*** Why Bother with a Cover Letter When Applying for a Job?

You can never know what happens to a cover letter. Some cover letters are electronically scanned, some are read and some are tossed! You can’t take the risk of not doing a cover letter when your future employer reads and analyzes every response. So bit the bullet and do it.

Here are some tips and issues to remember. A cover letter can do FOUR THINGS:

Hook the reader
- Refer to personal referrals that will open doors, ways you can solve their current business needs, specific experience that will aid your applicationr

Mirror the job posting
- If the job asks for Oracle experience, include the word Oracle. But don't make the matching obvious. E.g. must be excellent team player and you write "I am an excellent team-player".

Highlight your relevant accomplishments
- Improved sales by 10% making my division the highest producer in the company.

Give them extra information about you. - Answer the show-stopper question - for some employers thinking about visas etc. it was whether I was British or American - so I added joint US/UK citizenship. - Include the juicey personal information that you can't include in the resume. E.g. Petco values you having a pet. Your personal pet situation does not fit well into a resume but goes well in a cover letter!

And finally keep it short! I usually recommend a one or two line hook and then two or three bullets with accomplishments. Weave into the letter the key words or phrases from the posting that you want to match.

GOOD LUCK!