Five Things Not to Capitalize in a Cover Letter

Cover letters are meant to highlight your accomplishments and to show that you’ve researched the company you hope to join. Some people take this a step too far and capitalize every word they want prospective employers to notice, from past job titles to credentials.

Not only can this seem obnoxious, but it’s also grammatically incorrect, according to most major style guides. Here are five things to lowercase in your next cover letter.

Degrees

The Chicago Manual of Style recommends lowercasing all academic degrees, except when they come before or after someone’s name. So:

She has a master’s in engineering.

In 2015, I earned my doctorate in microbiology.

Master of Fine Arts Jane Smith will explain the application process.

However, capitalize degree abbreviations (B.A., Ph.D.).

Disciplines

On a related note, fields of study also don’t take a capital letter, except if they include a proper noun. For example:

He taught biology, chemistry, and math to high school students.

I majored in English and linguistics at the University of Washington.

However, most university style guides agree that individual courses are capitalized.

Last year, the associate professor taught Introduction to Sculpture I and II.

Job Titles

You may be tempted to capitalize the titles of past jobs and of the job you’re currently applying for.

Carol Saller, editor of the Chicago Manual’s online Q&A, has this to say about the practice: “the University of Chicago Press considers almost all titles to be generic unless they are used as part of a name. Practically no one gets special treatment—neither the pope nor the president of the United States.”

Capitalizing job titles seems to get more pervasive the higher up the corporate ladder you go. Most teachers, nurses, and administrative staff won’t cap their job titles, but I see this all the time with senior managers and executives.

My advice? Ditch the caps, except if the job title precedes someone’s name.

Chief Financial Officer Smith will chair the quarterly meeting.

I’d love to become a senior systems analyst at your startup.

Industries

Like academic disciplines, industries are lowercased.

I’ve worked in healthcare for sixteen years.

The food service industry must respond to millennials’ demand for authenticity.

Certain Words in Salutations and Closings

Always capitalize the first word in your greeting and closing, but not necessarily the subsequent words. If it wouldn’t have a capital in a sentence, neither should it have one here. For example:

Dear president

To whom it may concern

Best regards

Note that in most cases, it’s best to use the person’s name in a salutation because it shows you’ve made the effort to learn it.

Staying humble with your capitalization lets your qualifications stand out. And it also shows them that you know your grammar.