Many people craft their resumes until their jobs are well-described, and their educational background is well-outlined. Other people take care of their writing or design samples, so that such articles look professional, and show how masterful their creator is. Still other people strive to get themselves noticed in popular media and online, so that when they apply for a job, they have media clippings to show their prospective employers. And still, other people concentrate on schoolwork, so that they have a great transcript to show off come job seeking time.

What many job applicants cannot do, however, is write an effective cover letter that can go with the resume, samples, and clippings. A resume will only list your accomplishments, but it cannot describe how you applied the things you learned. Writing or design samples can show your abilities, but not your people skills. Media clippings can show that you are savvy with the press, but they do not describe what you are like behind the klieg lights and photographs. Lastly, a transcript will list only what you learned, not how well you used your knowledge.

An effective cover letter will show prospective employers what your other documents cannot. It can present your prospective employers with evidence of your ability to talk, reason, and sell yourself – all in a few paragraphs of text set on a single page. In other words, an effective cover letter not only presents your accomplishments: it talks about you.

What goes into an effective cover letter? One major element is personality. If you pick a generic cover letter from a magazine or website, chances are, you will look like a generic would-be employee as well. This is something you want to avoid if you want to stand out from the crowd and get yourself hired.

A fault of most generic cover letters is the heading of “Dear Sir or Madame,” which can alienate your prospective employer. Do research on the company you are applying for: an effective cover letter should show that you are also aiming to meet the goals of the company, and that you know exactly who to talk to. Both these tasks show that you are resourceful, and that you know what exactly you want – two characteristics that employers look for when they are hiring new staff.

Use language that is attention grabbing. Another mistake many people make is to use big words or convoluted sentences, thinking that they can impress their prospective employers with language. You can impress your prospective employers more by being simple and direct: they have little time to open their dictionaries or decode your English, so they are easily impressed by brief letters that grab their attention and go straight to the point.

However, be polite and professional, and avoid being curt. Remember, you are the one in need of a job, and you need to show what you are like when you finally get the job. Maintain tact at all times, be creative, but do not be childish – if you pepper your cover letter with witticisms and jokes, your prospective employers will not take you seriously.

Lastly, request for an interview, and provide all your contact information. An effective cover letter should not leave the recipient hanging; instead, it should show the recipient what he or she should do. End your letter on a positive note, and follow up a few weeks after you send the letter. Show that you are persistent, but not annoying; and that you want the job, but you are not desperate.

An effective cover letter should show you as you are. You have to be passionate about the job, professional, and yet full of enthusiasm and great ideas just waiting to be heard. If you can make an effective cover letter to go with your resume, transcript, writing samples, and media clippings, then you have already won half the employment battle.