Resume Cover Letters

Every time that you send out your resume you will need to send out a cover letter with it, whether you are sending your resume in response to an advert or direct to an employer or recruiter. This cover letter needs to tell the person you are sending it to why they should read your resume.

A cover letter needs to say a lot more than just: 'Here is my resume!', which is all some people seem to think a cover letter should say. It needs to tell the person why you are writing to them and outline why you are the ideal candidate for the job. You need to pick out the highlights from your resume that are relevant to this specific application.

Cover letters are discussed in more detail in our Job Search section. In this section you will also learn how to uncover the unadvertised job market through networking. There are examples of cover letters for an advertised vacancy and a speculative vacancy. There are also samples of letters that you can use to start and run your networking campaign.