Articles, Information, Resources

The importance of resume cover letters is often underestimated by jobseekers. Will your resume be read, or will it be thrown into the circular file with barely a glance? A well written cover letter can make all the difference.

Jobseekers commonly make the mistake of duplicating their resume when they write the cover letter-- although many of them just plain forget to write the cover letter to begin with! Instead, the cover letter should complement and expand upon the resume.

Imagine that you're the one sitting at a desk with piles of resumes to look at. They're all printed on nice, white paper. They're all covered in skills and objectives.

Quite a few of them have letters, some of them very long. Overwhelming, isn't it? Set yourself apart. You want to write a cover letter that gets attention and gives persuasive reasons for the reader to look at your resume.

But how do you begin? You can always learn by example. There are many example resume cover letters online. You'll find cover letters available for all kinds of different jobs in several different formants. You can find them all by using your favorite search engine.

Now, if someone that the company or interviewer knows well has referred you and also gave you permission to use their name in your cover letter, do it! You'll be using the power of networking referrals, which can go a long way in making sure that your resume gets serious consideration.

Look over the job description carefully. Reference it in your cover letter, mentioning appropriate skills that make you a great candidate. It might be tempting to just repeat everything you wrote in your resume, but consider that this is a great chance to go even further. Remember the job description, and tell the readers how your skills will benefit the company.

First and foremost, imagine that the interviewer is reading and asking, "What's in it for me?" Chances are that's exactly what the interviewer's thinking every time he or she is reading resume cover letters. If you answer well, the interview will be yours!