7 steps for crating a successful Cover Letter

You have taken the opportunity to create, in your opinion, an award winning resume. You have worked exceptionally hard and have been diligently focused on representing yourself well.

The equation is not complete however, you must include a cover letter with that resume. It's like Salt & Pepper going together. The resume is one step but the inclusion of a Cover Letter offers the Hiring Manager and HR staff the opportunity to hear you showcase why YOU are the excellent candidate for the job they are searching high and low to hire.
What should you be including in this Cover Letter? Here are 7 great steps to ensure you are creating one for success:

1. Grab the recruiter or HR Managers attention. THIS is the main reason for the letter in the first place.
2. Always include your name and contact details. There is ALWAYS a chance it can get separated from your resume and it would certainly be a shame to have it happen to you so always ensure it does not.
3. Always address your reader by their NAME and NEVER "To Whom It May Concern". You can be extremely creative locating the names if you truly do your research. Linkedin offers you a wonderful way of locating the name of the person who is doing the hiring. Merely go into the search box, type the companies HR Manager or Recruiter and I assure you it will pop up. VOILA!
4. Always demonstrate your  passion, confidence and self belief in the first sentence. You absolutely read that correctly. You want to grab their attention and hold them and this is the time.
5. Don't start your sentences with "I". Keep in mind that this letter is created for the employer and not yourself.
6. Keep the letter to one page ONLY!! 3 paragraph's is plenty.
7. Review, Revisit and Rewrite. Spell check is your very best friend, USE IT. I don't care if you won the spelling bee when you were in 6th grade, USE IT. Grammar is expected as well. I can tell you from personal experience I have watched HR Managers dismiss resumes upon first glance because there was a spelling mistake or grammatical error. It looks very bad.

These all seem to be simple no brainer to me and probably to yourself as well but please realize that the simplistic s of it are extremely imperative. The are keys to creating an impressive cover letter and will evidently get you into that all important JOB INTERVIEW. Do it right the first time, sell yourself and congratulations, you have the interview!!