The importance of resume cover letters is often underestimated by jobseekers. A well-written cover letter may mean the difference between a serious perusal of someone's resume, and a glance before it enters the circular file.

Apart from just plain forgetting to write them, one of the most common cover letter mistakes is to use them to duplicate everything you already wrote in the resume. Instead, the cover letter should complement and expand upon the resume.

Imagine that you're the one sitting at a desk with piles of resumes to look at. They're all printed on nice, white paper. All of them are covered in objectives and skills.

Quite a few of them have letters, some of them very long. Overwhelming, isn't it? Set yourself apart. Write a cover letter that grasps the attention of the reader and gives them several reasons to turn to the next page.

But how do you begin? You can always learn by example. There are many example resume cover letters online. You'll find cover letters available for all kinds of different jobs in several different formants. You can find them all by using your favorite search engine.

Of course, if someone well-known to the company or interviewer has referred you and given you permission to use their name in your cover letter, do so! Employee or networking referrals can go a long way towards ensuring your resume gets considered.

Next thing you need to do is study the job description. Write references to it and describe how your skills make you suited for the job. The easy thing to do would be to repeat everything that's on your resume, but this is a golden opportunity to take everything a step further. Remember the job description, and tell the readers how your skills will benefit the company.

"What's in it for me?" Imagine that this is the very question that the interviewer is asking. Chances are that's exactly what the interviewer's thinking every time he or she is reading resume cover letters. If you answer well, the interview will be yours!