I'd like to discuss cover letters. Here's my basic philosophy on them: don't bother.

That's because the cover letters I see usually fall into one of three categories:

The recap: The rйsumй in prose form. It's redundant, harder to read than the rйsumй, and provides no additional insight.

The form letter: This says, essentially, "Dear Sir or Madam: I saw your ad in the paper and thought you might like me." And it's clearly a form letter where maybe they got my name and company right. If they're lucky, I will still take the time to read their rйsumй after being insulted with a form letter.

The "I'm crazy": This one's rare, and it expands on the rйsumй of experience with some personal insights. Examples range from the merely batty ("I find batik as an art form has taught me to become both a better person and project manager.") to the truly terrifying ("I cast a pentagram hex and the central line pointed towards your job listing. I know you will find this as comforting as I do.")

There are really only a few times to use a cover letter:

When you know the name of the person hiring
When you know something about the job requirement
When you've been personally referred (which might include 1 and 2)
Under those conditions, you can help your cause by doing some of the rйsumй analysis for your potential new boss. To illustrate, here's the best cover letter I ever received:

Dear David:
I am writing in response to the opening for xxxx, which I believe may report to you.

I can offer you seven years of experience managing communications for top-tier xxxx firms, excellent project-management skills, and a great eye for detail, all of which should make me an ideal candidate for this opening.

I have attached my rйsumй for your review and would...