
A cover letter serves as an introduction to your resume, encouraging an employer to consider you as a viable candidate for a position. This one-page business letter should give a summary of your skills, experience, and background as they relate to the job for which you are applying. Always include a cover letter when sending your resume, except when you personally deliver your resume to the interviewer. Demonstrating your knowledge of the employer while emphasizing how you can help them should be a key component of the cover letter. Be sure to relate your skills to the requirements of the job by interpreting and highlighting accomplishments stated in your resume. In the closing, be assertive and ask specifically, for an interview. Your cover letter on average will have an 8 second attention span, so be brief and informative. Consider three recognizable parts: 1) opening explain why you are writing