When I was blogging about resumes and job searches back in 2005, I envisioned the perfect cover letter as a sandwich. The opening and closing remained the same, but what goes in the middle depends on what type of details you think will land you the job. I think most of that advice still holds up today.

Since 2005, a whole new world of Social Networking has arisen. Do you include your Social Media Network profile in your resume or cover letter? If so, how?

The answer, of course, is "it depends." If being a capable internet user is important to the job, then yes. But if your online example would be a distraction to the job, then you'll probably want to leave it off. In any event, you should scrub your virtual foot print as best you can when you're looking for a job, but that's another post.

Your cover letter is still your sales piece and a chance to use those 10-20 seconds a human resources person will use to direct you into a pile. You want to be in the 'look at further' pile. In 20 seconds, or even a minute or two, the HR person isn't going to check your entire online footprint. But they may be interested in your virtual CV, especially if you're sending your resume and cover letter via email.

LinkedIn is a great place to host your virtual CV and do some networking. But you can also use other services, such as Emurse (which includes some neat features like the virtual job interview), or set up a stand alone CV on your own domain.

I would probably include a link to my virtual CV either in the final paragraph or after the accomplishments list that reads something like "You can learn more about how my skills and accomplishments will help me make an immediate impact in this position at my LinkedIn page - http://www.linkedin.com/in/johnsfrost "

A full Social Media Cover Letter could get really involved. Links to portfolio projects, work samples from previous jobs, and a video introduction. But don't let that distract from the cover letter's primary purpose, to quickly put your resume in context to the companies need to fill a position and as an introduction to your resume.

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