Conclude with a reference to your resume and some optimism

Your cover letter should transition nicely into your resume. This means two things. First, your cover letter should not be a simple rehash of your resume. The two column method allows you to highlight key qualifications (which are what the employer is really looking for). Second, it means that you need to mention the enclosed resume. If you do this correctly, the logical next step is for the reviewer to look at your entire resume right away. If the reviewer reads your entire resume before moving on to other cover letters, you have won a major battle.

You should also conclude with some optimism. Let the contact know that you look forward to hearing from them soon with regard to an interview. Depending on your level of assertiveness, you can also inform the reviewer that you will call in a week to set up an interview time. Make sure, however, that you actually call if you say you will. Finally, it is a good idea to end with something a bit more meaningful than “sincerely.” I have used the line “thank you for your time and consideration” with great success. After all, you want the reviewer to take a significant amount of time considering your qualifications.

Writing good cover letters takes time. Your spelling and grammar on each cover letter, as well as your overall design, must be impeccable. It is much easier to write one form cover letter, and one resume. If you think about it, however, your cover letter and resume are your way of asking an employer to potentially spend hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars on you over the course of a career. Viewed in that light, the investment of time and effort required to write a superior cover letter is small indeed. If you follow some basic steps, you can maximize the return on your investment by landing an interview.