How to Write a Cover Letter and Get a Job Faster

With at least 300 million people in the U.S., finding a worthwhile job in today's job market is a tough chore for almost any American. According to country statistics, it the average jobhunter could easily be on the prowl for over 9 months! With that sort of competition, any kind of edge over the competition would be welcome, right?

Well, such an edge actually exists. There's no such thing as a sure thing in this field, but the edge I'm talking about can rocket your odds of snagging a job faster and seriously reduce your time spent on the prowl. What is this edge? It's called a cover letter.

I've told people before that to turn a resume in that doesn't have a cover letter would be like showing up buck-naked to a serious interview. As you can imagine...you wouldn't likely do too well in that situation. It'd be much better to show up in a gorgeous Armani suit, would it not? That would create a great first impression, showing your businesslike side and making the employer think of what a profitable relationship they could have with the hardworking, responsible person you are. Armani, thy name is "Cover Letter."

Now, first elimination is always the cover letter. The people who show up naked to their interviews get thrown out first, while the guys with the best, most expensive suits go much further. The better your cover letter, the better you start out. Of course you'll have to be qualified for the job and ace your real interview, but a great cover letter can GET you that interview.

So what do you do to improve your cover letter? Why don't you try looking at some example cover letters that have worked for other people? It'd be a bad idea to copy someone else's letter, but learning from examples and utilizing someone else's technique is pure genius. Ask yourself a variety of questions as you read the examples, such as why this worked for them and what makes it different from yours.

Not only will this help your skills at writing cover letters, but it also builds critical-thinking and analysis skills that will become very useful in the workplace and make you more valuable to your employers. Higher value equals better job stability, so that's never a bad thing.

And above all, I must stress to you that the cover letter has two essential key purposes. If it doesn't do these two jobs, it can be considered a failure. A successful cover letter needs to first outline your skills and qualifications, and also encourage an interview. The first is fairly obvious, since a cover letter is made to accompany a resume...you'd expect it to have to do with your qualifications.

The most key point of a cover letter, however, is to encourage and possibly set up an interview with the employer. A cover letter that doesn't land you an interview isn't doing its job well. Always remember that making the jump from "piece of paper" to "person sitting across from me" in the minds of your potential employers is essential. When they stop thinking of you as just another application, and start thinking of you as the person who could fill their open position...that's when the cover letter has done its job.

To start off, you can get some free cover letter examples by visiting this site. There you'll find all you need to learn how to write a cover letter. With that knowledge at your disposal, you can get a job faster.

Article Source: http://www.c3careerarticles.com

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