Do you need to write a cover letter for a job? By following these six easy steps, you'll find the path to a successful cover letter is a simple one. By taking it one step at a time, you can ensure that your cover letter will be drafted, written, and sent off without much stress - and with a good chance of success.

Here are six steps you can follow to write a winning cover letter.

1. Analyze the Job Listing Give the job listing a careful read and see where your own experience best matches up. Be discriminatory about which of the company's requirements you choose to highlight, as you are going to use these selections to make a table in your cover letter.

Remember that when all is said and done, your cover letter should only be one page long. The points you choose should be the ones that are most significant to the position, but also the ones that provide specific examples and compelling anecdotes about your experience.

Aim for half of the company's requirements, but keep it under five or six total. Here's how to match your qualifications to a job listing.

Tip: When you copy and paste from the job listing into your word processor, proofread the listing for typos that might be in the listing. The person who gives your application a first read probably won't know - or care - that the mistake wasn't your fault.

2. Look for a Specific Employee Name Through Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and even Instagram, you may be able to find the name of a relevant employee to whom you can address your cover letter.

For example, you can use Twitter's advanced search to find names, and if the company has a profile on LinkedIn, you can view its employees from there.

Don't just choose a random individual, but if you can, find someone in Human Resources - preferably a Director or Manager - or a higher-up within the department you're applying to.

This is a key way to kickstart your application and make sure it gets to where it needs to go.

Tip: If you're going on a major stalking spree on LinkedIn, adjust your privacy settings so that other people can't see you've viewed their profile. While connecting with a company on LinkedIn can be a good way to increase your visibility, you probably don't need them to see that you've clicked through their entire staff on LinkedIn.

Tip: If you know someone at the company who can refer for the job, mention them in the first paragraph of your cover letter.

Tip: If you can't find a person's name, here's how to address your cover letter.

3. Create a Table or Paragraphs Highlighting Your Qualifications Next, make a two column table with the company's requirements on the left side, and your matching attributes on the right side.

When you make the table, you'll need to make it two columns. Then, take the number of requirements you're choosing and add one for the header. So, for this example, which has focused on five points, the table is two columns by six rows.

Tip: If you need something to jog your memory for the right side of the table, see if you can find a copy of the job description for your current or past position, which will give you a nice guideline on how to phrase your past responsibilities and your professional and personal attributes.

Tip: If you're having difficulty creating a table, you can include your qualifications in paragraph form.

4. Format Your Cover Letter - You can incorporate the table format right in your cover letter. Now that you've made your table, you should copy and paste it into the body of your cover letter. This is often called a "T" shape cover letter format. The table should go in between your introductory paragraphs, and before your closing.

It's a nice look to format the table with invisible borders, although it's not absolutely necessary. To achieve this in Microsoft Word, right click on the table, select Borders, and Shading, and then click "None" on the left-hand side of the small window that pops up.

Review examples to see what a finished cover letter looks like.

Top Tip: You should save your cover letter as a PDF file so that the document retains the proper formatting when it is opened and looked at.

5. Finish With a Follow-Up Finish strong and close the cover letter with the promise of a "next step." That way, even if your application gets lost at the bottom of a pile, when you reach out to the potential employer they'll be reminded to go retrieve your cover letter and resume and take another look.

Finally, be sure to proofread your cover letter so it's error free.

Tip: Reach out when you say you will demonstrate your punctuality and ability to follow through with promises. If you have submitted many different applications and have trouble keeping track of dates, stay organized with an Excel sheet or set reminders with your phone.

6. How to Send or Upload Your Cover Letter How you get your cover letter and resume to the employer depends on the organization's requirements. You may be asked to upload your application documents to the company website or to a job board. Or, you may be asked to email your resume or cover letter or even mail it.

Review these tips for sending resumes and cover letters: https://bit.ly/2JPVOBZ

How can i prepare a cover letter

ohkaaaay. Some of you that are looking for work and not having any luck at it, perhaps you should check your documents before you send out your resumes and cover letters. Some of your spelling and grammar are atrocious. Hate to burst your bubble, but employers look for things like poor grammar, misspelled words, because if you're interviewing for a position that requires corresponding with the public or with clients, the way you present yourself is the way you are representing the company. And if you have mistakes on your application or resume, the employer will not want to hire someone who can't spell or has poor grammar. All of you who use a word processor know that there is such thing as spell check and language, correct? These are tools for you to use to make sure your document is free from mistakes. We all make them, no one is perfect, and we need to use those tools. So if you're wondering why the job hasn't called you, if you have a copy of your resume saved on your computer, go over it and correct any spelling or grammatical errors. It will mean the difference between being hired or not. And if you don't know how to address a business letter, look it up on google. I hope none of you are offended at what I am saying, I'm just trying to help. I made the mistakes I spoke about and didn't find out until after my applications were being turned down. When I checked my resume and cover letter I realized my mistakes and corrected them. Good luck to all of you, have patience and faith. You will find the job for you if you know how to accept constructive criticism and valuable tips from reliable sources. Don't let rejection get you down, just keep your head up and keep smiling. The jobs are out there. Go get them.

How many have we written? A lot! Keep up the work--we all trust it will eventually pay off in a job! :-)

I am 51 years old and have had to put my career on hold due to gaining custody of my grandson, he is now six. When it comes to interviews, being honest, I hate when they ask me where I see myself in five years. Or when they ask me if I have any questions. My mind goes blank. At this point not even sure how to write a proper cover letter, most are just getting out of college or high school, I've been out of college almost seven years. Any advice is really appreciated on how to handle myself during the stress of an interview.

I recently got laid off from my job of twelve years. Part of my severance package was a three month contract with a company that assists in job searchs, resumes and interviews. A couple things they told me -HR searches online jobs by keywords, so make sure the words in the Jo description are in your resume, cover letter and application. If the position is one that you have never done before, e sure to acknowledge that in the cover letter, but also make a list of your skills and point out how they would be applicable to the position for which you are applying. Definitely use social media, heck to see if you can contact HR via the web. In the long run, there may be a reason that you aren't supposed to be there. It, I always want to fi d out what I am missing. Good luck to you!

There is one thing I have learned in my 37 years of roaming the work force, study who you want to work for. You need to know the company you want to work for before you even send them a cover letter and resume. You need to have a clear idea of the company goals and job you specifically want. Then create your cover letter to highlight the skills for that job specifically. You want to sell yourself to the employer, but not over sell yourself. Taking a chance and working for a temp to hire company is also a great way to return to the work force. They often pay weekly and allow you the flexibility to work different jobs to find a good solid match. Many temp companies also offer courses to enhance your skills and to perfect your interviewing process.

Resume Writing Tips - This one shift in thinking will have you writing resumes in the top 1% of the candidate pool. Find your dream job by understanding the psychology of the person hiring you. Here are the best 5 resume tips for 2017. Between the both of us, Stapper and I have looked at thousands of resumes. Some of these may seem obvious, yet we see these five things every day. And it's annoying. Follow these tips and you'll have successfully avoided getting on the nerves of the receiving hiring manager.

======================== cover letter and resume. How can you quickly and effectively market yourself? In this video, Linda Spencer, assistant director of the Office of Career Services, offers cover letter and resume writing tips to sell yourself and get your foot in the door.

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Does Jobcase assist with creating a cover letter ? And can I make it part of my resume on Jobcase ?

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