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The importance of resume cover letters is often underestimated by jobseekers. A well-written cover letter may mean the difference between a serious perusal of someone's resume, and a glance before it enters the circular file.

Apart from just plain forgetting to write them, one of the most common cover letter mistakes is to use them to duplicate everything you already wrote in the resume. But, one really should look at the cover letter as a way to build upon the resume.

Put yourself in someone else's place and imagine that you have to sort through a bunch of different resumes. They're all printed on nice, white paper. They're all covered in skills and objectives.

Many of them have letters, some of which are quite long. Does that sound overwhelming? Then set yourself apart. Write a cover letter that grasps the attention of the reader and gives them several reasons to turn to the next page.

So where to start? You can find many examples of resume cover letters on the internet. They are available in several formats, for dozens of different types of jobs. Use your favorite search engine to find them easily.

Now, if someone that the company or interviewer knows well has referred you and also gave you permission to use their name in your cover letter, do it! Employee or networking referrals can go a long way towards ensuring your resume gets considered.

Next, look carefully at the job description, and reference it, applying your skill set in the appropriate places. It might be tempting to just repeat everything you wrote in your resume, but consider that this is a great chance to go even further. Remember the job description, and tell the readers how your skills will benefit the company.

Above all, picture the interviewer reading the cover letter and asking, "What's in it for me?" On some level, that's probably exactly what the interviewer is thinking when he or she reads resume cover letters. If you answer well, the interview will be yours!