Cover letters are always necessary. Whether you're sending a resume by mail, email, via a friend, or in person you must have a cover letter attached. A resume without a covering letter won't tell prospective employers which position you're applying for, and if there's more than one position advertised who's to know which one you're applying for? If you don't take the time to write a covering letter employers are unlikely to bother trying to figure out which role you're seeking or bother to read your resume.

COVER LETTERS - BRIEF AND SUCCINCT

Letters targeting specific advertised positions should be clear, succinct and address the relevant criteria. No matter what your background or how extensive your experience your letter should not be more than an A4 page in length In most cases 3-4 paragraphs will be sufficient.

COVER LETTER STRUCTURE

Addressing the letter

Your name, address, telephone number and email address goes at the top left hand side of the covering letter. Underneath you place the name, position title and address of the person to whom you are sending your application. Below their address details, insert the date.

Greeting

Start your letter by using the title and name of the person whom you're addressing i.e. "Dear Ms Smart," "Dear Dr. Blog," and only use a first name if you know the person. If no name is given Dear Sir/Madam will suffice.

Body of the letter

There are four major points you'll need to make in the body of your letter. Succinctly addressing these increases the chance of your letter actually being read!

1. State the position/role you're applying for. If you're not responding to a specific advertised vacancy, state the type of position you're seeking, but don't make your approach too broad or you'll appear unfocused.
2. State where you saw or heard of the position. If you saw the ad in the paper, mention the name and date of the publication. If you heard about the job through one of your networks, mention them by name stating you were referred by them.
3. Explain why you're ideally suited to the role. If possible, use bullet points to highlight key achievements and accountabilities that relate to the selection criteria; a useful approach is to use the actual words outlined in the advertisement. Avoid using phrases that give the impression you're not positive (e.g. I hope..., I may not have much experience but..., please give me a chance). Equally avoid overstating your achievements.
4. Request an interview and close: Ask for a meeting/interview as your concluding statement e.g. "I welcome the opportunity to meet with you and discuss how I might add value to (insert company name)".

It is best to cover points 1 & 2 in the first paragraph, point 3 should make up the bulk of the letter and point 4 is usually the only sentence in your closing paragraph.

Salutation

End your letter with 'Regards' if it's contained within the body of an email, or "Yours sincerely" if you've used a name (i.e. Dear Ms Matters), if you're letter is 'Dear Sir/Madam' the correct salutation is "Yours faithfully".

Finally if sending your application by email make sure you send documents in the format requested - if there is no file type specified use "Microsoft Word" as this is a very common software program. You can put the content of your covering letter into the body of the email and attach the resume as a separate document.