How to write a cover letter for a job

When applying for a job, it’s important that you take advantage of every opportunity to make a positive, strong first impression. Your resume is one way to do this, but another often overlooked way to make sure your resume gets the attention you want is to write a strong cover letter. Many people either don’t write cover letters, or don’t consider them important and worth spending any time on. Don’t make this mistake!

Cover letters give you the opportunity to show your personality to a potential employer and the chance to focus on some “soft skills” you have that might be hard to communicate in a resume. These include things like personal communication skills, enthusiasm, dedication, attention to detail, and professionalism, to name just a few.

The first and by far most important thing about a cover letter is to make sure that you spell check and double check your letter for grammar! This seems like a small point to make, but it’s far too common for a cover letter to contain errors that instantly communicate two negative points: that you’re not detail oriented, and that you don’t care about this job enough to take a few minutes to check your letter. Don’t make this mistake!

The content of your cover letter is also very important. Before you start writing your letter, consider the kind of job you’re applying for. Is it a formal setting, like a legal office, or a more relaxed creative atmosphere, like an advertising agency? You’ll want the tone of your writing to be appropriate to the audience – this is not to say that you should ever be too casual in your cover letter, but you can probably be a little less formal if you know your audience is going to be relaxed.

As you write, make sure that you explain why you’re applying for this particular job with this particular company. Take moment to research the office or company a bit, so that you can drop some details into your letter that will let the hiring manager know that you’re knowledgeable about their company. This kind of small detail can make you stand out as a more serious, more interested candidate. You’ll also want to compliment the company if you can do so without it seeming forced, to let them know that you look forward to being part of such a quality enterprise.

Lastly, let your cover letter be a chance to communicate some unique details about you and your skill set that might not come through in your resume. For example, if you have hobbies relevant to the job opening, or some short work-related anecdote that communications your strong interpersonal skills, your cover letter is the place for this information. Remember, your cover letter can be the difference between someone reading your resume or putting your resume in the “no” pile!

Again, the most important recommendation of all is this: Don’t forget to proofread! Good luck with your job hunting, and happy writing!

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Resume help: free cover letter samples and examples for human resources

Many people believe that when applying for a job, the cover letter is an optional addition to the resume. However, most hiring managers expect a cover letter and do not even consider resumes that do not come with one attached.

While the resume is in fact the meat and potatoes of your presentation to a potential employer, the cover letter acts as the spice that makes the meal worth sitting down to eat. Your resume is where your accomplishments are listed, but your cover letter is where you highlight some of the more relevant ones and pitch yourself as the person the company should hire. There may be hundreds of other candidates with equally impressive resumes, so use your cover letter to stand out.

Be original, but don't be "cute". To be original is to present your unique ability to handle the job requirements, whereas to be cute is to use the highly unprofessional "giggle factor", hoping your humor will get you a call back. It won't.

Your cover letter should be addressed to the person whose job it is to hire you for the position. If you do not know his or her name, call the company and ask. Make sure you have the correct spelling and title for this person. Of course, make sure you have meticulously checked your spelling and grammar.

The person who will hire you probably doesn't have much time for all the resumes on his or her desk, not to mention the other work that he or she needs to get done. Therefore, getting to the point and putting as much information as you can in as few words as possible will raise your letter's chances of being read in its entirety. An effective cover letter would read something like this:

DATE

Mr. John Doe

President

Big Company

123 Any Street

New York, NY 00000

Dear Mr. Doe:

Please find enclosed my resume for your consideration for the position of ____________.

Your ad in the New York Times specifies that the ideal candidate will have a bachelor's degree or three years experience in ___________. I have recently completed my bachelor's degree, and I also have over two years of experience in the field.

My coursework in __________ has provided a solid foundation for work in _____________. Furthermore, my experience in ____________ began with my first job at Dynamo Company and continues into my present employment with ABC Corporation. I understand the importance of ___________ to Big Company, and am excited about the opportunity to help enhance it.

I have references available upon your request. I would appreciate the opportunity to speak with you. I can be reached at (phone) or by email at (email address).

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Your Name

Of course, you can't just take any cover letter, change the name and address, and send it off to every employer. Nor can you simply fill in the blanks in the suggested format shown above. The point of your cover letter is to let specific employers know that you have knowledge of their company and demonstrated skills that you can offer them.

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Resumes & cover letter mistakes

Though the cover letter should be an exercise in attention to detail, there are far too many blunders that happen all too often in the job marketplace. The following are the top ten cover letter blunders that you should always make sure to avoid. Committing one of these all too common career crimes is the equivalent of telling the interviewer that you definitely don’t want the job.

Unattractive Layout

One of the first ways to get your resume noticed – for the wrong reasons – is to have a layout that is unattractive or inconsistent. For example, changing the spacing throughout the resume would be one way to achieve this; alternating between capital letters and boldface type to separate sections would be another way. Be sure that your resume is set up to look neat and sharp, and that you follow a consistent design scheme the whole way through.

Inappropriate Stationery

One of the great thing about having a great supply of stationery and writing paper is that it can really say something about who you are as a person. Though this is a great way to express yourself to friends and family, it doesn’t work as well with a potential employer. Save the cutesy flowers and animals for friendly correspondence; write all professional papers on a heavier stock of professional paper.

Too Fancy Fonts

Just like the elaborate stationery that can work against you in business correspondence, employing the use of too decorative fonts can also damage your reputation as a professional and business savvy job seeker. The best font to use is a Times or Arial font. Something basic, and that can be found on almost any word processing program.

Making Corrections

Perhaps it’s the fact that businesses themselves have been becoming more and more relaxed these days, but job seekers seem to take this philosophy to an extreme. Time and time again, candidates seeking employment think it’s okay to make a correction on their resume with white out or – even worse – a pen or pencil. Other candidates have opted for a quick Post-It note explaining the slip-up. If you make a mistake on your resume, go back and make the change directly to the document, and reprint it. There is no excuse for any resume to be less than perfect.

Incorrect Information

When sending out a cover letter, you should always have a specific name of the person to whom it is being sent. One common mistake – and it’s a mistake that can really bother a sensitive interviewer – is finding incorrect information on the cover letter. For example, if the cover letter send to “Chris Jones” reads “Dear Mr. Jones” when Chris is actually Christine. The same goes for incorrect information as it relates to the company name and address. The easiest way to avoid this mistake? Take a moment to give the company a call and double check the mailing address and name and spelling of the person’s name to whom you are sending the resume.

Typos

A major problem that is often encountered when an interview is reading one’s resume is a whole slew of typos. More and more, this type of error (even if the typo is one small one) is becoming enough a reason for interviewers to exclude someone from the running altogether. A quick spell check and a careful edit are two ways in which you can prevent this from happening to you.

Inappropriate Tones

In any sort of business correspondence, job seekers need to walk a distinct line between familiarity and professionalism. The tone of any cover letter should be polite without being obsequious, and professional without being too stiff. Don’t be afraid to show a little bit of your personality, just don’t show it all up front.

Comparisons and Clichés

In everyday language, it is likely that you will hear at least one overused cliché or obvious comparison come out of the mouth of someone you know. As is the nature of such phrases, they only serve to make you sound unoriginal. Avoid using clichés and obvious comparisons when writing a cover letter, as it’s likely that someone else is writing the exact same thing.

No Signature

One of the most important things employers are looking for nowadays is an employee with a great attention to detail. Sending off your cover letter without having signed it is one sure way to assure the interviewer that your attention-to-detail skills are certainly lacking.

Missing Resume

Another sign that a candidate is lacking in the attention-to-detail department: sending a cover letter without a resume. Though it seems like a ridiculous mistake to make, there are far too many people that send out a cover letter and forget to include what is really important here, their credentials.

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Cover letter tips: preparing one

A cover letter can open doors to your dream job or slam the gates to your career shut. If you’re pounding the pavement by answering ads or making cold calls, you need all the extra help you can get. Advertised job openings can pull in literally hundreds of resumes and unsolicited resumes often end up in the recycling bin. Entice and impress prospective employers with your cover letter by following this outline.

*Use the traditional business letter format. It’s important that whomever reads this letter knows you’re a professional. By using this format you’re demonstrating—first and foremost—your business knowledge and ability. Without following proper business etiquette, your resume package is sure to get weeded out.

*Show your interest in the company. Showing that you know more about the company than the ad they ran almost always gets you recognized. It may entail a little extra research, but the results are well worth it. Also be sure to reference that ad you’re answering, this information is always appreciated.

*Take a snapshot of highlights from your resume. This is your opportunity to focus on why you are the best fit for the position. Mention related experience and skills to emphasize your point. This is also a great place to add any personal information that doesn’t quite belong on your resume.

*Stay positive and flexible. A good attitude goes a long way. It’s very common for an employer to choose a candidate who has the aptitude to grow and learn over one who has more experience. Definitely keep words like “don’t and can’t” out of the mix. These words are huge red flags.

*Always be gracious. Showing personality and self-assurance is important and a very fine line. Confidence is a valuable asset, but arrogance will stop your plans short. This makes sense—you do get more flies to honey than vinegar.

*Keep it short. No one has all day to read your biography—and even if they did, they still probably wouldn’t. It’s also a good idea to thank whoever is reading the letter for their time and consideration. You won’t get any respect without offering it and this is the perfect way to say that you understand how hard that person is working.

*Always follow-up. This is where just an ounce of persistence can get you to the finish line. A phone call or e-mail to confirm that your resume package was received and to get a timeline for filling the position. It’s a polite, professional reminder that you exist and you’re earnestly interested in the position.

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Tips on persuasive career change cover letter

So you want to change careers? It is tougher to find a job in a career you have no experience in than to find a job that you are experienced at. Those of us who have a “been there done that” mentality and are always eager to expand our horizons are not content with another of the same type of career, however. Unfortunately, those sitting on the other side of the interview desk screening resumes often do not understand this. This is when a persuasive cover letter comes into play.

In your career change cover letter, you want to focus on your SKILLS rather than your EXPERIENCE. The employer will want to focus on experience. It is your job, then, to effectively and concisely get across your relevant skills and why they are a match for this particular job. When crafting your cover letter, keep these points in mind:

· Hammer home what you can bring to the company. Employers are not interested, at this point, in what they can do for you. Perhaps you can bring a fresh perspective. Of course you have developed skills that fit perfectly with this career.

· Explicitly match your skills and experiences to the skills required for this position. Think and write in terms of “I can perform Task A because if requires Skill A, which I acquired while doing Career B.”

· Lay out a table. Often, a two-column table will help get your competencies across. Head the first column “Skill/Job Requirement” and the second “experience”. Then proceed to fill in the table, matching your experiences with the employer’s requirements.

After you send the letter, be sure to follow up with a polite telephone call. Many times, this will prompt the employer to pull your letter from the stack and scrutinize it more carefully.

Changing careers can be challenging, but the correct approach can make your job search more fruitful.

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Writing resumes and cover letters

To start any job search you first have to have a resume and cover letter. These two documents are your potential employers’ first glimpse of you. It’s these documents that will make them decide whether to contact you – or not. By following the practical advice below, you can create a resume and cover letter that will give you the step ahead you need.

The first thing is your resume. Tailor each resume to the job that you are applying for – selecting only the relevant skills, qualifications and work experience. If you’re applying for a driving position, it probably won’t matter that you were previously a dog walker – unless you had to drive the dogs to the park. Try to fit your resume on one page if you can, or two – but never on one and a half, and format it so that attention is brought to your highest qualification. For example, if you’re applying for a kennel position, and you have no professional work experience with animals, but do have personal experience, then bring attention to you skills – pointing out what personal experience gave you the skill. If you do highlight your work experience, then list what duties you performed or what responsibilities you had in connection with the job. Use action verbs such as organized, performed, categorized, improved, created, increased etc. But try not to use the same word too much. If you wrote performed four times for one work experience, then check a thesaurus and find words to replace it with. For ideas on how to format your resume, look at examples of other people. The only “must” in a resume is to have your name, address, and contact at the top of the page, and include the little blurb “References available upon request” at the bottom. (But only if you do have references)

The next thing you need is a cover letter. This too should be tailored for each job. Format this in the form of a business letter and try to get the name of whom you are applying too if possible. Start by expressing you interest in the job and mention where you heard about it. If it was in a paper then name which one. In the body of the letter summarize your skills, qualifications, and education, but try not to just reiterate your resume. The most important thing is to explain why your qualifications and the job requirements are a good match, and it doesn’t hurt to mention why you would like to work for the company. Wrap the letter up by stating when you’ll be available for work and when the employer can reach you. Also mention that your resume is attached. In the last sentence, thank the employer for their time or consideration and say that you look forward to hearing from them.

When you’re finished writing your resume and document, proofread it carefully and watch for grammar mistakes. Then print them out using a good quality printer. If you don’t have one, then use one at an office depot or hire a student. Never send in a handwritten resume or cover letter. A good resume and cover letter won’t get you a job in themselves, but they will certainly help.

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Follow-Up Letter Tips

Get advice from professional resume writers on how to write effective follow-up letters.

Follow-Up Letters

ResumeEdge.com

by ResumeEdge.com - The Net's Premier Resume Writing and Editing Service

A follow-up letter sent a few weeks after the initial application is essential in today's poor job market. Hiring managers are seeing more and more applicants for each position and are generally so swamped that they cannot respond to all of them. Nor will they remember most.

To ensure that your candidacy gets the attention it deserves, use a follow-up letter to again place yourself in front of the hiring manager. Not only will that person take note of your continued interest in the position, but you will certainly move ahead of those other, similarly qualified candidates who did not send a follow-up letter.

To ensure a professional look for your follow-up letter and to maintain consistency, use the same heading that was on your resume and initial cover letter.

Within the body of the follow-up letter, reiterate your most stellar qualifications as they relate to this position.

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E-Mail Cover Letters

Get expert advice on creating a professional image when submitting your resume for jobs online.

Creating Resume Cover Letters for Online Submission

by Vault.com - The Most Trusted Name in Career Information

Something happens to people when they get online. Maybe it's the instant access, maybe it's the anonymity, but when people get online they sometimes get overly casual and informal. This might be fine when your talking to your friend in Omaha or the someone you just met in a chat room, but it doesn't work well when you're trying to get business done.

Just because you're communicating online does not mean you should consider yourself exempt from any of the formalities of paper-based communication. Online cover letters are notoriously awful, poorly written throwaways of fewer than three lines whose only purpose is to say "I'm applying, this is my resume, have a nice day."

When formatting the cover letter, stick to left-justified headers and four-inch wide text lines in your paragraphs. You never know when the address you're mailing to has a small e-mail-page format that will awkwardly wrap text around the screen. Also, many e-mail systems cannot handle text enhancements like bolding, bulleting or underlining, so play it safe by using CAPITAL LETTERS -- or dashes -- if you need to make an emphasis.

Proper E-mail Cover Letter Etiquette

Anil Dash, the former chief information technology officer for an online music video production studio in Manhattan, lost his job this January when the company fired nearly all its employees. Since then, Dash figures he's applied for more than a dozen jobs, contacting every one of the potential employers - befitting an out-of-work CIO - through e-mail.

But every time he prepares another e-mail, he faces a choice. Should he bother to write an e-mail cover letter, the sort of thing he'd do if he were mailing the resume, or should he merely dash off a few lines to the effect of, "Hi, I'm interested in your job, and I've attached my resume as a Word file. Thanks." "I do cover letters for jobs I really want," Dash says. "For ones I don't care about, I just spam them."

Why Cover Letters Still Matter

According to recruiting experts, Dash is doing the right thing by writing extensive e-mail cover letters. Even though cover letters came of age in the age of pen and paper (or typewriter and paper), they still have a place in the 21st century, when want ads, resumes, and interviews all fly over virtual networks. "It's going over the Internet, but it's the same product," Madeline Miller, the manager of Compu-Type Nationwide Resume Service in upstate New York, said of e-mail cover letters. "The cover is very important and it should be the same quality if you were to mail it."

Since e-mail messages generally tend to be conversational and quickly written, many people aren't used to drafting carefully written e-mail cover letters. But Miller said any applicant who creates a fully-fleshed e-mailed cover letter has an advantage over an applicant with a more slapdash cover letter.

"There is a tendency to jot off a few lines, and people might write, "I'm applying for this job, here is my resume," Miller said. "But if there is a cover letter, that could put somebody over the top." But at the same time, make sure your e-mailed cover letter isn't a chore to read. If brevity is a virtue with conventional cover letters, it's a necessity for e-mailed cover letters.

Appropriate Cover Letter Length

Reesa Staten, the research director for OfficeTeam, a staffing service firm, says e-mailed resumes shouldn't run more than two or three paragraphs.

"You want to include the same type of information, albeit in a shorter version," Staten said. "What you don't want to do is rehash your resume. There's no need to restate what you've done in the past. What you want to do is tell them where you learned about the listing, why you're right for the job, and how they can reach you."

Tips for Sending Cover Letters and Resumes

If you really want the job, follow up an e-mailed cover letter and resume with a hard copy you mail. Make sure this hard copy includes a cover letter, too, that restates who you are and why you're qualified. Somewhere in the cover letter, be sure to write, "I recently e-mailed you my resume and I'm following up with this hard copy."

Why should you do this? A hard copy gives your resume another chance for exposure and makes it easier for a potential boss to pass around or file your cover letter and resume. In cases where your e-mailed cover letter and resume have been overlooked in someone's in-box or rendered inaccessible by a computer glitch, a hard copy may be your only chance for exposure.

If you're including a resume as an attachment, first make sure the prospective employer accepts attachments. Then, in your cover letter, mention the program you used to create your attachment. ("I've enclosed a cover letter written in Microsoft Word 2000.") It's also a good idea to include a cut and paste text version of your resume in addition, in case the person reading the resume doesn't have the software to open your attachment.

With any resume file you're attaching, open it first to make sure it's updated, error free, and the version of your resume you want to send. Sending a virus is tantamount to sealing your job-doom. Save a copy of whatever you send by including your own e-mail address in the "BCC" field or by making sure a copy goes to your "Sent mail" folder. This allows you to resend the letter if a problem pops up. Lastly, don't fill in the "to" field with the recipient's e-mail address until you've finished writing and editing the cover letter and resume. This prevents you from accidentally sending off the message before it's ready.

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Tips for writing a great cover letter

Great Intro

When you are at a job interview, the first impression you make is extremely important, and likewise, when you write your cover letter, your opening sentence and introductory paragraph – your written first impression – is equally as important. After all, if your cover letter doesn’t immediately stand out from the pack, your chances of even landing an interview are substantially lowered. Think about it this way: an author’s goal when writing a book is to pull his readers in right from the beginning so that they are compelled to find out more by reading on. For you, your cover letter introduction should force its readers to be compelled to contact you for an interview. The last thing you want to do is start out with a boring, typical lead-in, like, “My name is John Smith, and I am writing in regards to the vacancy for a sales manager that I saw advertised in the Valley News.” Lame! This kind of opening shows that you have zero originality and that to you, getting this job didn’t mean enough to get creative. Instead, start out by zeroing in on why you are actually fit for the job. For example: “With a proven track record of excellence in the automotive sales industry and a leadership background that has spanned over a decade, I am confident that I would be a perfect fit for the sales manager position.” You want to highlight the aspects of your experience and character that are the biggest qualifiers for you to get the job. You may be worried about coming off as arrogant and egotistical, but in reality you are just being self-assured and confident, and those are very attractive traits to a prospective employer. Also, the statements that you are making about yourself in the opening paragraph are not opinions; they are facts. If you are going to say that you have a “proven” track record, then you have to be able to prove it through examples in your career history. Your introductory paragraph should be an overview of your qualifications, but you shouldn’t get into any detail until your second paragraph.

Get Down to Business

In your second and third paragraphs, you have to explain how your past experiences make you an ideal candidate for the position you are applying for. Look at the job description carefully, and find key qualifications that they are seeking. Make sure that you draw a link between your qualifications and each skill or quality they are seeking. For example, if the job description states that they are looking for someone who works well under pressure, describe a scenario in your career history when you have done this. If they are looking for someone who works well with others, describe a scenario in your history when your communication skills have been vital to completing a group task. These paragraphs are not for generalizations – you want to present your skills in a very clear, factual and deliberate way – explaining your actions will speak louder than using fancy words and enticing adjectives.

A Powerful Hook

The conclusion of your cover letter is vitally important to the impression you are going to leave on its readers. It’s just like a first date – even if it has gone great all night, an awkward goodbye can spoil the whole thing. These are your parting words to your prospective employers before they delve into your resume, so you want to leave a good taste in their mouths. You should talk about your knowledge of their company – their reputation, their innovations, et cetera. You want them to know that you respect their company and what it stands for, and you want them to know that you have done your homework, and you weren’t just sending out a bunch of carbon copy cover letters to a ton of prospective employers. Finally, your last sentence should be strong and persuasive. For example: “I implore you to contact me so that I can further convey my aptitude and enthusiasm for this highly desirable position.”

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Cover letter tips

You are responding to a “Help Wanted” advertisement that requests a copy of your resume. It does not say anything about sending a cover letter. Should you write a cover letter to accompany your resume? Yes, always include a cover letter with your resume whether it is requested or not. The company might get hundreds of responses to a single ad. You need to give the person who will be interviewing you highlights of your experience at a glance. A cover letter allows you to stand out above the crowd, and emphasizes all of the positives you have to offer a new employer.

First, your cover letter should be no more than one page long. It should include all the ways that a potential employer can contact you, including not only your home address and telephone number, but your cell number, and email address. You want to make it very, very easy for the company to contact you.

If at all possible, try to avoid addressing the salutation to “To Whom It May Concern” or “Dear Madam or Sir.” If the advertisement directs you to send your resume to the Sales Manager, call the company and try to get the Sales Manager’s name. Using a name not only personalizes a cover letter, it shows initiative on your part.

Look over the advertisement carefully. If the company is looking for an administrative assistant with four years of experience and an A. A. degree, make sure that you tell them that you have five years of experience and a Bachelor’s Degree, if that is what you have earned. If you only have three years of experience and a Bachelor’s Degree, write that you have several years of experience and a Bachelor’s Degree. A “Help Wanted” is a wish-list, not necessarily a must-have list. The purpose of a cover letter is to entice the reader to find out more about you.

Tell the reader what you can do for the company, not what you want the business to do for you. If you are applying for a sales job and you increased sales 100% over the last four years in your current position, tell them about it, and tell them that you can do the same for them. You are experienced, you have accomplishments, and they need you on their team. The old “I want to work for a company that offers opportunity for growth” does not cut it anymore. Everyone wants to work for a company that will allow them to grow. The question is not how the company is going to help you grow, but how you are going to help the business grow.

That being said, everyone likes to be flattered. Do some quick research on the company. If, for example, they are an industry leader in marketing and you are applying for a marketing position, it does not hurt to mention that you know that they are well known for their marketing expertise and you are looking forward to contributing to their continued success.

Does the advertisement ask if you are willing to relocate and what your salary requirements are? If it does, respond to the requests. If they ask if you are willing to relocate for this job, and you are not willing to do so, you should not be responding to the ad. If they are asking if you would be willing to relocate in the future and you are not tied to the area in which you are living, who knows? You may fall in love with your job, management, and the company. As far as salary goes, do you really want to waste your time—and theirs—if the highest compensation package that they are willing to offer is worth $25,000, and you need $55,000 in order to cover your bills? However, if the advertisement does not ask for this type of information, do not offer it. It will probably be addressed when they call you to set up an interview.

Businesses want to know how you express yourself. After all, everyone needs to write reports of one sort or other. Make sure to use “spell-check” on your letter and then double check the spell check. You might have accidentally spelled a word correctly, but still have written the wrong word. This is easy to do with words like accept and except, for example. The letter should be easy to read and grammatically correct. It is always a good idea to have someone else proof your cover before you send it out.

Cover letters should showcase your efforts and achievements. They should tell the reader why they really need to talk to you in person. The letters should be positive, positive, positive. You be prepared to be proactive. When you close the letter, tell them that if you have not heard from them within a week or ten days, you will call them. Then do it.

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Cover Letter Writing

Get advice from a career expert on how to write a successful resume cover letter.

Cover Letter Q & A

by Kevin Donlin

How to write a cover letter is a baffling topic for many job seekers.

Are you struggling to put one together? Keep this in mind -- your cover letter is one long answer to this question: "Why should I read your resume and call you for an interview?"

Here are four ways to answer that question and get called for an interview.

1) Build rapport.

Cover letters are read by people, so address yours to a person. NEVER start your cover letter with such cliches as "Dear Sir or Madam" or "To whom it may concern."

Take that extra two minutes to call the employer and get the recipient's name. Ask the receptionist, "I'm writing a letter to the person who manages (your target department). May I have the correct spelling please?" This will set you apart from most applicants.

If that fails, begin your letter with, "Dear Employer." It sounds confident and will stand out.

2) Avoid stating the obvious.

We know you're a quick learner, honest and hard working. So are the other 500 applicants who want this job. Don't waste precious space in your cover letter saying so.

Instead, use the cover letter to display your knowledge of the company, the industry and even to share specific recommendations you have for problems or opportunities you've researched.

Example: "With 10 years of retail management experience and a record of rapid advancement, I have found at least three ways to increase sales at your Edina, MN location by $250,000 -- or more -- this year. May I discuss them with you?"

3) Stick to one page in length.

Doing this proves you can prioritize your thoughts and present them concisely -- both admirable qualities. Also, it shows respect for your busy reader, who may have hundreds more cover letters and resumes to wade through.

The cover letters I write for clients have an opening paragraph, three or four fact-filled bullet points to build the reader's interest, and a closing paragraph.

This usually comes out to five or six paragraphs that never exceed one page.

4) Get input from friends ... and strangers.

When you finish your one-page masterpiece, give it to three friends and ask for their first impressions and overall opinion. Their advice is important.

Then, ask your friends to show it to three people you don't know. The feedback you get from these strangers will be as important or more so, since they won't be concerned about hurting your feelings.

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Cover Letter Strategies

Use six strategies recommended by a career expert to improve the effectiveness of your resume cover letters.
Cover Letter Strategies

by Kevin Donlin

In a nutshell, your cover letter should say, "I'm the right person for the job. I have unique skills and experience that will help your company right away. I hope you're as excited about this as I am." The accompanying resume should then prove your case.

Put another way, the cover letter is the advertisement for your resume.

To get your resume read, and to get that job interview, your cover letter must do the following six things.

1. Focus on the needs of employers and how you would solve their problems. Employers have problems. That's why they're hiring! Your cover letter should say (although not in so many words): "I'm the answer to your problems."
2. Display knowledge of the company. With the glut of information available on the Internet and most public libraries, you should be able to drop one or two facts/names into your cover letter to show you've done your homework on the company and its products, needs, challenges, etc. If you offer well-researched suggestions that will work right away for a company, they WILL call you.
3. Briefly state your best qualifications AND achievements. Don't spend a lot of time rehashing your resume. But do include enough tidbits to generate interest in the mind of the reader.
4. Show your enthusiasm about the job. Avoid sounding like 90% of applicants, who say (not in so many words): "Give me a job where I can advance and make more money." Instead, convey this: "I'm excited about the possibility of bringing my skills to work for you."
5. State that you will follow up to schedule an interview. If you politely inform the reader that you'll be calling within a few days to answer any questions and schedule an in-person interview, you set yourself apart from the crowd with your determination and confidence.
6. Keep your letter short and focused. Most letters ramble on in excruciating detail for one or even two full pages. Show respect for the limited time your reader has and limit yourself to four, five or six paragraphs at most.

Best of luck to you!

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Cover Letter Questions

Find answers to four of the most common questions about resume cover letters.

Cover Letter Questions

by Kevin Donlin

Are you struggling to write a cover letter?

If so, you've got company. I get dozens of questions about writing cover letters every week from people like you.

Here are four of the most common cover letter questions, with answers to guide you!

Q. I don't know the recipient's name -- how should I start my cover letter?

A. Whatever you do, avoid such cliches as "Dear Sir or Madam" or "To whom it may concern."

If possible, call the target employer and get an actual name of an actual recipient. This will set you apart from most applicants.

If that fails, try writing: "Dear employer." It has a confident ring about it, without sounding pretentious.

Q. How long should my cover letter be?

A. Confine yourself to one page. Anything longer says to the reader: "Hello. I have no idea how to prioritize my thoughts. Care to hear my life story?" Not effective.

Q. The classified ad asks me to include my expected salary. What should I say?

A. Nothing.

This may sound controversial, but I advise you NOT to answer questions of salary.

Why?

Employers ask about salary to screen out candidates who are over-qualified or under-qualified (in their minds). But how can they judge you accurately before they've ever spoken to you? Instead, I recommend you say this: "My salary requirements are negotiable."

Q. What's the purpose of a cover letter, anyway? Do I really need to send one?

A. Yes and no.

While it may not be necessary if you plan to hand deliver your resume or apply for an internal position, a cover letter is essential if you're applying for jobs in the newspaper or on the Internet.

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal's National Business Employment Weekly, "Your cover letter can make or break whether your resume goes into the 'yes' pile or the 'no' pile. A really terrific cover letter can change the reader's mind."

Use your cover letter to show off your knowledge of the company and the industry. And be sure to convey your enthusiasm for the job -- enthusiasm sells.

Think of your cover letter as vermouth and your resume as gin. Separately, each has its own merits, but when combined with care, they create something special.

Best of luck to you!

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Cover Letter Makeover

Dramatically improve the effectiveness of your resume cover letters with helpful tips from a career expert.

I, Me, My -- A Cover Letter Makeover

by Kevin Donlin

Since your cover letter is written by you and for the job that you want, it may seem natural spend a lot of time talking about you and your skills/qualifications.

Unfortunately, this often produces myopic (or "I-opic") cover letters...and poor results.

Remember that all employers listen to the same radio station: WII-FM. That stands for "What's In It For Me?"

To stand out from a stack of cover letters, yours must focus less on you and more on the results you can deliver.

If you do nothing else, try replacing the words "I", "me" and "my" with "you" wherever possible. This will put the emphasis back where it belongs -- on the employer and his/her problems.

Here's a before-and-after example of an actual cover letter. Note the number of times "I" and "my" appear:

"I am enclosing my resume for your review because I am very interested in obtaining a full-time position as an Investment Banking Analyst at Ace Financial.

"I am well qualified for this position. In addition to the strong quantitative and analytical skills I have developed as an undergraduate economics major and in my work experience, I have a proven ability to stay focused for long hours under pressure."

There are five instances of "I" and two of "my."

Now, here's that same cover letter, revised to focus more on the reader:

"I am applying for the position of Investment Banking Analyst where my combination of economics training and high-tech experience will add value to your operations. Please consider the following:

"You will gain from my strong financial background, which includes a recent bachelor's degree in economics, coupled with experience researching and trading securities as a successful investor (resulting in returns of 200%)."

Just one "I" and two "mys" -- a 57% reduction. With "you" and "your" thrown in twice for good measure.

Replacing "I" with "you" is an old advertising trick that's worked for decades. (Read any good advertisement and you'll always find "you" and "your" sprinkled liberally throughout.) And what's your cover letter? Essentially, it's an advertisement for your resume...which is an advertisement for you.

So follow the rules of the world's most successful advertising copywriters. Focus on "you," the reader, to dramatically improve the effectiveness of your cover letters.

Best of luck to you!

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Cover Letter Design

Get advice from professional resume writers on how to design cover letters.

Formatting Your Cover Letter

ResumeEdge.com

by ResumeEdge.com - The Net's Premier Resume Writing and Editing Service

Because a cover letter is your first chance to make a lasting impression with a hiring manager, it must be professional. To accomplish this:

1. Always use the same heading for your cover letter that you have used in your resume.

2. Whenever possible, use the hiring manager's name. This personalizes the document and shows attention to detail.

3. Include in your opening paragraph what job you're interested in and a specific reason as to why you feel qualified for this position.

4. Include in the body of the letter the specific experience, skills or accomplishments from your past that dovetail with the requirements of the new job. This data should be bulleted, rather than presented in a solid block of text. The human eye is drawn to bulleted areas, and they provide the data in an easy-to-read format, so that the hiring manager can digest the information from one sentence before moving on to the others.

Examples of bulleted areas follow:

As my enclosed resume indicates, my background includes more than two decades of service at US Flight with significant experience in:

* Aircraft accident investigation as a member of the US Flight disaster team.

* Security checkpoints, where I handled countless calls for assistance.

* Training the Ground Security team to protect and promote public safety.

In addition to the above skills, I can also offer your firm:

* More than 30 years of experience in the airline industry.

* Expertise in dealing with government agencies, including the FAA where I facilitated communications to reduce company fines.

* Reduced absenteeism and occupational injuries -- standards I maintained at US Flight, where I achieved the best employee safety record of all US Flight cities.

5. If the letter is being addressed to a specific hiring manager, close your letter proactively indicating that you will be contacting the hiring manager's office within the next week to see if you might set up a time to meet.

Sending Your Cover Letter by "Snail" Mail

With today's technology, most resumes and cover letters are sent as attachments via email. However, if you have reason to send your cover letter and resume by "snail" mail, the documents should be printed on good bond paper (20 lbs.) with a watermark. Choose a color that evokes professionalism; the best choices are white or cream, though a light gray can also be considered.

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How to Clinch a Killer Resume Cover Letter

Experts say keep resume cover letters short, sweet and memorable.

By Kristina Cowan

Do you enjoy writing resume cover letters about as much as you relish root canals? Dread isn't uncommon when it comes to resume cover letters.

"It's an area where job-seekers could do the most to improve, because it does require a certain amount of heavy lifting," said Anna Ivey, a career counselor based in the Boston area. "Most people just write generic resume cover letters, and it's the resume cover letter that's really going to open or close that door, that will decide whether they [employers] bother to read on and look at your resume."

But dread shouldn't get the best of you. Instead, try thinking of resume cover letters as jalapeno peppers-small, but packing a wallop-and heed the following tips on how to write a cover letter from career experts Ivey, Laura DeCarlo, Bernadette Kenny and Deborah DeCamp.

How to Write A Cover Letter

1. Keep it short. Ivey suggests resume cover letters stick to one page, with about three paragraphs total. "Once you roll over onto a second page you're really taking a risk," Ivey said. DeCarlo, executive director of Career Directors International in Melbourne, Fla., said writing should be punchy and crisp. "Resume cover letters are a form of marketing. Make it easy for recipients to be interested and find what they're looking for, and easy for them to find reasons to keep going," DeCarlo said.

2. Draw the reader in immediately. The first paragraph of a resume cover letter should be an attention-grabber, DeCarlo said: Use an interesting fact, ask a question, or mention a personal connection to someone at the company. Learn how to write a cover letter that engages the reader.

3. Pack it with a "wow" factor. DeCamp, a Chicago-based regional director for Manpower Professional, said you create the wow factor by highlighting accomplishments on your resume cover letter. "You're not just stating what you did in your last job, but what you achieved, created, that you saved the company money, blew out a budget, exceeded expectations," she said.

4. Write well! Resume cover letters are a prime place to demonstrate that you have strong grammar, writing and communication skills, said Kenny, the Melville, Long Island-based chief career officer at Adecco Group North America.

5. Don't recreate your resume. You might underscore one or two points on your resume, but be selective and don't turn the resume cover letter into a laundry list, Ivey said. Learn how to write a cover letter that is unique.

6. Have someone else read it. A second set of eyes is always a good idea, Kenny said, and after someone reads your letter, ask if he or she thinks it's effective.

7. What about responding to ads that ask for salary history? While this is a difficult question to address in a resume cover letter, DeCarlo said it's best not to ignore it. Be broad and vague, giving a general salary range, and stress that you're negotiable.

8. Finish with a statement that keeps the conversation rolling. "A good resume cover letter has an action close, that asks to take the next step," DeCarlo said. She explained that many job-seekers aren't interested in coming on too strong, so she suggests a phrase such as "I look forward to hearing from you."

9. Follow up! Ivey encourages job-seekers to follow-up. "I think when it comes to your own job search you need to take more control," she said. If you're hesitant because an ad reads "No phone calls," Ivey suggests sending an e-mail to follow up your resume cover letter.

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8 Tips for Better Email Cover Letters

by Larry Buhl

As the saying goes, you don't get a second chance to make a first impression. If you're doing a job search or resume submission via email, the first impression any employer will have is your cover letter.

Some tips for creating successful email cover letters are the same as for paper covers: be professional, with correct spelling and grammar, and -- very important -- do use them. Other tips pertain only to the electronic medium, and when disregarded, could ruin your chances before your foot is in the door.

What should you consider crafting an email cover?

Don't waste your subject line. What you write on the subject line can determine whether your letter gets read, according to business etiquette expert and author of "Manners that Sell," Lydia Ramsey. "Don't ever leave the subject line of your email blank and don't waste it by just inserting the job number," Ramsey tells Yahoo! HotJobs. "The subject line should be clear, and specific to the job you're looking for." An example: "Bilingual CPA seeks account manager position."

Use standard cover letter protocol. Write your letter as the body of the email and include a salutation (use the receiver's actual name if you know it) and a standard closing ("Sincerely" or "Warm regards" work well). Leave blank lines between paragraphs, and use appropriate signature and closing lines. Include all the information in your signature line you would have on your business card, including snail mail address, phone number and even email address. Ramsey adds, "Remember, your email address doesn't always automatically show up on the receiver's email program."

Keep it short and dynamic. Managers and recruiters are busy. They want to get the gist of your pitch in 150 words or fewer. The first paragraph is crucial, according to Ramsey. "Hook the reader in the first paragraph by selling him or her your abilities," she says. "Use short paragraphs and short sentences to give a very brief bio on who you are and what you can do for them, and wrap it up in the second paragraph."

Keep it simple. If you write a cover letter in a word-processing program, strip away all formatting and save the file as plain text. The ideal line length is 40 characters. Some email packages automatically do word wrap for you, so your cover letter doesn't arrive in fragments. If your program doesn't do this, go to www.formatit.com, drop in your text, and the free service will format your email for you.

Don't get cute: save emoticons, abbreviations, wild colors, and fonts for your non-professional emails. The same goes for humor. Chances are, the reader won't think it's funny, and may even find it irritating.

Be specific. Don't respond to an ad for a copywriter when you're really a graphic designer, says Diana Qasabian, talent director at Syndicatebleu. "It may be the tight job market, but we've been receiving more and more letters responding to a specific job from candidates who are not at all qualified for it," she says.

"We look for specifics in email cover letters, which means skills and abilities. Embellishment and fluff are not necessary. It's not necessary to write, 'I'm a hard worker.' That goes without saying," she says.

Keywords are key. Because many companies use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to find and screen candidates, skill-oriented keywords will boost your chance at being discovered, a recruiter at a large technology company tells Yahoo! HotJobs.

"ATS tools track keywords that identify skill sets," she said. "So even if you're not right for the job you're seeking, strong keywords improve the chance that your cover letter and resume will be retrieved in a future search or be selected for a more appropriate job."

Play by their rules. Take the time to learn the company guidelines for submitting resumes, and follow them. Many companies list these guidelines on their websites. Also, don't include attachments unless they are requested. Some companies block all emails with attachments to prevent viruses.

Check it again. You must thoroughly spell-check and proofread your email letter. And remember, your email software's spellchecker won't catch grammar mistakes. Send it to a friend first and ask him or her to check for the content and style. If all your friends are tapped out, or even if they aren't, test your email cover letter by emailing it to yourself, and put yourself in the mindset of an employer when you read it.

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Making Your Résumé E-Friendly: 10 Steps From 'The Quick Résumé and Cover Letter Book'

Michael Farr, Career and Job Search Author

It is important to provide a short, clear and concise electronic résumé! Some scanning systems and databases stop reading résumés after a certain number of lines, often after about one and a half pages, so be sure that your most important information appears early in the résumé.

You can easily take your existing résumé and reformat it for electronic submission. Here are some quick guidelines to do so:

1. Open your regular résumé file and select the Save As command on your toolbar, usually located under the file menu. Select Text Only, Plain Text or ASCII as the type.

2. Close the file and then reopen it to make sure you are working from the new text-only version. You'll see that most graphic elements such as lines, images and bullet point symbols have now been eliminated. But if they haven't, go ahead and delete them. You may use equal signs in place of lines or borders and replace bullet points with plus symbols(+), asterisks (*) or hyphens (-).

3. Limit your margins to no more than 65 characters wide.

4. Use an easy-to-scan sans-serif type font, such as Courier, Arial or Helvetica.

5. Eliminate bold, italics and underlining if any remain after saving as text-only.

6. Introduce major sections with words in all uppercase letters, rather than in bold, italics or underlining.

7. Keep all text aligned to the left.

8. Instead of using bullets, use a standard keyboard character, such as an asterisk.

9. Instead of using the Tab key or paragraph indents, use the space key to indent.

10. When done, click Save or OK. Then reopen the file to see how it looks. Make any additional format changes as needed.

Now test your electronic résumé by e-mailing it to a friend who uses a different Internet Service Provider. For example, if you use AOL, send it to a friend on Yahoo! or Hotmail. Also try sending it to someone who works in a large company to see how it transmits via their résumé into the body of the e-mail rather than sending it as an attachment. That way, they will be able to tell you how it looks when it shows up in their e-mail system and whether it is legible. After getting their feedback, make any adjustments necessary to fix it.

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7 Ways to Improve Your Cover Letter and Get Your Application Noticed

Selena Dehne, JIST Publishing

Don't underestimate the power of a cover letter. When  well-written, attractively designed and customized for the recipient, a cover letter is a powerful tool that can practically scream, "Interview this candidate immediately!"
But when they are thrown together using little to no consideration, personalization or creativity -- as cover letters often are -- letters are as ineffective in the job hunt as blank sheets of paper.
"This is a major misstep when job searching," say Wendy Enelow and Louise Kursmark, co-authors of "Cover Letter Magic." "You should take advantage of every opportunity there is to stand out from other candidates."
Enelow and Kursmark also say that writing a cover letter can be more fun than job seekers realize. "With the right perspective and a positive attitude, you'll find that it affords you great flexibility. There is no one set format in which they must be written. There is no one style in which they must be presented. In fact, there are very few rules at all, and because they are so flexible, cover letters allow you to positively present just those skills, qualifications, achievements and credentials you want to bring to the recipient's immediate attention."
There are a variety of ways job seekers can get creative with their cover letters and bring them to life in ways they never considered. In their book, Enelow and Kursmark suggest a few of these techniques:
1. Find out what your target employer's slogan, catch phrase or mission statement is and brainstorm ways to include it in your cover letter's introduction. This technique will quickly capture the reader's attention, demonstrate that you are familiar with the employer and stand out from other candidates' one-size-fits-all cover letters.
2. Add a table or two-column section that closely connects the employer's requirements to your qualifications and professional achievements. This strategy will quickly provide the employer with concrete evidence that you're a good fit for the job and worth learning more about.
3. Begin with a thought-provoking quote relevant to the position, the employer's goals or your target industry. Many people love to read, share and ponder quotes. Including one in your cover letter can be a quick and effective way to engage the reader.
4. Feature a strong headline near the beginning of the cover letter. To keep it brief, yet powerful, address one of the employer's key concerns or spotlight your expertise or an attribute that will be particularly appealing to the employer.
5. Develop your own slogan or mission statement and include it near the top of your cover letter. This technique will enhance your career brand and stand out much like a headline would. To draw even more attention to the phrase, place it inside a graphic element that is attractive and appropriate.
6. Add a "P.S." to the end of your cover letter. Often, it's the first thing a person will read.
7. Include testimonials about you in the body of your cover letter or in an attractive sidebar. Testimonials will emphasize your skills and achievements and support claims you make about your expertise and why you're the best candidate for the job.

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