A good cover letter can go a long way to enhance a resume which has been submitted. This is often repeated, but we may not fully understand the value of a good cover letter – or even what a good cover letter is or why it is so important. Here are a few pointers about cover letters for your resume.

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	Your cover letter speaks about who you are and why you would be ideal for the job, and not about your abilities and qualifications.

As has been said before, a cover letter is very important. It serves as an introduction for you to a potential employer. It also communicates in a more personal manner so it needs to be written differently from the style in which your write your resume. Your cover letter speaks about who you are and why you would be ideal for the job, and not about your abilities and qualifications.

These are things which can be spoken about in your covering letter as a resume is far too impersonal to include such things in, and should be restricted to merely talking about what you are good at and what you have done.

A well written cover letter also allows you to highlight your writing skills as you can use it to impress an employer with not just a description of who you are, but also to effectively communicate why you would be an asset. A good cover letter can go a long way in enhancing the prospects of a resume, so be sure to include one with every resume.

As an increasing number of people apply for the same job, your chances of getting the job decrease. A high number of applicants mean a large number of resumes for any employer to look through in a short period of time. It is also a very tedious task and they don’t really enjoy doing it. For these reasons, the time you have to impress your employer is less than half a minute.

The cover letter helps to get you noticed during the process of short listing eligible candidates and encourages your employer to read what you have written in detail. You can highlight the best aspects of your resume using your covering letter and manipulate your way into the list of selected candidates.

Employment is just like any other sale, and you can use standard proven selling techniques used by experienced salesmen to convince and manipulate your employer to buy what you have to sell, namely your labor. But to do that effectively you need to ascertain what exactly your employer is looking for.

You can find this out directly by asking him on the phone or by any other means possible. You need to ask as many questions as you feel necessary to understand what he or she is looking for in order to sell yourself effectively. And then you need to classify what they are looking for under three headings: Need, Want, and Desire. After you have done this you should have a clear idea of what your employer is looking for.

Most cover letters are discarded by decision makers in order to get to the resume as they contain useless information, which the decision maker couldn’t be bothered about. They are not really interested in finding out what a fantastic person you are, they are only interested in how you will add value to their organization. And this is the question you need to answer through your cover letter, as to how you can fulfill their needs, wants and, desires to add value to their operations.

Too much elaborating isn’t a good thing for a cover letter. It should be concise and to the point. Ideally, it should be on plain paper, white in color, and should always be typewritten. You should always address it by name and the address line should not contain titles like ‘Mrs’ or ‘Miss’ unless you have managed to ascertain their marital status as using a wrong title is considered quite offensive. Cover letters should always be dated to avoid the impression that you are recycling a stock covering letter, and you should include all relevant contact details like a phone number so you can be contacted easily. Signature lines should end with ‘sincerely’; signatures should only be in blue or black ink. You should also mention right at the outset what position you are applying for and any reference code that position might have.

The time you have to impress your employer is less than half a minute.

Formatting should always be consistent with adequate spacing or it may be difficult to read. Common practice is to avoid indentations and leave a single line between paragraphs. You should keep your content to the point and specify that you want to be employed by the company. You should also include information about the position you want and where you got to know of the vacancy from. Such information usually helps them to manage your application better and avoid misunderstandings.

You can argue your case as to why they should employ you in the second paragraph of your letter and why you want to work for their organization. You can also talk about anything which will make you stand apart from the other candidates. You can also talk about past experience here. This paragraph is important as it will determine whether your resume will be considered or not.

You should close out your letter by asking your prospective employer when you can meet for an interview. You should never use the word if, as it shows a lack of confidence and indifference. You should write in a confident tone and assume that you will be called back — after all you have been trying to convince them in the last few paragraphs as to why they should be employing you.

Do not staple your covering letter to your resume, but merely clip it with a paper clip and fold them together before putting it in an envelope and posting them. Now relax and wait for a phone call asking you to appear for an interview.

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