Honestly, does anybody do this anymore? Believe it or not, there are more companies than you think that only accept resumes and cover letters through the regular, snail, USPS, or whatever you want to call it - mail.
The "big" tip that everyone used to tell me was to fax your cover letter and resume to get noticed. Since only contracts and papers that typically need to be signed are sent through fax, people receiving the fax generally know that it is probably an important document since it was faxed. I always thought that was funny, but then I started working and receiving faxes is a big deal, especially if it was received through the main fax number for the company instead of my personal line and ends up in the regular mail box. The only other mail that comes through my company mailbox is my paycheck report and corporate junk mail. If I saw a letter in there, I would definitely pay attention to it. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea, and it should be attempted by some of you.
It's a pain to print out your cover letter and resume, pick up a decent folder, stuff it into a parcel envelope, and pay for shipping something that you could send for free, but I can see where this would get more attention. There is something about reading a document printed on paper rather than my computer screen that instantly scores positive points in my book, and I tend to retain the information more. Again, I think there is a significant advantage here if the company accepts resumes through the mail.
Whichever route you choose: email, fax, or mail, only send your resume and cover letter down one of the possible paths. Do not overwhelm and piss off a recruiter by sending double or triples of your resume that they receive from several different directions. Roll the dice, pick a method, and do it.
