Crafting The Perfect Cover Letter - Why You Must Be Careful About Using Online Examples

So, you are back in the job market? You're getting your resume all brushed up, putting yourself out there and hoping employers look your way. And now you hear that when submitting your resume to potential employers you should be including a cover letter.

But what is a cover letter supposed to look like? If you send a bad letter and the other competitors for the job send a good one, you are going to be out. So you've done what nearly everyone in your position does: you've went to the Internet looking for an example.

It's not a bad idea, because the person who took the time to make a webpage on the subject probably knows a few things about how to write a cover letter. But there are a few problems with this idea. You probably used one of the two most popular search engines to find the page with your sample on it, and these are the same two search engines everyone uses. So everyone is finding the same page and downloading the same letter. Sure, they will change it slightly, but when a hiring executive sees 80 versions of the same sample letter, do you think he is very impressed? I'll just let you know on that one: No, he is not impressed with that. He is bored.

So, assuming you don't want to bore the potential employers, you are going to need to work a little harder. Either you will want to dig much deeper and find better samples that are industry specific, or you will need to craft one from scratch using the samples for ideas. Either way, you will want to personalize each cover letter a little bit, saying a few words about the company and how you really would love to be a part of that team.

Either way, you need to realize that the cover letter is very important, and it is your best chance to sell your unique skills to the potential employer. In your resume you are pretty much required to just list the facts, but in the letter you can paint yourself in the best light, and enthusiastically tell why you will be an excellent employee.

Creating a perfect cover is not an exact science, but if you take the time to put a good, job-specific letter on each resume, your chances of getting hired quickly go up exponentially. Just remember to be enthusiastic, optimistic, and professional.