In a cover letter, you highlight the ways your skills and experiences match what the employer is looking for in the job. To get an interview, make sure your cover letter tells them you have the key skills and experience they are asking for. (Don't waste time applying for a job you don't have the required qualifications for; find one you want that you do.) Like resumes, it's important that the cover letter fit the style of the field and the language they are using in the job posting; a great resume or cover letter for a customer service job is not going to help you get a job in research or teaching. When looking for examples or getting career help, look for sample cover letters that fit:

• The field or type of job you want to apply for, and

• The level of job you are qualified for now (i.e. if you have an AA degree or one year of experience, look for sample cover letters from people with similar levels of experience. If you have a Masters degree or five years of experience, look for similar sample letters.)

While the exact content of your cover letter will vary depending on the job you are applying for (just like a your resume will too!), the broad strokes remain the same.

1- Contact Information: include your name, phone number, address, and any other professional information you'd like to share, such as a website or portfolio link. 

2- Greet the Reader: If you are able to, find the name of the hiring manager or application reviewer and greet them directly with "Dear Firstname Lastname:" Otherwise, use a general term such as "Dear Hiring Manager:" or "Dear Members of the Hiring Committee:"

3- Cover the requirements: In the first sentence, name the job you are applying for ("I am interested in your position as a Research Assistant 1."). Go through the job posting. Find the required qualifications (It may be bullet points, or language such as "Candidates must have...") In the first paragraph of the cover letter, briefly say how you meet each of the required qualifications (Example: job posting says: Bachelor's degree in science required. You say, "My Bachelor's degree is in Biology." Etc.) People usually put the most important things first, so use the order they are written in the job posting. If the job posting lists a required or highly desired qualification that few people will have (i.e. "speak Tswana," and you are fluent in Tswana), you can start with that.

4- Body Paragraphs Highlight Your Qualifications: For the next paragraph, find the part of the job posting that talks about preferred qualifications. It may be bullet points, or language such as "The ideal candidate will also have..." Say how you meet each of the preferred qualifications that you do have. (Ignore those you don't.) Say more about the skills and experiences you have that meet the required qualifications: those achievements you are most proud of that you think are most relevant for this kind of job. Use language from the job description to describe these skills and experiences: the job posting tells you the language that your readers will understand best.

5- Why this job and this employer?: For the final paragraph, look at the overall language of the job posting. What are they telling you about their values and goals? What do they think is important about this position? Look up the employer (you can look for their "mission statement" or "values statement.") See where their language matches your interests, values, or goals. Where it does, say so: tell them briefly and honestly why you would be excited to work in this job for this employer, and something you'd hope to be able to bring to it, learn from it, or do in it.  

6-Thank them and close: In the last (short) paragraph, thank the reader for their time and let them know you would be excited to sit down with them for an interview to discuss the position more. One short way to do this is to say "Thank you for your consideration. I hope to hear from you." Make a line break, and close: Sincerely, [your name].

A cover letter should be no longer than one page. Use a standard 12-point font with one-inch margins. Do not crowd the page: readers are reading a lot of these, don't make them tired. Edit your draft letter so it says the most important things you want to tell them, in a clear way.

It depends. Does the job application give any specific instructions for submitting a cover letter? If yes, then follow those guidelines. If nothing is specified, then there are a couple of different options.

Submitting an Application by Email? If the address to send the application is to a person involved in the hiring (for instance: "Send applications to Rose Flores, Application Committee Chair, rflores@college.edu") you can use the body of the email as a cover letter. If the address given is a general one (for instance: Send applications to applications@college.edu), you can use the email to say that your application and a cover letter are attached, and attach the cover letter to the email as a Word document or .pdf. 

Either way, make sure the subject line of the email is what the application says it should be. If the job posting does not say, make the subject line: "Application for [name and/or number of the position, as it is listed in the job posting].

Filling Out an Online Application Form? Often, there will be a dedicated spot to upload your cover letter. If not, you can use any spot given to attach additional documents, or a text box for additional information you would like the company to know. 

Indeed has a directory of sample cover letters in many different fields to help you get started.

The Purdue OWL (online writing lab) has a whole section of job search resources, with templates and examples for writing job letters and emails in fields from skilled labor to academic professor. They have resources for all levels of experience, and ELL writing resources.