A Cover Letter is basically the gateway to your resume. It can be a great asset to your existing resume and put you a cut above the other candidates. By the same token, it can be a detriment to your resume, even causing your potential employer to put your resume into their “circular file” without even looking at it. For this reason, you need to avoid making the following three mistakes when writing your cover letter:

Use a generic cover letter - This is probably the worst mistake you can make. Using the same cover letter for each job application is a big no-no, and it pretty much defeats the purpose of using a cover letter to begin with. You need to tailor each cover letter you create to the specific company you’re applying to. Trust me, recruiters see enough cover letters to know the difference between a “form” letter and original work. If you just switch out company names when writing cover letters, you mind as well not write them at all.

General, not specific, content - Another common mistake is when people make their cover letters have a broad scope instead of a very specific scope. Be specific as to what you want, don’t assume that the person reading it knows exactly what position you are looking for, or what you are interested in doing for their company. Are you looking for an internship? A full time position? These are all things you should include in your cover letter.

Copy your resume into your cover letter - Remember, a cover letter is not your actual resume. If you want to highlight some of your experience and strengths that’s fine, it’s actually a good idea. However, don’t just cut and paste your resume into your cover letter. The purpose of the cover letter is to draw the reader into your resume, not to be your resume.

When writing a cover letter, always make sure to keep this thought in mind: This is the first thing a potential employer will see from you, you need to make it count.