Cover Letter Bloopers

• Addressing your cover letter "To Whom It May Concern." Your letter will concern absolutely no one if you don't take the minimal trouble to tailor your cover letter to the company you're applying to.

• Writing a generic cover letter and listing lots of companies in the 'to,' 'cc,' or 'bcc' line.

• Not sending a cover letter at all.

• Asking for information in a way that makes clear you made no attempt to find the answers to your questions yourself – for example, writing a letter to Microsoft to ask about entry level jobs without having checked the corporate website first.

• Asking if the company is still accepting cover letters and resumes for a particular opening. Just send them! You don't need permission.

• Asking the hiring manager to go to your website to view your resume and cover letter. Yes, this is a bad idea even if you're applying for a web design job.

• Forgetting to sign your letter – or (worse) indicating that you don't realize letters should be signed.

• Listing your salary and other requirements. There's a time and a place for salary negotiations. Your cover letter isn't it.

• Signing yourself as "your servant." That is so nineteenth-century. Get over it already.

• Writing, "I can send my resume by Monday if there is still a position available." You could help make sure the position isn't still available on Monday by sending your resume now.

• Sending a long, single spaced narrative that resembles a generic personal statement. Employers don't want to know your life story. They just want to know why they should consider you for this job.

• Sending writing samples, artwork, work memos, etc. in lieu of your resume and cover letter. They asked for a resume and cover letter. That means they want a resume and cover letter.