Welcome to the Cover Letter discussion. Why do you need a cover letter? What should be in a cover letter? Should you have a different cover letter for submitting electronically?

In the old days, when cover letters were attached to resumes and mailed to a prospective employer, it was fairly easy to figure out what they should look like. Now that resumes are sent electronically, the way the cover letter will look depends on what software is being used to view it. Some online applications make cover letters optional. Should you always include a cover letter? How should it look? What should it say?

Ask these questions and anything about cover letters in this forum. If you know some of these answers, please share your knowledge. Consider writing an article about cover letters and become famous as a guest writer!