Young and inexperienced ... but sincere: How to write a better cover letter

As a college student/financial writer, I'm approached regularly by classmates and friends asking for help with their cover letters for job and internship applications.

Most of the advice on these letters is obvious: Proofread, spell-check, try to sound intelligent, avoid cliches, etc. But in a post on his website, CampusLive founder Boris Revsin writes that many letters sent by young people are lacking a key ingredient: emotion.

"That's right, you can convey urgency and commitment through your writing. Pretty neat concept, especially because it means a LOT more of your emails will be answered. People will start to take some time to read your stuff. They are going to LOVE reading your stuff, because they will feel like it MATTERS to you that they read and respond," he writes.