1. Personalize the letter with the full name and title of the person who should receive your resume. You can often get this information from the organization's receptionist. If they are unable or unwilling to help, call back later and ask to speak to someone in the public relations or sales department. These people are paid to talk about the organization and, if you are honest about the reason for your call, you may be surprised at how helpful they can be.

2. Do your research on the company or organization. When you call for the name and title of the person who should receive your resume, ask for a publicity kit, a product brochure or the financial statement if it is available to the public. Check their web site and ask around through your network.

3. Use the Cover Letter Worksheet on page 27 to organize your letter. You need about 75% to 80% of the qualifications the ad asks for in order to be seriously considered.

4. Identify the hard skills from the ad in the upper left section of your worksheet. Hard skills include technical abilities, areas of expertise, practical know-how, industry knowledge and education or training. Opposite each phrase list your own corresponding skills in the upper right section of your worksheet. For example, accounting experience – 6 years in accounts payable and 2 years in payroll processing.

5. Identify the soft skills they want in the lower left section of your worksheet. Soft skills include teamwork, people skills, communication skills, interpersonal skills and other aptitudes that define your personal approach to the workplace. In the lower right section, list your corresponding soft skills. (See page 16 of your resume handout, for the words you highlighted from the Qualities and Characteristics List). For example, customer service oriented – eight years of dealing with new and repeat customers courteously and efficiently.

6. Next, rank your hard skills in the upper right section of the worksheet in order of the strength of your qualifications. Do the same for the soft skills in the lower right section. This will help you organize your letter to emphasize your best qualifications for the job.

7. Finally, add any other qualifications or qualities that are not mentioned in the ad, but might be helpful for this job. For example, speaking a second language, training others, additional computer skills or budget development experience. Adding a sentence or two about the added value you would bring to the job can catch the attention of the employer. It's like offering the organization a bonus set of skills. That's certainly an incentive for them to read your resume and consider you for an interview. This is a step that most job seekers miss when writing a cover letter. Including a ‘value added' sentence will help to set you apart from the crowd.

8. Use the template on page 28 and the completed Cover Letter Worksheet to guide your writing. As you will see, your letter should consist of four paragraphs:

• an opening paragraph with a research sentence
• a paragraph about your hard skills as they relate to the job, with a brief example from your resume, quantified if possible, and a sentence about the added value you would bring
• a paragraph about your soft skills as they relate to the job
• a closing paragraph indicating follow-up action, whenever possible

9. Write a research sentence to show the employer that you went to the trouble of finding out about the industry, the organization, the product or service. It will also demonstrate that you understand something about the organization and have a high regard for it.

10. Add a brief accomplishment statement from your resume to demonstrate your capabilities and entice the employer to take a look at your full resume. You can consider this the advertising ‘hook' in your cover letter.

11. Keep your cover letter ‘light and bright', like your resume. Use clear, concise sentences to make the letter appealing. Don't crowd the page. Limit your cover letter to four paragraphs and each paragraph to six to eight lines.

12. Limit the number of sentences that begin with the word "I". Aim to keep at least half of your sentences short. Keep longer sentences to two to three lines.

13. Set up your letter carefully. Match the heading of the letter to the heading on your resume for a more professional look. Use a block style with a fully justified or left-justified layout.

14. Customize every letter you send out. Like snowflakes, no two should be identical. You may, of course, repeat phrases or even sentences that have worked well in previous cover letters, but examine each letter and make sure it fits the context of the ad. Beware of copying entire paragraphs, since it is likely that some changes, even small ones, will improve its application to the current ad.

15. Watch for typos, spelling, spell-check errors, grammar, punctuation, repetition and spacing. Double-check the letter for accuracy before mailing it. To ensure that you didn't miss anything, you might ask someone else to help you proofread it. Another good idea is to finish it and then look at it the next day to see if there are any changes that need to be made before sending it.