A professional cover letter is a must when you are seeking employment. Believe it or not, some job hunters give the cover letter short shrift or even disregard it altogether. With competition for jobs being tougher than ever, this is a surefire way to take yourself out of the running.

What to Include in a Professional Cover Letter
Your cover letter is an opportunity to give information that is not on your resume. Since the letter should be customized to each individual position, discuss specific skills and experience listed in the job description. If the position requires a strong self-starter, give an example of a past achievement that resulted because of your skills as one.

A professional cover letter should also look smart. Print on the same high quality paper you use for your resume. Some people create their own personalized stationary by including their name and contact information at the top in an attractive design. The letter should be no more than one page, any longer will lose the readers attention. When sending a cover letter via email, the message should be shortened to a couple brief, yet high-impact paragraphs.

Lastly–yet very importantly–proofread your cover letter. Even better, have someone with good editing skills proofread it. A typo or grammatical error indicates carelessness and lack of sophistication and can easily cost you the position. Youve taken a good deal of time to craft a well-written, professional cover letter. By all means, do not let a small, sloppy detail destroy your chances of landing a great job.