About two years ago, I got laid off. During my search, I learned the power of the cover letter. I got the Knock'Em Dead series of job hunting books and used the "executive" briefing style of cover letters. It really paid off. The cover letter alone allowed the prospective employer to review my qualifications as compared to their listed requirements. Of over 200 resumes I sent out, each one went out with a custom cover letter. It took a lot of time, but paid off. Of about 200+ resumes I sent out, I got over 20 first line interviews, 10 second level interviews, and three job offers. I actually had people say that they were so impressed with my cover letter, they just had to interview me (even though they already knew I wasn't quite qualified for the job, they just wanted to give me a chance).
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About two years ago, I got laid off. During my search, I learned the power of the cover letter. I got the Knock'Em Dead series of job hunting books and used the "executive" briefing style of cover letters. It really paid off. The cover letter alone allowed the prospective employer to review my qualifications as compared to their listed requirements. Of over 200 resumes I sent out, each one went out with a custom cover letter. It took a lot of time, but paid off. Of about 200+ resumes I sent out, I got over 20 first line interviews, 10 second level interviews, and three job offers. I actually had people say that they were so impressed with my cover letter, they just had to interview me (even though they already knew I wasn't quite qualified for the job, they just wanted to give me a chance).