Writing a great cover letter can be the key to your success in a jobhunt. With the average American's search for a job lasting up to nine months, it's more critical now than ever before that you stand out above the rest and get your foot in the door before it gets slammed in your face. The right cover letter can help you achieve that goal.

When corporate Human Resources people are sifting through hundreds of applications and resumes in search of one single candidate to fill the position, the cover letter is the first thing they'll look at. It's the first impression they're going to get of you, and it's your first chance to shine out above the rest of the applicants.

Surviving this first test is absolutely essential to getting the job. The "cover letter round" will make or break your entire shot at the job you're wanting, because the resumes with the good cover letters will proceed onward to the next round, while the resumes with poor cover letters (or none at all!) will be dumped into the paper shredder.

Now, I doubt you somehow found the time to attend college to get a four-year degree in Writing Cover Letters, so you may feel a little intimidated in a world where a great cover letter is almost mandatory. Lucky for you, you don't have to be a cover letter prodigy. All you need is to have a good teacher.

Probably the best teacher around is the good old "example". It's never a bad idea to learn an important skill by talking to people who have successful experience with whatever it is you're trying to learn. Unfortunately, finding these people isn't always the simplest thing in the world, which can make the process something less than easy.

Lucky for you, the person you need here isn't a person at all, it's the actual cover letter! You don't need to go hunting for the people behind the successful cover letters. All you have to find is the cover letters themselves! They're a lot easier to come by, and from them you can learn more than you could from any person.

Being able to analyze and adapt something is a skill you'll be glad to build while you're at it, because such a skill is highly valued in the workplace. Too many people just get lazy and plagiarize, which gets you nowhere...if you take the time to learn what makes a cover letter good, not only will it allow you to create your own successful cover letters, but it'll also improve your analysis skills and make you even better in the eyes of potential employers!

Never forget the real purpose of the cover letter...it needs to do two things above all else: tell why you're qualified, and set up an interview opportunity. While the first point is important, the biggest goal of the cover letter is always to increase your likelihood of getting an interview. If you can get the interview, it's up to you to get the job...but without a strong cover letter, you may not even make it to the interview stage.