People love to read about themselves -- this includes hiring managers at companies. Find unique and recent news about the company to discuss in your cover lett

People love to read about themselves -- this includes hiring managers at companies. Find unique and recent news about the company to discuss in your cover letter, and why it interests you. Use FB/LinkedIn/Twitter, etc to find out info about people at the company, and try to send a note to a specific person, rather than just responding to jobs@bigcorp.com which is often a big black hole. If you send a personal note to employee Z at the company, make it personal (don't attach your CV, but include details about employee Z or Z's company you find interesting) and ask if Z knows anything about position X you want to apply for -- your chances are much better if you can get your info to a specific person.