When applying for a job, there is more than just filling out the provided application. Sooner or later you may need to write out a cover letter and a resume. The times you may need to develop these documents are when you are applying for an internship or any other job that is within the profession of your future career. An example for that type of a job is a part-time filing clerk at a doctor's office. You do not need to write a cover letter and a resume when you are applying for a job at the mall. Remember when people are reading your cover letter, they are taking it word for word. Take the time to doing it right. Now, here are some guidelines to have the perfect format and a sample cover letter.

1. FORMAT: The format of the letter should be in professional business letter format. The appearance of your cover letter is very important. If it is disorganized, it may give the wrong idea about you and your work product.
2. CONTACT INFO: You should type out your address, telephone number, email and the date. This should be in the upper right hand corner in that specific order. Next, you should type the contact person's information: name, title, address.
3. SALUTATION/CLOSING: Type "Dear Mr./Ms./Dr./Professor". For a female, you shouldn't type out Miss or Mrs.; if you have received a previous correspondence, you may type out either Miss or Mrs. After you have written the body of your letter, skip a line and "Sincerely," or "Best regards," Skip 3-5 lines and type out your name. Within the space before you type your name, this is here you sign your letter.
4. COVER LETTER FOR SPECIFIC POSITION: First paragraph should state which position you are applying and where did you hear about the position. The second paragraph should explain why you are interested in the position and why the company should be interested in you. The third paragraph should be how the company should contact you. State that you are interested in an interview in a convenient time for the employer's office. Finally, you should express the gratitude for them taking the time to reading your cover letter and resume.
5. COVER LETTER FOR NOT A SPECIFIC POSITION: In the first paragraph, you should write about yourself. This should be similar to a 30 second commercial about you. The second paragraph should explain why you are interested in the position and why the company should be interested in you. The third paragraph should be how the company should contact you. State that you are interested in an interview in a convenient time for the employer's office. Finally, you should express the gratitude towards them for taking the time to reading your cover letter and resume.
6. PROOFREAD: It is very important to proofread. You want to make sure there are no misspellings, grammatical errors or having the wrong information. You do not want to have information on the letter that spells the recruiter name wrong, or even the company. You would not want to have information on the cover letter that is incorrect and is information about their competitor. Have someone proofread the letter to make sure there are no errors. You do not want to leave a bad impression for grammatical errors.