A cover letter is usually formatted using three paragraphs.  The first paragraph should tell the employer the position you are applying for, where you learned about the opportunity, and ask that they consider your enclosed/attached resume to be considered for the opportunity.

The second paragraph should provide a brief summary of your skills as they relate to the position you’re applying.  In this paragraph, it is important that you match your skills and qualifications to those that the employer requires and/or prefers as described in their advertisement.  For example, if the employer seeks someone with a Bachelors degree in Accounting, five years of experience in the accounting field and prefers that you possess experience with QuickBooks and Peachtree Accounting systems, you should highlight this information in this paragraph if you possess these skills, experience and/or level of education.  You may also want to tell the employer why you’re applying to their company specifically and use information obtained from your research to let the employer know what impresses you about the products and/or services they provide.  Perhaps you learned that they were recently awarded with a special award or participated in a community event that you support as well.

Finally, in the third paragraph, take the time to thank the employer for considering you for an interview and provide them with information about how they may best contact you.  Be sure you don’t forget to sign the letter.

Everyone has their opinion and idea about what should and should not be included on the resume. There is no such thing as a resume expert and certainly the “perfect” resume does not exist. With that being stated, there are basic rules that should be followed when writing your resume. The question you should always ask yourself when deciding whether or not to include information on your resume is if that information will help to market you to the employer and the position that you are seeking.

RULES OF THE RESUME

1. Ideally, you should keep the length of your resume to one page. If you are an experienced job seeker, two pages is acceptable; however, be sure to use that second page effectively. In other words, make sure that you fill the second page with relevant information.
2. Include an Objective in your resume. If you don’t let the employer know what you’re applying for, you’ve already created a poor impression of yourself. Be clear about what you want so you don’t make the employer guess. They aren’t going to take the time to figure it out.
3. Use only size 12 Times New Roman or Arial Font.
4. Single space within sections; double space between them.
5. Refrain from using any colored fonts. Those job seekers in creative career fields such as interior design, graphic design and others may break this rule as the use of color is relevant to their career and may help market their skills to the employer. Just don’t overdo it!
6. Don’t include any personal information on the resume. The resume is no place to list your marital status, birthdate, or social security number.
7. Don’t rely on spellcheck! Always proofread your resume carefully and ask two to three other people to do the same for you.
8. Use bullets to highlight your skills and accomplishments.
9. Emphasize accomplishments and results achieved instead of simply listing duties performed for each experience. (i.e. Implemented a new accounting program that increased efficiency in the department.)
10. Do not list your references on the resume. References should be listed on a separate sheet.
11. Do not list supervisor’s name and/or phone number, reason for leaving, or wage/salary information.
12. Print your resume on resume paper.

Here are six items that are best left off your resume:

Photographs

While this may have been a popular option in the 70s and 80s, those times are long past. Because many recruiters and hiring managers now peruse social media profiles of candidates, you can include a professional photo on each of these sites. Note the word professional: the photo should show you dressed in business attire with no excessive jewelry or tattoos in evidence. Another consideration is that many employers dislike photos on resumes because they may then be accused of hiring discrimination based on age, race, ethnicity, etc.

Jobs over 10 years in the past

The basic rule is not to include jobs that you held from 10 to 15 years in the past. Baby Boomers especially need to be careful not to include jobs they may have held 20 or 30 years ago. Why provide employers with a hint of your age before they meet with you in person? If you want to include this information, place it under the heading” Additional Relevant Experience with no dates. Age discrimination may be subtle but does exist. The same can be said of educational history—don’t list dates of college graduation if over 10-15 years in the past.

Irrelevant experience and accomplishments

While you may have been the best burger flipper at the fast food joint near your college campus, think whether this experience will advance your candidacy for a Trust and Estates Paralegal position. Limit all past experience and accomplishments to those which most closely match the needs of the job you are applying for. Even if you are making a career change, you can tailor your resume to highlight your transferable skill set. For example, if you were a teacher and now transitioning into the legal field as a T&E Paralegal you can stress that through teaching you possess highly developed communication skills, detail orientation, ability to explain complex topics to a “lay audience,” work effectively under pressure, and build relationships with a wide range of personalities (e.g. colleagues, administration, parents and students).

Gaps in work history

If you have gaps in your employment, best to take a proactive approach and provide a brief sentence that will explain this situation. For example, under work history you can include the statement “2002-2003 Childcare Sabbatical” or “ 2001-2004 Sabbatical to take care of elderly parent.” Do not elaborate but let the sentence stand alone. Many employers may not even touch this during the interview.

Objective statement

These statements were popular at one time but have gone out of style in recent years, mostly because job seekers used boilerplate phrases rather than tailor the statement to each job and employer. The objective statement has been replaced with a section entitled Summary of Qualifications.

Reference statement

Most resumes end with the statement “References furnished upon request.” Most employers know that references will be furnished if requested so this statement does not add any value to your resume.