Why A Cover Letter Is A Necessary Addition To Your Resume

Michael Murray asked:


When sending out a resume, the first thing a potential employer is going to look at is the cover letter attached to your resume. The cover letter is an often forgotten but highly important part of the application process. The first thing to know or determine is what type you are going to be writing. There are three basic types of cover letters: an application, a networking, and an inquiring.

The application cover letter is a cover letter which is attached to your resume and expresses interest in an already advertised or open position. A networking cover letter with resume attached is a request for assistance in your search for a job. An inquiring cover letter attached to your resume indicates you are looking for work and requesting they look over your resume to see if your skills fit any position they are looking for. This tells the company you are sending your cover letter and resume to exactly what they are looking for. This translates into your resume getting to the right person without ending up in the reject pile.

Make sure that your cover letter is targeted to the company and position you are sending your resume to. This will help put you closer to the top of the pile or even in the keep pile when employers are weeding through hundreds of cover letters and applications. Since the cover letter not only introduces you but tells your intent it is a vital part of your resume presentation and should be tailored to each individual company you submit applications too. It is also a good idea to include a run down in a short paragraph about your skills and how they meet the criteria for the position. This will also help employers quickly determine if you are someone they want to interview. Including skill information can greatly increase the number of interview calls you receive.

Another thing that a cover letter does is peak interest in your resume. It breaks down the parts of your resume that applies to the particular position or types of positions available. It is said that an employer gives only approximately thirty seconds of review to each resume received. If they do not see anything of interest in those thirty seconds, they move on. A cover letter provides a targeted resume summary giving you extra time to state your case when it comes to selling yourself as a potential employee.

Taking the time to set up a cover letter with the company name and address, your contact information, contact person directly responsible for hiring for the position you are looking at. As well as a summary of your skills and what you can bring both to the position and company is a sure fire way to make sure your resume stays at the top of the pile.