When you are hoping to write that attention-grabbing cover letter that really stands out, the first place you should head is to the World Wide Web. Utilize a search engine, type in “cover letter samples,” and you are on your way. The only problem you’ll have is deciding which website to start looking through first.

There are sites that actually offer tutorials where you can click on a question and it will give you the answer to some common questions regarding cover letters. If you pay attention, maybe even jot down some notes, these can really be helpful. Visit several of the different sites that popped up when you searched “cover letter samples” and take notes at each site you visit. When you are through looking at cover letter samples, simply compile your notes together and start working on the outline for your cover letter.

You will see while browsing through the cover letter samples a wide variety, probably much more than you imagined; they can be quite specific to many jobs or job types, such as part-time, full-time, summer jobs, and freelance work, to name a few. A targeted cover letter sample would be directed towards only one person, one company, and one specific, or at least one type of, job.

You will find sites that offer, for a fee, to make you a magnificent cover letter that is guaranteed to grab the attention of any prospective employer lucky enough to happen upon it. As tempting as this may seem, do not do it. You need to do the work yourself. And have faith! After looking over several different cover letter examples you should have no problem putting together and truly winning look on your own. No one knows you better than you, right? So, make a list of your best qualities, maybe have a spouse, family member or friend help you if have a hard time coming up with ways to compliment yourself, so to speak. Many people do. The people who love you will most certainly see what is best about you.

Add to your list the words your friends and family have given you; if they need a little more pizzazz, dust off your thesaurus (you probably don’t really have to “dust one off,” most word processing programs have them!) and see if you can use some synonyms that have a bit more flair. After all, you really want this cover letter to shine!

Now, for a bit more of the basics, every cover letter sample you see will probably have a few things in common. They will be as short as they can be while still including everything that would be intriguing to the potential employer. They will avoid fluff as filler, making sure every word counts.

Always remember, that even though to many people a cover letter does not seem very important, it really is, because without an outstanding cover letter, nicely formatted, free of errors, NO TYPOS PLEASE! it is very likely that the prospective employer won’t even turn to the next page to see what you really want him to see, your resume. So, review all the cover letter samples that you can, it can only help you!

Image taken on 2007-01-27 13:43:50. Image Source. (Used with permission)