What is a cover letter? It's also known as a letter of introduction, letter of application, transmittal letter, or broadcast letter?and no smart job seeker should send his or her resume without one. Few employers seriously consider a resume that is not accompanied by a cover letter; thus, a dynamically written cover letter must be part of your job search strategy.

Why is a cover letter so important? A resume is useless to employer if he or she doesn't know what kind of work you want to do. A cover letter tells the employer the type of position you're seeking-and exactly how you are qualified for that position.

A dynamic cover letter can give you an edge in the competitive world of job-hunting. The experts say that only two to five of every hundred resume survive the screening process. Clearly, you can increase your chances of being invited for an interview by writing an effective cover letter.

This point is especially true because few applications give much thought to their cover letters, even though they have poured blood, sweat, and tears into their resumes. As the application that has taken pains to write a striking letter you will stand out.

The cover letter is particularly useful if you don't have much relevant experience to put into a resume. It takes much less effort to write a cover letter that demonstrates you're the right person for the job-despite your lack of experience-than it does to actually obtain enough experience to beef up a skimpy resume.

A cover letter highlights the aspects of your experience that are most useful to the potential employer, and you can earn points for knowing what those aspects are. Employers get hundreds of resume, especially when they advertise a choice position.

Employers are also very busy. Often the person-screening resume skims each for only a few seconds. Your cover letter can call attention to the skills, talents, and experience the employer is looking for.

Your cover letter provides the opportunity to show what you know about the field you're interested in and the company you're writing to, as well as your written communication skills. Although some employers place a higher premium on writing skills than others, there are few positions in which the ability to write clearly is not an asset. A well-constructed cover letter can also demonstrate your ability to organize your thoughts and get the point.

Your letter can explain things that your resume can't. If you have larger gaps in your employment history of you are reentering the job market of changing the focus of your career, a cover letter can explain these circumstances in a positive way.

A cover letter can serve the same function as the job objective on your resume, and expand upon it. Some applicants are reluctant to limit themselves by putting an objective on their resume. Although it is best for a job seeker to target the type of work desired as specifically as possible, you may be open to more than one option.

Finally, a cover letter is a little window into your personality. A good cover letter can make an employer think, I'd like to interview this person; she sounds like someone I'd like to get to know better. She seems like just the kind of dynamic person this company needs.

A cover letter is perhaps the most important part of a direct-mail sales package. The product is you. As with any other sales letter, you are trying to motivate a specific action. You want that employer to call and invite you for an interview; a dynamic cover letter can attract the employer's attention and arouse interest.

So, when should you send a cover letter? Any time you send out your resume. Never send your resume without a cover letter. Even when employers don't specifically ask for a cover letter in their ads or job postings, they expect one. The only exception is when an ad states, resume only. Employers often make this restriction when they expect a large number of responses and they plan to use some standard screening device. An increasing number of firms, especially in the technology fields, scan all the resumes they receive into a database so that they can program the computer to screen resumes that don't match their specifications. If you make the cut, the employer then may ask you for a cover letter.