There was a recent conversation about resume length... and I'm writing cover letters right now, and wanted to know what you all thought! Are there (almost) absolutes for cover letters in the same way there are for resumes?
Usually my cover letters are less than one page, single spaced.... but I am applying to be a middle school art teacher for a private school, and right now my cover letter is a dense almost two pages single spaced, 11 point font, .75 left and right margins (though the first third of the first page is taken up with the addresses). I know with college teaching positions, and even high school level at private schools, it is important to mention your own work as an artist, and how that relates to teaching for you. But I can't really get a sense if that is important for this position. That could be a paragraph I cut out. I also mention things like committees I was on and clubs that I was the head of to show that I am interested in being an active faculty member of the school (like "see?! I can teach debate! I can help with the literary magazine! I'm USED to and LOVE (educational policy or something else) committees that most people think are boring!"). That's a big dense paragraph I could get rid of. Other than those things, I mention my teaching experience and what I focus on as a teacher. So, basically my current cover letter is a combination cover letter and education philosophy which has made it LONG.
ALSO, if the job asked for a letter of application, resume, and references... is it bad to give them more than that? I have a separate teaching philosophy statement... (if I knew they would read it, I'd probably cut down the cover letter even further) and I could give them some images of prior student work.
Anyway, I KNOW I could edit my cover letter down... but do I need to? Or is 2 pages ever okay?