The purpose of the cover letter is to get recipient to read your resume. We use a cover letter that has three paragraphs.

• First Paragraph: Give the reason for writing and sending the resume. Also include how you hear about the company, position, date etc.
• Second Paragraph.: highlights your resume and is the "selling" point which meets the requirements that the employer needs
• Third Paragraph: you have to ask for a interview, discussion, meeting.

Here is a cover letter sample. There are several way to do this. The layout can be changed at your preference.

Sample 1

April 1, 2004

Mr. Paul Havejob
Director of Operations
Sinus Inc.
1234 Good Jobs Street, Suite 231
Toronto, ON
M3V 2G4

Dear Mr. Havejob:

or use ( Dear Madam/Sir:) if you do not know who your receiver is.

I am enclosing a copy of my resume for your perusal. I am looking for a Technical Architect position because of my strong previous experience in this field. 

I completed my Master of Science degree, in Computer Engineering. I am very well versed in enterprise architecture, computer programming using several languages, system modeling, business analysis, Object Oriented Analysis and Design (OOA/OOD), Graphical User Interface (GUI) and Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS) under the Unix, and Windows environments. 

For the last two years I was the Infrastructure Architect and Team Leader for a large-scale B2B banking  integration project involving several heterogeneous systems across North America. We had to take an existing legacy application, re-engineer and model the whole business logic and flow, and rewrite from ground up the whole system using state of the art technology to be suitable for a large volume transaction system. 

Previously, I have been directly involved in several Technology Architecture roles overseeing projects different fields: in real-estate, logistics, financial/banking, telecom, medical, security and Internet portals.

I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you in person to further discuss my qualifications. If you need to reach me before that time my number at home is (416) 222-1234. 

Thank you for your time and consideration. 

Sincerely, 
Michel Needajob 

michale@xNeedJob.com 
Tel.(416) 222 1234

Sample 2

September 25, 1996

Mr. Paul Havejob
Director of Operations
Sinus Inc.
1234 Good Jobs Street, Suite 231
Toronto, ON
M3V 2G4

Dear Mr. Havejob:

Further to our telephone conversation of Friday, September 22 1996, I am enclosing a copy of my resume for your perusal. The System Analyst position sounds fascinating and I believe my qualifications and experience make me an excellent candidate for the position.

I completed my Master of Science degree, in Computer Engineering from the University of Timisoara, in Romania, in July 1988. I am very well versed both in computer programming, Object Oriented Analysis and Design (OOA/OOD), Graphical User Interface (GUI) and Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS) under the WINDOWS, NT, UNIX and DOS environments. For the previous two years I have been in charge of many financial database projects, as well as over seeing a number of systems analysis and design.

I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you in person to further discuss my qualifications. I will be contacting you within the next week to arrange a personal interview. If you need to reach me before that time my number at home is (416) 123-4567. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Michael Needjobs

Tel.(416) 123-4567