You will send your cover letter to an employer in one of three ways. Either you will mail it along with a copy of your resume, send it via e-mail, or submit it along with your resume through an online job-search site in response to a job posting. The content of the body of your cover letter will be the same regardless of how you transmit it. The format of your cover letter will differ depending on whether you send it by mail, e-mail, or electronic submission to a job-search Web site. Generally, if you submit a cover letter through an online job-search site, you will be asked to compose the letter by completing a form. Follow the directions on the site you are using. For a cover letter that you will send by mail or e-mail, use the formatting suggestions in the following sections.

Sending Your Cover Letter by Mail

For many people, writing a business letter — on paper — is an unusual activity. Most of our written correspondence these days is by e-mail. When you compose a business letter you must follow a prescribed format. A business letter is composed of six parts:

• Return Address: This should include your name and address.

• Date: Use the date you are sending the letter. If you plan to write the letter but not send it for a couple of days, don't use today's date, but instead use the date you are going to send it.

• Inside Address: This section includes the recipient's name, title, company name, and address, each on a separate line.

• Salutation: This is where you address the recipient — for example, “Dear Ms. Smith.” Avoid addressing your letter to “Dear Sir or Madam,” or worse, “To Whom It May Concern.” Make every effort to ascertain the name of the recipient.

• Body: Here is the meat of your cover letter. Begin by telling the recipient why you are writing — for example, “I am writing to apply for the administrative assistant job advertised in the Delaware Sun.” Go on to tell the recipient why you are qualified for the job, and close by asking for an interview. Look for more on the body of your cover letter below.

• Closing: Close your letter by saying either, “Thank you,” “Yours truly,” or “Sincerely.” Then leave room for your signature beneath that, and follow that, on the next line, by typing your name.

There are two styles to choose from when writing a business letter. You can use indented paragraphs or block paragraphs. If you use indented paragraphs, you should place your return address and date at the top right side of your paper and the inside (recipient) address on the left, followed by the salutation and the body. You will begin all paragraphs by indenting five spaces.

If you use block paragraphs, all content is flush left. Rather than indenting each paragraph, you will separate paragraphs with a blank line. Block paragraphs are more commonly used than indented paragraphs, and that style will be the one used in sample letters in the following two chapters. Some people, however, still prefer to indent paragraphs. Here are samples of each style.

Strong writing skills are a requirement for many different types of jobs. Think of your cover letter as the first chance you have to demonstrate your writing skills to a potential employer. You want the body of your cover letter to clearly convey your intent. To achieve this goal, your writing must be concise. Use simple language. You want your words to stand out in the reader's mind, so avoid using clichés.

Always make sure you use correct spelling and proper grammar. After you write your letter, put it aside for a little while before you proofread it. You may not catch your mistakes immediately after writing it. If possible, have someone else proofread it as well. It is difficult for most people to find