Editor's Note: In part 2 of this article, Ms. Hansen continues her talk about the best appproach to a cover letter.

A cover letter needs to be specific in every way. Otherwise, it's a fairly pointless document. Some experts say even a resume should be specifically tailored for each job. While we feel that a degree of resume tailoring is sometimes desirable, extensive tailoring is unnecessary if you're specific with your cover letter.

Here are more ways you should make each cover letter specific:

Specific Examples: Whenever possible, don't just offer unsubstantiated value judgments about yourself; use concrete examples to demonstrate your claims about yourself. Example:

I demonstrated my strategic ability when I successfully developed a direct corporate sales program and a corporate affinity program for ToyVillage.com.

Specific company knowledge: Demonstrating knowledge of the employer to which you are writing is not a mandatory part of a cover letter, but it's a great touch that will often win favor in the eye of the employer. On one level, you can write something that sounds specific to the company you're writing to but that really can be said to any employer:

I am intensely interested in contributing my skills and experience to your firm because of your company's reputation for quality.

On a higher level, however, you can do your homework and write something that truly is specific to the company you're writing to:

Over the last two years I have followed the unfolding events at Guffman Enterprises with great interest as the firm moved into financial and broadband services.

Specific tailoring to a want ad: If you're answering an ad, the specifics of your cover letter should be tied as closely as possible to the actual wording of the ad you're responding to. I've had students express concern that it's plagiarism to use the words of an ad in one's cover letter, but here's a case where using someone else's words is a plus rather than a minus. In his new book, Don't Send a Resume, Jeffrey Fox calls the best letters written in response to want ads "Boomerang letters" because they "fly the want ad words -- the copy -- back to the writer of the ad." In employing what Fox calls "a compelling sales technique," he advises letter writers to: "Flatter the person who wrote the ad with your response letter. Echo the author's words and intent. Your letter should be a mirror of the ad." Fox notes that when the recipient reads sucha letter, the thought process will be: "This person seems to fit the description. This person gets it."

A particularly effective way to deploy the specifics of a want ad to your advantage is to use a two-column format in which you quote in the left-hand column specific qualifications that come right from the employer's want ad and in the right-hand column, your attributes that meet those qualifications. The two-column format is extremely effective when you possess all the qualifications for a job, but it can even sell you when you are lacking one or more qualification. The format so clearly demonstrates that you are qualified in so many areas that the employer may be willing to overlook the areas in which you lack the exact qualifications. See a sample letter in a two-column format www.quintcareers.com.

Specific benefit to employer: Jeffrey Gunhus writes in his new book, No Parachute Required www.quintcareers.com "The purpose of a cover letter is to explain how you (the candidate) will benefit me (the company)." Your letter should should tell very specifically how you will meet the employer's needs, solve the employer's problem, or otherwise benefit the hiring company. For example:

When I interviewed Ms. Kirkwood six months ago to obtain information about a career in real estate, she mentioned that the agency would like to establish a Web presence. I’d like to combine my interest in real estate with my knowledge of Web page design and HTML programming to help you create a Webmaster position in your office. I’ve even sketched out some preliminary ideas on what your Web page might look like, and I’d love to get together and show them to you.

Specific request for action and specific description of your planned follow-up action: Don't be vague about your desire to be interviewed. Come right out and ask for an interview. Then, take your specific action a step farther and tell the recipient that you will contact him or her in a specified period of time to arrange an interview appointment. Obviously, if you say you will follow up, you have to do so. If you take this proactive approach and follow up, you will be much more likely to get interviews than if you did not follow up. This follow-up aspect is another good reason to obtain the specific name of the hiring manager. Here's a sample closing paragraph requesting specific action and describing the writer's planned follow-up.

I would like to be considered for a sales position in which someone of my background could make a contribution. I will contact you soon to arrange for an interview. Should you require any additional information, I can be contacted at the phone numbers listed above.

-Katherine Hansen

Katharine Hansen is Chief Writer for Quintessential Resumes and CoverLetters www.resumesandcoverletters.com and Creative Director for Quintessential Careers www.quintcareers.com. She is a Credentialed Career Master and Certified Electronic Career Coach. She can be reached at mailto:khansen@resumesandcoverletters.com.