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It’s time to get a job. You have gone through the advertisements and found a job you would like to apply for. You have put a lot of time and effort into your functional resume, and now it’s time to write the perfect cover letter to compliment your resume and start your career in the work force. This is a daunting task, as you aren’t looking to highlight previous work experience; you do want to expand upon your specific skill sets and achievements, accomplishments and goals, and your aspirations for the future.

One way to do this is to print out the advertisement. Read it carefully, and highlight the skills and qualities you have that the potential employer is looking for. On a separate sheet of paper, jot down the list you highlighted. In a clear, concise manner, write a brief description of the qualities you possess from what you highlighted. Remember, this is your introduction to the company, so be creative, diligent, daring and savvy. The idea is to make you stand out above the rest of the applicants. If you have recently graduated from college, write down some skills you learned while you were a student. If you did some volunteer or community work, make sure to include it in your letter.

You are also making a commitment to the potential employer, so being honest and genuine is very important. Functional resumes tend to make hiring managers very nervous, as it doesn’t list any employment history, so you want to make this person feel like they must contact you and invite you in for an interview. Never forget to write about your goals and accomplishments. You want to highlight achievements, and any honours you received in your past, without listing previous employers.

A functional resume cover letter should never be more than one page long. Hiring managers have hundreds of resumes to glance over, so it’s really imperative that you take your time writing the cover letter. You are on an advertising/marketing adventure and the product being sold is you. There is no way to say if the functional cover letter gets read or not, but it’s better to be safe and write a cover letter than not to, and not have your resume read but thrown in the garbage instead.

In today’s job market, the competition is stiff. One survey says that for every job opening, there may be over three hundred applicants. The hiring manager has to weed out all the undesired applicants and invite ten people in for an interview. With hard work, creativity and a little bit of confidence, you will make the potential employer want to interview you. Having a functional resume cover letter can only help. Remember, there are lots of jobs out there, so if you don’t succeed the first time, keep applying. As you write more functional resume cover letters, it will become easier. The key is to not give up. You will get what you are looking for eventually. Good luck!

Petrusia Kowal is a decorated award-winning resume writer with hundreds of sample resumes on display at local job banks. Her recent Components of a Great Functional Resume article is now available at http://functionalresume.ca.