Most people will advise you on which fonts to use and how to word thing but although these points are important there's is one major feature of a CV that sometimes gets over looked. The cover letter: it may feel as though this is an empty gesture and any potential employer will just look at your CV for the relevant information but in a recent survey as many as 40% of employers have overlooked a CV without a cover letter because of the lack of effort.

So it is crucial to include one to be a serious contender for any job but what is it that the employers are looking for in a cover letter? Find out the specific person or department who will be dealing with the applications and address the letter to them.

This is your chance to give a basic introduction to yourself and it can either grab someone's attention or bore them senseless, so keep it short and punchy, give your current job title or last job title and give a general description of the tasks involved. Give any professional qualifications that have lead you into this field.

I gained a two year diploma in customer services from Any College and have worked in the customer services industry for the last 6 years. I have recently been made redundant from A Bank PLC where I was a Customer Support Manager dealing with customer complaints, overseeing a team of customer services and general office duties.

Then offer you're plans for your career development.

So.. I am hoping to continue in the field of customer relations as I feel that interacting with clients in a difficult situation plays to my interpersonal skills. I have plans to attend a course in problem solving should I be unable to find work at this stage.

Then talk about why you want to work for them, do a little research into the company and find out what they have been doing recently and make sure they know that you know.

I am really interested in working at Travel Anywhere Inc as I would be an ideal candidate for the Customer Support Supervisor with my previous work experience and qualification. I have very strong people skills, natural problem solving skills and am calm and professional in any crisis. I believe that Travel Anywhere Inc have joined with the Flights All Over The World Company and will be increasing their standing in the holiday industry and I would like to be a part of this exciting expansion.

The pleasantries:

I look forward to hearing from you soon with regard my application and can be reached via email or my mobile.

Don't start with a description of why you are writing to them as technically they have requested this information via their advertisement, they would know you applying for a job but putting a REF: with the official title, that will make it clear, should they be advertising more than one position. Sign off with how you're are contactable so that you will seem keen and ready for the interview.

Marie is a passionate careers adviser who likes to help many jobless and unemployed people with skills re-training. Marie works for www.RecruitmentRevolution.com who are an online recruitment agency in the UK.