When you've been looking for a job for a while, there's so much at stake that it's easy to fall into the trap that the job search is all about you. But the process really goes faster when you structure your cover letter to view your job search from the point of view of the employer.

Here are seven quick tips to write a cover letter that sells by crafting it to the employer's point of view.

1. Write to a real person.

We all hate junk mail, and studies have proven that we take the same content more seriously if we believe that it's addressed uniquely to us, even to the extent of being more likely to open hand-written envelopes. What that means for your job search is that it's important to take the time and energy to look up the employer.

Find out who you're writing to. If the company is listed on the web, you might be able to find the manager of the department you're applying for in the "staff" or "contact us" section. If you can get a phone number, you can call the company and ask the receptionist who is hiring for this job and for the correct spelling of the name.

If you absolutely can't find a specific name, begin your letter with a salutation to "Dear Hiring Manager" or "Dear Human Resources Director" and follow with paragraph that says something to this effect: "I apologize for the impersonal greeting. I wanted to address this cover letter to you by name, but it was not provided and I was unable to obtain it. I am writing about the position of job title." It's clearly personal than knowing -- and correctly spelling -- the person's name, but at least you've acknowledged that you're not talking to a "Sir/Madam" or "Whom it may concern."

2. Write about how your qualifications benefit the employer.

It's good to write that you would find the job exciting, fascinating, intriguing or whatever. An enthusiastic employee is a loyal, helpful, dedicated employee. But remember to focus on what the employer is looking for. If you like the fact that the job requires travel, don't say, "This job would give me an opportunity to see the world." Instead say, "My love of travel would help your customers to [fill in with a promise the company makes to its customers]."

3. Keep it short.

The people doing the hiring are busy. They've got their regular work to do, and they've got all this hiring stuff piled on top of it. Your goal is that to get them so engaged in reading your letter that they don't think to put it aside until after they've finished. Use short paragraphs -- one to three sentences, two to four lines of text -- and wide margins for a good proportion of white space. Bullets or numbered lists are an effective way to convey information in the midst of a lot of white space.

3. Write in a conversational tone.

Sticking to simple, direct sentences for quick and easy readability will also help the manager read your letter quickly and effortlessly. If you're applying for a job in a highly technical field, permit yourself a maximum of two words of generally understood jargon to prove your knowledge. But no matter how much you know about your specialty, nobody wants to work around someone who can't communicate outside his own narrow field.

Also, don't fall into the trap of using job-search jargon either. "Good communication skills," "self-motivated," "outside-the-box thinker," "self-starter," "problem-solving skills," "taking [something] to the next level," are all bland, general and tired. They say nothing. If you're tempted to use one of these terms -- or any other that you've heard so often that it seems obvious what it means -- stop and come up with a specific example. "Good communication skills" might be "I was the liaison between our department and three others." If you consider yourself an "outside-the-box thinker," come up with a specific innovative thing you did.

5. Be specific about why you're the best candidate.

Use specific details about your qualifications and experience. You want the information to be true, but six years is better than five plus years and $14.5 millions is better than nearly $15 million. Specifics sound more reliable.

6. Ask for the interview.

The cover letter is a sales letter for the interview. Don't forget the necessary call to action. Say specifically that you would like to meet the employer for an interview. You might suggest a time and place. It depends on the job. But ask.

7. Use a postscript.

It's a curious but documented fact that the "P.S." at the end of a letter is sometimes read before than the rest of the letter. Use that knowledge to your advantage. In your postscript, you might put your call to action, or you might include an inspirational quote that fits the situation. You might get a double bonus for including a quote from the company's mission statement and what it means to you.

Writing an effective cover letter is not hard. It just takes thinking about your job search form the employer's point of view. The good news is that if you do that, you will be ahead of 90 percent of the applicants.

You can't get the job without getting the interview. Writing an effective cover letter increases your odds of getting the interview.