emojis, and stacked social icons.
- Confirm upload order with cover letter and resume upload conventions .
Read the closing aloud. If it sounds like a text message, rewrite it before Greenhouse sees it.
Key Takeaway: A consistent four-line closing block finishes every covering letter the same reliable way.
Sign-off mistakes that quietly hurt you
Ending with Looking forward to hearing from you!!!! as the closing line—without Sincerely—reads unfinished.
Putting the closing on the same line as the last sentence saves no space and looks rushed.
Using a different name spelling than the resume creates identity friction in Lever profiles.
Pasting a confidentiality footer meant for client email under your name looks odd on a job letter.
Leaving Sent from my iPhone under the signature on an emailed covering letter is still a negative signal for many recruiters.
Key Takeaway: Match your resume name, keep the closing plain, and strip mobile email signatures.
What to write in the last sentence before you sign off
The sign-off phrase is not the call to action. Put the ask in the final body sentence, then close with Sincerely.
Strong pattern: I welcome a conversation about how my X experience supports the Y role and can be reached at phone or email. Then Best regards,
Weak pattern: ending on Thank you for your time alone with no next step, then Cheers.
Keep the ask polite and specific. Do not demand a reply by Friday inside a Greenhouse cold application.
If the posting forbids follow-up emails, still close professionally—just skip promising that you will call next week.
Key Takeaway: Last body sentence = ask; closing phrase = Sincerely or Best regards.
How the closing looks inside Workday and Greenhouse previews
Some portals show a text extraction of your PDF. Script signature images may disappear, leaving a gap before your typed name—another reason to keep the typed name.
If the preview truncates the last page, shorten the body rather than deleting the closing. A letter without a sign-off looks unfinished in Taleo viewers.
Paste-box length limits may cut your signature block. Put phone and email in the header so a truncated closing still identifies you.
After upload, open the attachment from the confirmation screen when Workday offers it. Confirm Sincerely and your name are still on the page.
iCIMS and Lever behave the same way: human-readable closing beats decorative flourish.
Key Takeaway: Preview the attachment; protect the typed name even if images drop.
Quick covering letter sign-off examples by channel
PDF upload to Workday: Sincerely, blank lines, Full Name, phone, email.
Greenhouse paste box: Best regards, then Full Name on the next line—skip large signature gaps when the field is short.
Email covering letter: Best regards, Full Name, mobile number. Remove Sent from my iPhone.
UK-facing role still using covering letter language: same closings as above unless the employer explicitly asks for Yours sincerely.
Recruiter follow-up after a screen: match their tone, but keep Sincerely on the formal letter stored in Lever or iCIMS.
Key Takeaway: Channel changes spacing, not the professional closing words.
Next step for your applications
Lock the sign-off, then check the resume that rides with the letter—or get a human rewrite from $29.
Frequently asked questions
End the last body paragraph, leave a blank line, write Sincerely or Best regards with a comma, leave two to four blank lines for a signature, then type your full name. Add phone and email under the name if they are not already in the header.
Yes for practical purposes. Covering letter is the common UK phrasing; cover letter is the US phrasing. US employers and ATS portals (Workday, Greenhouse) expect the same closing pattern either way.
Yes. Sincerely remains the safest formal US closing for job applications. Best regards is fine for most corporate and tech roles. Avoid Cheers, Thanks!!, or XOXO.
Not required for most online uploads. Leave blank lines so a signature could fit, then type your name. Add a scanned signature image only if an employer asks—keep it small so Taleo or iCIMS still show selectable text.
Optional. Your name is enough. A short line such as Product Manager or MBA Candidate can help if the header is minimal. Do not paste a full LinkedIn URL stack that crowds the closing.
Skip Yours faithfully unless you are matching a strict UK traditional template and never named the reader. Skip Respectfully submitted for corporate jobs. Skip slang closings in Lever or Greenhouse paste boxes.
Use the same words: Best regards or Sincerely, then your name and phone on the next lines. Email already acts as the delivery wrapper, so you do not need a full postal signature block.
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