by Ronnie Dauber

Created on: August 13, 2008

Cover letters are as important as resumes when applying for a business job. One introduces the other and both are accurate accounts of your integrity and professionalism.

Here are some tips to help you prepare excellent resumes and cover letters for business jobs.

THE LETTER
The purpose of the letter is to introduce yourself to the employer with a request for them to accept your attached resume as your application for the position being offered. It tells the employer how you are qualified in relation to the job position that they have posted.

The letter should contain the following information: your name and address on the letterhead along with telephone number and E-mail address, the name and address of the company or business you are applying to, the name of the person who is responsible for this posting, the date, a greeting such as Dear Sir, the body that explains why you are qualified, the closing such as Yours truly, your name, your initials to show you prepared the letter and either "encl." if the letter is to be mailed or "attach." if the letter is being sent electronically.

The letter does not outline experience or education in detail, but it does state how you are qualified and generally, what similar position or education you have in relation to the job you are applying for.

If there is a posting that outlines the job description, your letter should state how you are skilled or experienced in each of those specifications. It is not good enough to say you know about the subject in general; you must list each one in letter format and state how you are qualified for each one.

THE RESUME
This should have your personal information at the top including your name, address, phone number and E-mail address.

The resume is your personal account of your education and employment record that goes ahead of you to the employer. It is critical that the resume be compromised to suit the employer and not you.

Most employers view only the first few lines of the resume and spend an average of eight seconds deciding whether or not they want to read further. Therefore, it is essential that you say the most important things at the very beginning to keep the employer interested in you.

Directly beneath your heading, state your career objective and make sure it's relevant to the job you are applying for. This shows the employer that you want this job and will work well at it because it will help you to achieve your career goal.

Your qualifications should be listed first on your resume

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