Despite the perfection, clarity, and strong self-presentation of your resume, it is in fact a printed form--a fairly high level and conscious one, but a printed form nonetheless.  It remains for the reader to interpret and project from the resume the things that he or she feels to be of value to that person's organization.  Sometimes this is done successfully, sometimes not; employment managers are just as fallible as anyone else.  Obviously, with the well-thought-out resume just created, you have greatly improved your chances of getting the interviews you want.  But now you want to remove as much of the remaining doubt as possible from the employment equation.

The individual cover letters that accompany your resume when you mail them to employers can be as helpful to your job campaign as a personal introduction to your potential employer would be.  The letter of application, or cover letter, should accompany every resume you mail to prospective employers.  However, managers are busy people.  They read dozens of letters, reports, memos, and proposals each week.  They do not have time to read long letters that never get to the point.  Do not beat around the bush.  Do not make the manager guess what you want. 

The purpose of the cover letter is to communicate to the employer a specific personalized message about your potential value to that organization.  It generates interest in you from the person who counts.  It is not difficult to write and it adds a powerful element to your resume.  A good letter introduces you to the employer, briefly states the purpose of communication, highlights pertinent information from your resume, and suggests a meeting or interview.  It should not reiterate everything in the resume, but should complement and expand upon the resume and support a position as to why the applicant should be considered further.  Remember that the main purpose of a cover letter is to get the reader interested enough in you to want to read your resume.

The cover letter is actually a sales letter.  It sells you to the prospect, calling his or her attention to the qualifications summarized in the resume and thus motivating him or her toward sales action.  As a sales letter, the covering letter is best built upon the sales cycle of attention, desire, conviction, and action.

      Attention

The letter is addressed to an individual.  It avoids the stereotype "This is in reply to your advertisement in..."  It offers the writer's main qualifications as an answer to the reader's problems. 

      Desire

The interest aroused in the opening is converted into desire by stressing resume items that relate to specifications in the help wanted advertisement.  The power of the resume is advanced to support the letter.

      Conviction

Continuing to describe and to introduce resume items, the writer introduces conviction material.  The reader is assured that the interest is a deep one.  The reason for wanting to change jobs would be tied to the interest. 

      Action

The action requested should always be an interview.  A prospective employer is much more likely to respond favorably to an interview request.  Make it difficult for the prospect to turn you down.  Avoid vague endings like "If interested, please let me know."

In the cover letter, remember to do the following:

      *    Type it neatly on 8 1/2" x 11" bond paper.  Keep it clean and free of obvious errors.

      *    Keep it brief (no more than 4 paragraphs)

      *    Never send a form letter.  Each letter should be individually composed.

      *    Always address your letter to a specific person and with his/her appropriate title.

      *    Take the initiative when closing by asking for an interview.

      *    Use your own style of writing.

      *    Use correct sentence structure and grammar.

      *    Always send an original and not a copy; however, once a good letter has been developed,                                 it may be used as a model many times with slight revisions.

      *    Avoid "I-itis" -- excessive use of "I,:" "my," and "me"; blend the letter and the resume.

      *    Keep a copy of all correspondence sent for your own records.  You will be amazed how                                   helpful this can be.

COVER LETTER TIPS

*    Never mail a resume without a cover letter.

You may hand a resume to a prospective employer at the beginning of an interview.  You may send a resume to a prospective employer through some third party--say, a friend or a placement director.  But when you mail a resume, always accompany it with a cover letter.

*    Address by name to the individual with power to interview and hire you.

A cover letter is always prepared for some individual.  Never run off a set of form letters to accompany your resumes.  Find out who is responsible for hiring in the firm you address, if you do not already know.  Prepare a special cover letter adapted to him and to the occasion. 

*    Plan your letter before you write it.

You will write better cover letters faster if you begin with a plan.  Take a piece of scratch paper and make a few notes that help you see the job opportunity clearly.  Match your qualifications with the job requirements.  Use a scratch outline to plot the paragraphs of your letter. 

*    Adapt the letter carefully to conditions of job opportunity.

You are hired for a job because you meet certain conditions better than anyone else applying.  An employer has a problem to be solved and he needs a certain type of employee to solve it.  To find that employee, he establishes conditions which must be met by the applicant he chooses.  When you write a cover letter, you must always show how your qualifications meet the conditions of the job opportunity.  Your resume summarizes many of your qualifications in terms of your job objective.  Your covering letter must show specifically how items of your background match both the obvious and special conditions of that job.  Stress in the letter the main items of education and experience and also special qualifications for the job advertised. 

When an application letter is invited, conditions are usually stated in the want ad or the instructions given to an employment agency.  An invited letter responds to a request for applications issued by an employer.  Blind ads pose several problems for the job applicant.  They do not identify the advertiser and thus make adaptation of the cover letter difficult.  They do not always represent actual job openings; often they are written to feel out the availability and salary expectations of the labor pool.  When an application letter is uninvited, adaptation is more difficult.  The uninvited letter must be adapted to a reader who does not expect a cover letter and resume.  It must catch attention without referring to conditions listed in a want ad or other invitation.  It must direct his attention to the possibility of a vacancy and establish some of the conditions to be met by the ideal applicant.  Finally, it must show how the writer has qualifications that make him the ideal applicant.

*    When responding to a blind ad, compare the blind ad with other ads for the same type         of employment for a pattern in the need expressed. 

If you find a number of ads seeking the same kind of help--both blind and open--build a composite view of the job target.  Usually, blind ads individually do not give you enough data for hard-hitting adaptation.  With imagination and your knowledge of the field, you can tailor your cover letter to fit the needs of the advertiser.  If you do not find a number of related ads, weight the job stipulation critically to see what is really wanted and what stipulations count most.  Beware the blind ad that represents a job very similar to the one you now have; it may come from your present employer who is feeling out the market.  Nothing is more embarrassing than having a boss say, "So you want to leave us.  I just received your answer to our blind ad."  It may be most disadvantageous to let your employer know that you are canvassing the market for a new job. 

*    Open with an idea that captures attention and leads to your strongest selling point.

The opening must convince the prospective employer that the whole letter and the resume enclosed are worth reading.  A good opening captures attention in a way that focuses your strongest selling point.  The idea and phrasing of the opening must be arresting.  Your reader may be screening hundreds of letters or he may be preoccupied with many other duties.  Only the letters that capture his attention will be read.  But this opening must transform attention into interest and desire by flashing as early as possible the great benefit you offer the reader. 

*    Avoid the stereotype opening--Make the first five words strong. 

Never begin with a dull idea or cliche' phrasing.  When you answer a newspaper ad, you invariably refer to the want ad, but you must never open with that want ad reference.

The strongest selling point (big benefit) opening.  Sometimes your strongest selling point provides the best possible opening.

The arresting-idea opening.  Sometimes you must open with an idea that is primarily an attention getter.  Your strongest selling point may not fit the opening paragraph or it may not have enough attention-getting appeal for your reader.  The secret of the  arresting-idea opening is choosing an idea that relates to your strongest selling point. 

The name opening.  Sometimes the name of an influential person, known to both you and your reader, provides the best possible opening you can use. 

*    Tap the power of your resume.

When you develop your strongest selling point and your various supporting points, draw attention to your resume.  References to the resume bring the full power of that resume into play.  You do not have to comment on more than one or two resume items to tap the full power of your resume.  But make those references specific.  Never refer vaguely to the resume. 

*    Answer the question "Why should I see you?"

The work world operates on value, not need.  You are of interest to a potential employer to the degree that they experience you as being valuable to them, not for what you are looking for from them.  In the body of your cover letter, communicate some special way that your skills can be valuable to the potential employer.  Create interest in yourself.  This will require some basic understanding or research in your target field, not a major research project, but mostly an expanded familiarity with the interests of the potential employer and a willingness to show how you can make a contribution.  Do not be afraid to take a few risks in describing what you feel you ould do for the employer.  If you are not directly on target, even the fact that you are talking in terms of value rather than need will create interest.  Be careful not to set the letter in a negative tone and criticize or put down what the company has done.  Communicate your ability to assist and support, not that you threaten what they do.

*    Use their language

Every field has its own jargon and technology.  Use the right terms to indicate your ability and expertise.  An excellent way to improve your knowledge of the nomenclature of the field is to read back issues of trade journals and articles by professionals in that particular field.  Watch out for overkill.

*    Ask for the interview

Salespeople call this the "close"--the time when you ask for the business.  In this case, the "business" is a personal meeting (a more subtle word than interview).  Ask for it.  You can even suggest a date and time.  Closing your cover letter this way makes it easy and natural for you to follow up with a phone call.

Your Name

Your Street Address

City, State, Zip

Telephone Number

Email Address

Today's Date

Ms. Susie Jones

Human Resources Manager

Allen Design Company

185 Broad Street

Dallas, Texas  76222

Dear Ms. Jones:

Your opening paragraph should arouse interest on the part of the reader.  Tell him why you are writing the letter.  Give information to show your specific interest in his company.

Your middle paragraph should create desire.  Give details of your background that will show the reader why he should consider you as a candidate.  Be as specific as possible about the kind of job you want.  Do not make the reader try to guess what you would be interested in.

Refer the reader to your general qualifications on your enclosed resume or other material.  Use as much space as you need to tell your story but keep it brief and to the point.

In your closing paragraph, you ask for action.  Ask for an appointment suggesting a time when you will be free.  A positive request is harder to ignore than a vague hope.

Very truly yours or Sincerely,