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What do you think of my cover letter? Is it OK?

Dear Sir or Madam: I am contacting you in regard to the Judicial Assistant position advertised in the April 19th edition of the Daily Oklahoman. I have five plus years of paralegal and legal secretary experience, as well as prior experience in office management. Additionally, I hold a four-year degree. I believe that I am well qualified and well suited for this position, and that my qualifications and experience in the legal field make me an appropriate candidate for this job. I also am confident that this opportunity can offer me what I’m seeking in a career. I find that I perform best in demanding situations, where my skills and experience can be utilized completely and I am challenged to do my best. I am especially excited about this career because I have always been deeply interested in the judicial process, and I believe that this would be an excellent way to advance my knowledge and capability even further. I feel certain that this environment would provide the high work flow and problem-solving challenges that I seek. From what I have read and researched, this job involves quite a bit of docket management, schedule management, citation and quotation verification, and legal research. This appeals to me greatly, as these are the things I have enjoyed the most during my time in the legal profession. Additionally, in my prior capacity as an executive assistant, I enjoyed case management and schedule management, and believe that I would be an invaluable asset to the judge in question; enabling smooth operation of the schedules under my control. I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to discuss this position further. I am more than willing to travel for a personal interview, as well as to provide additional experience and references upon request. Thank you very much for your consideration; I look forward to hearing from you. Very truly yours, The interview is out-of-state...so I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be interviewed unless they actually want to hire me...

Public Comments

1. I personally think it's much too long for a cover letter. It should be just the first & last paragraph with your resume and then in the interview you get into all the stuff you talked about here.
2. I think it's great. As long as your cover letter is a page or less, I don't see any problem with it. I find that a slightly longer than recommended cover letter gets me more interviews than a short one without much information, despite what other people may say. It's pretty full of jargon, which I don't always like, but in a specialized field shows that you have a good working knowledge of what's required and terms. Good luck!