There are still some job seekers who are reluctant to submit a cover letter as a part of the job application package. People come up with different excuses, such as "it is an old-fashioned move", "no one reads them anyway" or "cover letters don't have much weight at all", etc. Regardless of the excuses job seekers choose to stick to, many hiring managers still prefer reading a cover letter prior to getting to a resume. The reason for that is that a cover letter allows sharing a career story along with motives and excitement for a new job. If job seekers get those two things wrong, hiring managers wouldn't want to spend time on reviewing a resume. Yes, it is true that some employers don't pay attention (or won't even read) your cover letter. But what if they do? Are you ready to risk it all because your are lazy to prepare a cover letter? At Prime-Resume, we believe it is never wrong to include a cover letter as a part of job application; even if it never gets read - it's OK, but if HRs actually take time to read it - you can turn everything into your favor.
How to Develop an Effective Cover Letter?
Despite the fact that a cover letter is an accompanying letter (which means it is an addition to a resume), it doesn't mean it is not important. As we have mentioned before, HRs can make a decision to whether read your resume or ignore it based on a cover letter. This implies that job seekers don't have to take cover letter writing lightly. With today's job search challenges, people have to use every chance they have to land an interview. And writing a cover letter is that another chance of yours (if you make it good enough obviously). 
The most important thing about cover letters is that they are great tools for communicating your motivation and explaining why you want to work for the company. You can't really do that on a resume since the format doesn't allow for that kind of information to be included. However, a cover letter is a perfect vehicle to say that you are truly excited about this new opportunity. Now when we talk about excitement, we don't mean demonstrating your desperate desire to find a new job nor we are talking about being emotional. Instead, show that you actually cared enough to research the company to understand what the organization is all about and what the job requires. In other words, your willingness to join the company can be displayed by how you did your homework.
Learn about your potential employer as much as you possibly can before writing the cover letter. It is crucially important that you know what the company does as well as its main values, philosophy, and plans. Additionally, carefully study the job ad to understand what kind of applicants they are after. It is only when you did all of this, you can sit down to write the cover letter. Make sure you reflect your knowledge of the company as well as job requirements on the cover letter. Sell your relevant skills and explain what's so special about the company that you want to work there. If possible, highlight some accomplishments of yours that would be relevant to the employer. When the hiring managers know you already did something similar in the past and achieved success, they would more likely invite you for the interview.
Cover Letter Length
Make sure you never go beyond one page. This kind of document isn't an essay or research paper where you can share what you've discovered or what you believe in. A cover letter is simply a document that is meant to help employers understand where you are coming from career-wise. No need to share your bio. Keep it concise, don't try to squeeze in everything onto one page. Remember, all you need to do is to explain why you are a good fit for the position and demonstrate your enthusiasm to work for the company. Check our cover letter examples for better understanding.
