As mentioned in the previous topics, a resume should never be without a cover letter. The main purpose of a cover letter is to describe your intention for sending your resume, and to concisely expound on credentials relevant to the position you are applying for.

Cover letters also serve to impress employers with your attitude, personality, and communication skills which will be evident in your resume cover letter. Hence, creating a good first impression is monumental in getting that much-needed interview.

For more ideas about what to write in your cover letter, we are providing you these free cover letter samples to look at and customize to detail your own background. You may also refer to our Cover Letter Formats section to learn how a cover letter should look like, including its body and required contents.

There are two categories for cover letters, and they fall into these:

Letter of Application

You use an application letter when applying for a certain job opening. Nowadays, cover letters and resumes may be sent through email or hard copy. See this sample resume cover letter:

F-5 Apartment Heights Dr.
Blacksburg, VA 24060
(phone number)
(Your email here)

May 13, 2008

Dr. Michael Rhodes
Principal, Wolftrap Elementary School
1205 Beulah Road
Vienna, VA 22182

I enjoyed our conversation on February 18th at the Family and Child Development seminar on teaching young children and appreciated your personal input about helping children attend school for the first time. This letter is to follow-up about the Fourth Grade Teacher position as discussed at the seminar. I will be completing my Bachelor of Science Degree in Family and Child Development with a concentration in Early Childhood Education at Virginia Tech in May of 2007, and will be available for employment at that time.

The teacher preparation program at Virginia Tech includes a full academic year of student teaching. Last semester I taught second grade and this semester, fourth grade. These valuable experiences have afforded me the opportunity to:

• develop lesson plans on a wide range of topics and varying levels of academic ability,
• work with emotionally and physically challenged students in a total inclusion program,
• observe and participate in effective classroom management approaches,
• assist with parent-teacher conferences, and
• complete In-Service sessions on diversity, math and reading skills, and community relations.

Through my early childhood education courses I have had the opportunity to work in a private day care facility, Rainbow Riders Childcare Center, and in Virginia Tech's Child Development Laboratory. Both these facilities are NAEYC accredited and adhere to the highest standards. At both locations, my responsibilities included leading small and large group activities, helping with lunches and snacks, and implementing appropriate activities. Both experiences also provided me with extensive exposure to the implementation of developmentally appropriate activities and materials.

I look forward to putting my knowledge and experience into practice in the public school system. Next week I will be in Vienna, and I plan to call you then to answer any questions that you may have. I can be reached before then at (your phone number).

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

(handwritten signature)
Donna Harrington
Enclosure

1. Below is an email version of cover letter:

April 14, 2006

Mr. William Jackson
Employment Manager
Acme Pharmaceutical Corporation
13764 Jefferson Parkway
Roanoke, VA 24019
jackson@acmepharmaceutical .com


Dear Mr. Jackson:

From your company's web site I learned about your need for a sales representative for the Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina areas. I am very interested in this position with Acme Pharmaceuticals, and believe that my education and employment background are appropriate for the position.

While working toward my master's degree, I was employed as a sales representative with a small dairy foods firm. I increased my sales volume and profit margin appreciably while at Farmer's Foods, and I would like to repeat that success in the pharmaceutical industry. I have a strong academic background in biology and marketing, and think that I could apply my combination of knowledge and experience to the health industry. I will complete my master's degree in marketing in mid-May and will be available to begin employment in early June.

Enclosed is a copy of my resume, which more fully details my qualifications for the position.

I look forward to talking with you regarding sales opportunities with Acme Pharmaceuticals. Within the next week I will contact you to confirm that you received my email and resume and to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Lynn A. Johnson
5542 Hunt Club Lane, #1
Blacksburg, VA 24060
(your phone number)
(your email)

Resume attached as MS Word document (assuming company web site instructed applicants to do this)

As you would notice in this email version, your contact details (address, phone number, and email) go down below your name and signature.

Letter of Inquiry

A cover letter can also be a letter of inquiry which expresses your interest in an organization without certainty if there are current job openings. Refer to this sample of cover letter:

(email version)

December 12, 2007

Mr. Robert Burns
President, Template Division
MEGATEK Corporation
9845 Technical Way
Arlington, VA 22207
burns@ megatek .com

Dear Mr. Burns:

I learned of MEGATEK through online research using the CareerSearch database through Career Services at Virginia Tech where I am completing my Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering. From my research on your web site, I believe there would be a good fit between my skills and interests and your needs. I am interested in a software engineering position upon completion of my degree in May 2008.

As a graduate student, I am one of six members on a software development team where we are writing a computer aided aircraft design program for NASA. My responsibilities include designing, coding, and testing of a graphical portion of the program which requires the use of GIARO for graphics input and output. I have a strong background in computer aided design, software development, and engineering, and believe that these skills would benefit the designing and manufacturing aspects of Template software. Enclosed is my resume which further outlines my qualifications.

My qualifications make me well suited to the projects areas in which your division of MEGATEK is expanding efforts. I would appreciate the opportunity to discuss a position with you, and will contact you in a week or ten days to answer any questions you may have and to see if you need any other information from me such as a company application form or transcripts. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

William Stevens
123 Ascot Lane
Blacksburg, VA 24060
(your phone number)
(your email)

Resume attached as MS Word document