Your cover letter is one of the most important documents you will send an employers and to write effective cover letters, here are six tips.

1. Try as much as possible to address the cover letter to a specific person. Call the company and see if you can get an exact name and be sure that you know the exact spelling of the name. There is nothing worse than receiving a letter that is addressed "to whom it may concern".

2. Avoid reciting the exact same information that's in your resume. The cover letter is meant to highlight your "unique selling points" as they relate to the jo and entice the employer or recruiter to read your resume, then call you in for an interview. .

3.Try not to be too brief. Many of my students treat the cover letter like a transmittal letter shortchange themselvesl by saying very little, by just telling the employer to to read about it in their resume. However, the cover letter is meant to qualify your resume; it is meant to highlight the best things about you, especially if they are relevant to the job, and entice the reader to investigate further in your resume. Remember, the cover letter is the first contact the employer has with you.

4. Avoid being pompous in your cover letter. By all means, describe your accomplishments and how you can be of value to the employer, but try not to be grandiose, which means avoid exaggerating your accomplishments, or indicating that may want to run the company or the department in a short time, heck, even take over the current recruiter's or hiring manager's job. This kind of letter will annoy the reader quickly.

5. Try to be very reader focused. Explain to the employer what value you will be bringing to the job and address as much as possible their requirements. Many perspective employees make the mistake of focusing too much on "me", rather than focusing on employer. Self-centeredness is a major turnoff in a cover letter. The employer will quickly lose interest and your resume will be discarded.

6. Finally, try not to be sloppy. Edit your work. A cover letter with spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors is another major turnoff to an employer. It tells him or her that you are careless and have poor attention to detail

Good cover letters require some thought and care and diligence. They can mean the difference between an interview that leads to a job, or having your application sent to the "discarded" pile.