What is the importance of knowing how to write a good cover letter? Most people might think that it’s to help them get their resume read - and while this is important, it is not your main goal. Rather, what you really want from your cover letter is to get a meeting with the person or people who can actually hire you. Knowing how to write your cover letter to accomplish this is a valuable skill - one that the following videos will help you learn.
Featured Video: Writing a Resume Cover Letter
Related Video: How to Write a Cover Letter
Points to Remember
- The main goal for your cover letter is to get a meeting
- Thoroughly research the job you are applying for, including the company, products, services and industry relating to your job
- Keep your cover letter brief and to the point — it should be no longer than one page
- Follow up quickly upon your letter to try and get an interview
- Always maintain a polite, respectful and professional tone while still being yourself
- Make sure to attach your resume and any other relevant materials with your cover letter
Recommended Book

Brought to you by the authors of the best-selling 101 Best Resumes, this companion book offers first-rate cover letters from the experts! Prepared by experienced writers in the Professional Association of Resume Writers, the organization that certifies career document specialists, 101 Best Cover Letters gives you the benefit of the expertise that clients have gladly paid hundreds of dollars for. Packed with professional know-how, insight, and power, this high-energy collection of letters sells you to potential employers. Featuring examples of compelling cover letters to accompany every type of resume, 101 Best Cover Letters makes cover letters easy as P.I.E.
Featuring examples of compelling cover letters to accompany every type of resume, 101 Best Cover Letters shows you how to write professional, persuasive letters that will sell you to any potential employer.
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Customer Reviews
The most helpful favorable user review
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
GREAT FOR THE NEWBIES or EXPERTS OUT THERE!
This book was a great investment! The cover letters give you examples to use in your own letter and show you the strengths found in each cover. I actually took a highlighter to this book and highlighted my favorite lines and ideas out of certain letters. I then implemented them into my letter. Great for everyone, the professional or the inexperienced. YOU NEED THIS…
The most helpful critical user review
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
Tips for writing cover, followup, and thank you letters.
This book is aimed at the professional or technical person. This will not be helpful for the unskilled or blue collar worker. However, there are tips found in several sections of the book that are interesting and useful for everyone. As an unemployment consultant for those who are primarily not college educated nor professionals, I did not find this to be the best…
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Helpful Resources
Guide Note:This page contains information and tips on how to write a cover letter. A well-written cover letter is just as important as a great resume.
- Step 1: Before You Write Your Cover Letter
- Step 2: Choose a Cover Letter Style
- Step 3: Begin Your Cover Letter
- Step 4: Write Your Cover Letter
- Step 5: End Your Cover Letter
- Step 6: Proofread Before You Send Your Cover Letter
- Resources for How to Write a Cover Letter
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All cover letters should:
- Explain why you are sending a resume
- Don’t send a resume without a cover letter.
- Don’t make the reader guess what you are asking for; be specific
- sDo you want a summer internship opportunity, or a permanent position at graduation; are you inquiring about future employment possibilities?
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Looking for a job? Your cover letter, which is typically the first letter that any prospective employer reads, must be well-written. Ensure that your cover letter reflects that proper research was conducted into the job or industry. Boost your chances by writing about the company and detailing the value you can add to the available position based on your background or interests. Look at the qualifications listed on the job description and write check marks next to those requirements you meet. When writing the letter, make sure the letter is written professionally with the right heading elements. Briefly (in three to four paragraphs) explain how you meet the criteria for the job based on your research.
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Nobody likes to work. But most people prefer working to rummaging through dumpsters for the really fresh waste, so most of us will need a cover letter at some point in our lives. The fact is, you need a cover letter every time you send out a résumé; simply dropping off a résumé with an employer seems impersonal and lazy, and non-government employers avoid employees with those traits.
What is a cover letter? It’s a letter (duh) that you send to a potential employer along with your résumé. A cover letter is important because, among other things, (1) it will tell the recipient for whom the résumé is intended, (2) it can elaborate on your knowledge of the company and your desire to work for it, and (3) it allows you to name drop. So if you are on the hunt for a new job, you will need to produce cover letters with brilliance, flair, and speed, and, therefore, you will need to settle in and read this SYW. Continue reading…
When writing your cover letter keep in mind that the reviewer is only interested in one thing: the facts. Do not think of your cover letter as an autobiography. It should be brief and to the point. The purpose of the cover letter (and resume) should be one thing – it should demonstrate that you meet or exceed the requirements listed in the job description. It should demonstrate that you’re interested in the position and that you’re available to accept the position if offered. Additional information beyond this can be counterproductive as it dilutes the core purpose of the cover letter.
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One of the more controversial points I detailed in
Resume pitfalls every programmer should avoid, was to eliminate the objectives heading in your resume. I received a mixed response (although mostly positive), and I thought it only fair that I follow up on my recommended alternative — a brief, but well-written cover letter.
Although these tips could very well apply to several fields, I am going to focus specifically on cover letters written for programmers or Web developers.
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Your cover letter and curriculum vita may well be the most important documents you will ever write. They are the first things most academic search committees see, and if you don’t want them to also be the last things, you need to take the time to do them right.
Although both your cover letter and C.V. must be able to stand on their own, they are clearly linked and so should be developed in tandem.
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Although (perhaps because) the cover letter is such an important document, you may encounter several conflicting opinions as you how it should look (
What is a Cover Letter?). The following guidelines are my own suggestions.
Finally, however, you must decide how to write the letter that’s best for you. Pass it along to as many different faculty as you trust, solicit their advice, be prepared for conflicting advice, be prepared to write and rewrite the letter many times, and understand that you’ll probably send out a letter that’s not entirely your own work. There are three things to keep in mind as you write your letter:
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I was literally in the middle of writing a long article for Dumb Little Man that pertained to my method of choosing applicants for an open position I have. As I got half way done typing, one of our company recruiters sends me an email with a PDF containing a dozen or so resumes. I am happy that we are making progress on my job opening but after opening the attachment I was less than impressed.
11 of the 12 resumes had cover letters which is actually pretty good because if you skip that step, you simply look unprofessional. The problem is that they all of the cover letters looked exactly the same and had the same message. Continue reading…
You could
write the best resume in the world and be highly qualified for a
job, but if your cover letter is poorly written, generic, or misguided, you can pretty much throw your chances out the window. The cover letter is your first, and sometimes your
only opportunity to grab an employer’s attention and let them know why
your resume is worth reading. Since there are many different ways to write a cover letter, depending on the employer and the method of transmission, for example, here are some ways to make yours stand out along with some examples you can tweak to your liking.
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When you send out your resume make sure a cover letter accompanies it. Here are some tips to spruce that cover letter up and reallyt get you noticed.
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Having a great cover letter is your first step in getting hired. It is the initial evaluation of your skills, your resume, and you as a worker and as a person.
Creating a great cover letter is easy if you know what you should focus on. Here are some things to remember when writing a cover letter. Continue reading…
A cover letter should demonstrate to the reader that you have read the job ad carefully and that you are truly interested in that particular job. Many hiring managers will not even look at a resume that does not come with a cover letter.
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