Words for Work
| Document | Target words | Why this band |
|---|---|---|
| IM / Slack message | under 75 | one glance, no preview pane |
| Work email | 50-200 | first two lines carry the ask |
| Meeting agenda | 100-300 | items plus context, scannable |
| LinkedIn post | 150-300 | three beats before the fold |
| Status report | 200-600 | decisions, risks, next steps |
| Cover letter | 250-400 | one page, three to four paragraphs |
| Memo | 250-500 | one page at normal margins |
| Press release | 350-500 | wire services truncate past 400 |
| One-page resume | 400-600 | the six-second first scan |
| Two-page resume | 400-800 | senior roles, denser history |
| Executive summary | 300-900 | 5-10% of the report |
| Business proposal | 800-2,500 | problem, method, price, proof |
Workplace documents have unwritten length budgets, and every one of them is measured in words: an email that fits in one screen, a cover letter that fits on one page, a resume a recruiter can scan in seconds. Type a word count and the tool tells you which documents that length is right for - and how long it takes to read at the roughly 200-words-per-minute pace office readers actually sustain.
The bands in the table below are the conventions hiring managers, editors and executives read by. They are not laws - a 420-word email sometimes earns every word - but staying inside a band keeps a document in the format its reader expects, and the fastest way to look junior is to send a two-page cover letter. The one-page ceiling is the recurring rule: one page holds roughly 400 to 600 words at normal margins.
How to use
- Type your draft's word count - the tool lists which workplace documents typically live at that length, plus reading time.
- Match the band before you cut or pad: a cover letter at 380 words is fine, the same draft as an email means it is too long by 200 words.
- Read the band's reason column before trimming - press releases stay near 400 because wire services truncate them, not because editors are fussy.
Frequently asked questions
How many words should a cover letter be?
Two hundred fifty to four hundred words - one page, three to four paragraphs. Career-center guides are consistent on the one-page ceiling: the letter exists to earn the resume read, not to restate it. If you are past four hundred words, you are narrating your resume instead of connecting it to the job.
How long should a work email be?
Fifty to two hundred words for most workplace email - two short paragraphs and a clear ask. The first two lines carry the decision, because that is all that renders in the preview pane; if the email genuinely needs more, the answer is usually an attached memo or a meeting, not a longer email.
How many words is a one-page resume?
Four hundred to six hundred words for early and mid-career; a senior two-page resume runs four hundred to eight hundred. The word count matters less than the density: bullets of one line each, achievements with numbers, and nothing the recruiter has to hunt for. Career centers advise trimming by cutting duties, not by shrinking margins.
Is reading time really 200 words per minute?
Roughly - silent reading by fluent adults clusters near 200 to 250 wpm, which is why a 400-word press release reads in two minutes and a 1,500-word proposal needs seven. Screen reading is slower than paper, and skimming is several times faster but retains little, so for anything that must be acted on, budget full-pace minutes.
How long should an executive summary be?
Five to ten percent of the document it summarizes, with three hundred to nine hundred words covering most business reports. The summary is written last and read first, and its length rule is the inverse of the email's: it may be the only section the decision-maker reads in full, so every number that matters appears in it.