How to Write the Perfect Cover Letter

Do you feel like you have an absolutely adequate resume, but it is not receiving the attention that it deserves? Perhaps you may be lacking a cover letter. If you are left asking yourself what a cover letter is, then you should probably read the remainder of this article.

A cover letter is just that. It is a letter that "covers" your resume and introduces you to human resources or whoever may be hiring. Personalized cover letters tend to be the most effective because everyone likes to feel important, and by personalizing the cover letter you are catering to the potential employers need to feel important. You can do this by finding out the name of the person in charge of hiring and then addressing the cover letter to them. By making them feel important, you will be giving yourself a huge one up in the application process.

Cover letters start with all of the ways that you can be contacted. Email, telephone number, cell-phone number, and address are a good fit here. You really have two options of where to put this information. Some people like to put it on the top of the page horizontally, while others prefer to write it vertically above the salutation. It is important to note that if you choose the latter of the two you will have less real estate on your cover letter to describe your abilities.

Cover letters should express the enthusiasm that you have about the job, while at the same time skimming over the skills that make you qualified for the job. It is generally a good idea to keep your skill set brief (you have enough time for that in the resume) as opposed to reading a long and lengthy laundry list.

Remember, employers are looking for what you can offer them, this means that you should try to concentrate everything into short catchy phrases that are full of active words.

Most employers these days are looking for highly autonomous self starters as opposed to "team members" and "yes men". You can make yourself appear more autonomous by describing previous responsibilities that you were entrusted with or noting projects that you worked alone on. It is generally best to leave things such as "works well with others" and "always a great team member" out.

After you have a well written cover letter it is best to end it with what you will do next. For example, I will eagerly wait for you to contact me via phone or email so that we can get to know each other better. After that it is important to sign your name before ending the letter as you would end any letter.