The cover letter is one of those things that most hiring managers say they want but others say they can do without and will even ignore if it's provided. Well, image consultant, marketing/management expert, and CEO of MSCO, Mark Stevens wants to see a cover letter ... and not just any cover letter either. Read on and see how to impress not only Stevens, but possibly every employer who picks up a copy of your resume:

Cover letters are great. Cover letters suck.

Resumes are great. Resumes suck.

Why do some fall in the first camp (winners) and others in the second (fodder for the waste basket)?

The losers lack the element of surprise.

You reach to read a resume and you know what you will see 99.9 percent of the time: "Highly ambitious, graduate of xyz U, a wonderful person adored by all."

Next.

I want a cover letter because I want to hear candidates think. To discover that they can find a way to command my attention not with the usual academic honors window dressing but, as I noted, the element of surprise.

Some time ago, I received a cover letter that began:

"I am tired of banging my head against the wall."

That caught my attention. The applicant was referring to a fruitless search for a company with substance. The element of surprise captured my attention, I read on, she appeared to have the right stuff and I hired her.

A resume produced in cookie cutter fashion virtually assures that you won't get called.

When I pitched Smith Barney to get their business I started by tell them that their marketing sucks. Surprise!

But even bigger surprise, we landed the business.

Look like everyone else and it's likely you'll never get the job. Stand out. Take a risk. Break the rules.

That's what recruiters really want to see. It's a measure of the type of employee you'll be.

Article courtesy of Mark Stevens, bestselling author of Your Marketing Sucks, Your Management Sucks, and God Is A Salesman.