I love that cover letter! (Yet I feel like I might be being insulted when I read this.) While the writing is very creative I dread to think anyone really communicates like this regularly.

Yes that cover letter did get our attention. No the candidate did not get an interview. This cover letter was intended for a part time accountant. Had the open position been something that involved creativity such as a writing job this cover letter might have obtained an interview for this candidate. Your cover letter can be creative but must fit the level of creativity or professionalism of the target position.

Now on the other end of the spectrum I received the follow cover letter that appears to have used article spinning software:

I found out later that this candidate was a native born and English educated United States citizen. This person outsourced his resume and cover letter writing to a foreign freelance resume service.

Cover letters are a combination of marketing science, creative writing, professionalism, and common sense. Common sense starts with proper English or correct rules of the language the letter is in. Employers need to know they can communicate with a potential employee.

Your resume cover letters can be precise, short, and to the point. Yet they need to be grammatically correct and make a connection with the employer. Resumes have a very limited ability to make any emotional connection to an employer. Letters make connections.

Marketing methods are designed to make connections with readers. Just like advertising your letters have only a few seconds to create interest and a desire to interview you.

Do employers really read cover letters?
When speaking to a large group of HR employees from a number of Fortune 500 companies I asked a question: How many of you read all the resume cover letters received?

The answer to my informal survey was about ninety per cent of them. As you might know they receive tons of resumes daily and many resumes are now scanned by software programmed with chosen keyword algorithms.

Now here is the interesting information: I asked how many of these same HR employees read all the resumes they receive. Less than one third of these same people raised their hands. I have seen about the same numbers before.

What this means: This means that far more cover letters are read than resumes.
Why? Because letters are like conversations. They are messages that tell a story. Cover letters are also usually seen before resumes. Email letters are opened first and hard copy letters are usually placed over resumes.

So the importance of cover letters for job hunting cannot be overstated. In fact, a cover letter can be so powerful you can get interviews without attaching a resume at all.

Creating a message that makes a connection with the employer and causes them to like you or be interested in you is your goal.

1. Make a connection with your reader from the start.
The introduction paragraph presents several opportunities to build a connection.
Write to a particular person whenever possible and address him or her by name. State the exact title of the position you are seeking, exactly how you found out about the opportunity, and why you are interested in the company.

2. Use Marketing Principles
In the second paragraph clearly and effectively describe how your most relevant skills and experiences can be beneficial to the organization. Use the same vocabulary as the employer has used in the job description. Keep this paragraph to five sentences or less. Create interest in why you are a logical candidate and desire for meeting you.

3. Create a Call to Action
Tell them when you are available to meet or request the interview. Add a postscript (P.S.) and tell them you will follow up f you do not hear from them. Make them call you!

4. Follow Up, Follow Up, Follow Up
Follow up letters can be MORE EFFECTIVE than your resume or cover letter! I have sent a string of follow up letters to an employer without ever sending a resume and got a call for an interview! How does that happen? Because persistence can be extremely powerful.

When you create a desire in an employer, in this case the desire to meet you, the employer will go to great lengths and overlook things to interview you. They will even overlook the fact they have never seen your resume! I am living proof.

The employer will see your well written letters coming in week after week, and want to meet you. Often they are not about to call you and admit they have not seen your resume (this can make them look inept like they lost it.)

So follow up and follow up. Send letters or email every week until they either interview you or tell you to stop. See more about cover letter follow ups.