You may have the best resume in the bunch, but if that cover letter does not somehow get them interested right away, you are just going to end up in the pile with everyone else. While you cannot make it too long that they do not want to read it, you can make one point that will catch their eye. Learning how to write a cover letter for a resume is very easy and here are some tips to get your resume to the top of the pile.

Make it personal - take the time to find out who is going to be doing the interviewing. For large companies, it will be their Director of Human Resources. If it is a smaller company, it may end up being the direct manager. Regardless, find out who it is and address the cover letter to them.

Keep it short but informative - this is very important. You are going to have to open it up with one or two sentences as to what ad you are responding to and what position, that's it. Your next sentence is going to let them know why you are interested in the job. More about why you think you are a fit for the job. Again, no more than 3 short sentences to hammer home the point.

You will then have an informative paragraph that will be covered on the next point and finish it up with 2 quick sentences that you are excited about the opportunity and look forward to hearing from them. Whatever you do, do NOT tell them that you will be calling to discuss the opportunity. That will get a good chuckle and have your letter in the shredder.

Pick an accomplishment to expand upon - your third paragraph is where the wow is going to come from. You are going to have three or four short sentences to drive home a point and set you apart. Look over the job description to see their key points of interest. Choose one of them and give a hit that says something like, "I am particularly proud of .. I did this by..." You gave yourself a perfect lead in with the second paragraph and then can wrap it up in the fourth.

Remember that every sentence and paragraph needs to be short and informative. You have to keep their attention because the moment you bore them, the letter goes back in the pile. A good cover letter will ride a fine line, but you have to do this in order to set yourself apart. Just make sure you don't go overboard.

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