In a world of technology the internet has made it possible for people who are not very good at writing a cover letter for their resume to obtain a free cover letter off the internet. Now this may allow for someone who is not knowledgeable in writing a cover letter to now have one for his/her resume but it also can make the employer kick the resume to the curb without ever giving the prospective employee a chance. The trash can is not where you want your resume to end up just because of some free cover letter you grabbed off the internet.

There are ways that you can use a free cover letter and still land an interview. First off you want to take the cover letter that you have and just use it as a starting point. Think about what it is that the employer is looking for in an employee. What are the needs of the company that you feel that you can fill for the company? Then add this into the cover letter that you have obtained to make the cover letter more personal. This will keep the free cover letter you are using from looking like the same run of the mill cover letters from other prospective employees that the employer is having come across their desk.

When obtaining a free cover letter that you will now be using as a template to create your own personal cover letter, make sure to remove the ‘To whom it may concern’ and replace it with the employers name. If you do not know who the employer is that your resume is going to then make sure to call and find out. This part of your free cover letter will hurt your resume and your chances of getting an interview. By not using a name you will seem like you do not care enough about the person hiring you for them to care enough about you to give you a chance. So remove that part and replace it with the proper name.

In the area where you are to tell them about yourself this is where you need to make yourself shine. There are countless free cover letter samples on the internet that will show you one or two lines that you need to just change a few things around to fit you and then that is it. This is a bad idea and should be avoided at all cost. Make sure that when telling the company about you that you really make sure this area shines. You want the company to see who you are and why you would be an asset to them. Tell the company why they should be hiring you. All of this can not be done in two sentences, so stretch out what your free cover letter is showing you.

After you have told them why they should hire you there is an area below that to tell them why you are choosing them. If your free cover letter that you obtained does not have an area for this then add it in there. A company wants to know why you are choosing them and what it is about them that appeals to you. If you do not know off hand anything real personal about the company that you can tell them appeals to you then you need to do some look closer into the company. Be honest in your cover letter about what appeals to you. By adding this part to your free cover letter you will be not only personalizing your cover letter so it sticks out but also you will be complimenting the prospective employer. We all know that compliments can go along way.

At the end of your cover letter add your signature using what all business correspondence calls for which is blue or black ink. Make sure that your signature is neat and readable. Sloppy signatures will give the wrong impression about you and this is what you want to avoid doing. A neat and readable signature added to the free cover letter says a lot to your prospective employer and this is what you want when trying to get an interview.

Image taken on 2008-11-14 03:24:53. Image Source. (Used with permission)