What is the purpose of a cover letter?
The cover letter is an obvious means of introducing yourself to a potential employer, or, to an employer's agent if you are writing to a recruitment agency.
Beyond this however, you should use a cover letter to:
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Explain clearly and concisely who you are, what job you are applying for, and why you applying.
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Summarise your key strengths, attributes, qualifications and motivations.
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Convey that you are professional, competent and enthusiastic about the employment opportunity through the language, content and overall layout of the letter.
Tip: Never send a 'generic' cover letter to employers. As with your resume, it is essential that every cover letter you send to an employer is tailored to either the specific selection criteria appearing in the job advertisement, and/or to your specific purpose in writing to that employer.
A final thought about the importance of your cover letter: The cover letter and the resume should both be stand alone documents and have sufficient impact on the employer to take your application to the next stage. Don’t assume that an employer will take the time to read both the cover letter and resume when deciding which applications to accept or reject.