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Spring 2013 is finally here, and this season is all about new and fresh takes on your home, business, career, and lifestyle. If the New Year’s resolution you set for yourself professionally did not pan out yet, don’t fret. The Spring season is the perfect time to get your job search in order for that brand new career path!

Revamp your job search with these ten tips this Spring, and get ready to “spring forward” your professional life.

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Oh, the dreaded cover letter. You’ve polished your resume, got your secondary materials (writing samples, portfolio, etc) polished and ready to go, and now you’ve got to write this opening essay that says… what?

The point of a cover letter is to introduce yourself to the company that you’re applying to. Your resume will go into detail about your experience. Your cover letter should give the reader a sense of who you are and what you’ll contribute to the company.

SavvySugar has got seven tips for perfecting your cover letter. Here are a few tips that stand out to us:

Don’t send a generic letter. Create a unique letter for each job application. Every company is different so your approach should also be different.

Give the reader a glimpse of your personality. Again, your skills will be laid out on the resume. Use your cover letter to show your sunny personality, your determination, and other character traits that a company will also value. At the same time, focus on how those traits will benefit your prospective employer. They want to know what they get out of having you around.

Don’t write a novel. An overly-long cover letter is guaranteed to be one that won’t get read. Edit yourself for grammar and length. SavvySugar suggests four paragraphs, ample space to make a good case for yourself.

To this list, we’d add three things:

Have fresh eyes look at your letter. After staring at something you’ve written for a while, you stop seeing the ways it can be improved. Typos might even get past you. Walk away from the letter and come back to take one more look.

Enlist a friend’s help. If your writing skills are a little lacking, ask a friend with a better way with words to take a look at your letter before sending it.

Don’t use an “overly salesy opener.” This piece of advice comes by way of U.S. News & World Report and it’s a good one. Starting your letter with some variation of “I’m the best thing since sliced bread” is a turn-off. Why are you so great? Let the rest of your letter answer that question.

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It could get difficult: applying for job after job, checking  phone messages and emails waiting for the right HR person to contact you and going to interviews to no avail. It’s frustrating and the struggling job market isn’t making it any easier, as the 8.1% national unemployment rate looms over America. You might be one of the 5.1 million long-term unemployed Americans who are getting restless with the job search, but with that restlessness comes neglect, something that might push your job prospects back.

Whether you are looking for a career change or applying to jobs for the first time, it is easy to forget the little details of the job hunt. Make sure you are not forgetting these little but important pieces of the job search process.

With the job market strengthening, and divas like you getting out there and strutting your amazing work experience, it’s about time we gave some you some sure-fire tips on how to bolster your resume and grab that fabulous job you’re courting.

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