As the job market is getting tighter and tighter, you really have to make sure you are on top of all the aspects of your job search. One area that is often overlooked by job seekers is the importance of a cover letter. With more and more job seekers just blasting off resumes to every online posting, the cover letter has gone by the wayside. This can be a critical part of your job search but one that is often over-looked. Let me give you a recent example of a job seeker who was struggling with this area of his quest to land a job in pharmaceutical sales.....

I was working with a candidate named Michael. Michael was a recent college graduate and knew he wanted to get into pharmaceutical sales. So right out of school, he took the first job he landed which was selling residential alarm systems. He had been selling for a couple of years and had some decent results but had not received much training. Now he was sending his resume out to every pharmaceutical job posted but with no response. One of the first things we talked about was the cover letter he was sending and Michael said, "What cover letter?" Surprisingly, Michael was not sending out a cover letter with his resume. He was just sending the resume, no matter what the job opening was or how he heard about it. Right away, I knew this was his biggest mistake. In my nearly twenty years of experience as a hiring manager for Johnson & Johnson and then a leading recruiter in the industry, I have discovered and developed three different types of cover letters that never fail to produce results. I worked with Michael to write these three types of cover letters that really highlighted his experience and I taught Michael how to know which cover letter to use in which situation. For example, one of the most common types of cover letters is what I call the Requested Cover Letter. This type of letter is one that you write when you are specifically applying for a job opportunity that you saw in the newspaper or online. In some sense, the recruiter or hiring manager has "requested" your resume by posting a job opening. In this cover letter, you want to specifically address the letter to the recruiter or hiring manager mentioned in the ad. Please do not use the dreaded "Dear Sir" or "To Whom It May Concern." This just looks like you were too lazy to figure out whom you were sending the resume to, and you will certainly offend any female hiring managers along the way. Also, it is important in this type of cover letter to individualize your background and experience to the qualifications mentioned in the ad, which is exactly what I taught Michael to do. I also showed him how to speak to the qualifications that he did have, even if he did not have the specific requirements mentioned. I worked with Michael to write some great cover letters for him - everything from the strong opening paragraph that really "sold" him to the specific action steps he spelled out at the end of the letter. You always want to give the hiring manager or recruiter a specific action step at the end of the letter that you are requesting of them. Or better yet, let them know what you will do. For example, you could end the letter with, "I will contact you next week to follow up to make sure you received my resume and to further discuss this opportunity with your company."

So why do you need a cover letter, much less three different types? Simply put, the cover letter is the marketing letter about you. It entices the recruiter or hiring manager to want to know more about you. You should never send out a resume without a cover letter. In the cover letter, you can add a personal touch to your resume and show the recruiter or hiring company that you are a serious candidate. In addition, a well-written cover letter can highlight your written communication skills and give you an edge over other candidates.