What options are available to you when it comes to writing cover letters? If you don’t write them yourself, you have to consider either paying a ghostwriter to do it for you or buying software that can automate the process. Both options are expensive, so it is better to go on and write it yourself if you can. But where do you start if you do not know how to create a cover letter. The answer is by evaluating a sample cover letter.

Where are the best places to find a sample cover letter? Many cover letter books will provide a lot of sample cover letters, but unless you get these books from the library you will have to pay for them. So the better option is trying to find a good sample cover letter off of the Internet. The best way to do this is to type in the keyword “sample cover letter” plus whatever industry you are trying to get into. This is because if you just type in “sample cover letter”, you will get sample cover letters for all types of jobs. While this may still be of assistance to you, it is better that you get a sample cover letter that is written for the specific position you are applying for.

Depending on the sample cover letter you have access to, you may have an automatic template you can use for creating your own cover letter. What is a template? It is simply a document that contains a predefined layout. This layout usually covers font face, font size and graphic design. In terms of the text, you would replace what is already written with your text. And since the template would be coming from a sample cover letter, you would already have what you need to appropriately create your own text. However, don’t be tempted to copy any portion of the text found in your sample cover letter. Not only is it plagiarism, but it is downright lying. Plus, with services like http://Copyscape.com, employers can tell whether or not the contents a cover letter were genuinely written or simply stolen from a sample cover letter. Remember, only use your sample cover letter as a guide for writing. If you really like how a phrase is worded within a sample cover letter, consider using a thesaurus to figure out a different way to express it.

If you’re interested in helping others write cover letters while making a little bit of extra money, consider showcasing your own sample cover letters that would no longer be of use to you because you decided to switch career paths. To make money doing this, you would have to enroll in Adsense, a program that pays you each time a person clicks on your ads. Your website content would be a perfect draw for visitors, since there can never be enough sample cover letters to look at. If you provide enough sample cover letters on your site, hopefully your visitor will stay long enough that they will be interested in your Adsense ads. Just make sure that any and everything on your website was written by you and that you don’t plan on continuing to use the cover letters. If you do you might be falsely accused of plagiarism, if your employer finds that the cover letter has already been used, (which it would be because it’s on your site).

Image taken on 2009-09-28 13:13:19. Image Source. (Used with permission)