Tips to Make Looking for Work a Lot Easier

By Erik Michaels

Finding a job these days can be tough... it seems like most of the good ones are filled and the ones that are left have every unemployed person in the world after them. Getting a decent-paying job in such a demanding market is becoming harder and harder, but there are some things that can make it a little less impossible.

While there are quite a few tips I could give you, I'm mostly going to focus on one of the "secret" tools that very few people seem to know about or properly utilize: the cover letter. Attached to your resume, your cover letter talks directly to a possible employer and outlines why you think you're not only qualified, but the best candidate possible for the job you're after.

The cover letter is usually your first shot at impressing a business and potentially getting a job, but there are so many people who just throw one together as quickly and sloppily as possible, or don't use one at all! A cover letter is too valuable to treat like this, so keep the following tips in mind when you're designing your cover letter:

1) Always tailor your cover letter to suit the exact company it's going to. Do some research on the business so that you can figure out what they'd want in an employee and make sure your cover letter is written in a way that tells them that you have what they need. Don't make the common mistake of sending out identical copies of a generic cover letter to multiple businesses...all you'll get is a bunch of rejection notices, if anything.

2) Your biggest threats in the job hunt will be other people who know how to use their cover letters. The only way to win out is to make sure yours is PRISTINE. No spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors allowed. No unnecessary personal information, just solid relevant facts. Keep the overall tone positive, as it'll instill positivity in your readers, and all of this needs to be done in about 2-4 paragraphs, no more than a page.

3) This can apply to more than just your cover letter, but being proactive is essential to beating out other job candidates for the position you're after. Sitting at home after you send your letter to Human Resources won't get you anywhere...send your letter to somebody at the company who can flat-out hire you, and make follow-up calls. Be the one to make the call to set up an interview appointment, and be readily available at hand should they have any need to talk to you further. Put forth more effort than the others, and you'll stand out above the rest.

These are the biggest points to remember, even if it's not everything you could ever need to know about how to best use a cover letter. Honestly, I couldn't put all you need to know into a single article...but these are the high points that can decide the difference between getting the job and ALMOST getting the job. From here on, all you have to do is begin!

Looking for an idea of where to start? Get into the right frame of mind with free cover letter examples. Free tips and resources at http://www.squidoo.com/coverletterexamples

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