Winning Cover Letters, 2nd Edition

Acknowledgments 11

Chapter 1 A GREAT COVER LETTER IS A KEY ELEMENT IN LANDING THE PERFECT JOB 15

The Importance of Cover Letters 16

Our Hiring Managers’ Survey Results 17

Why Use The Power Impact Technique™? 18

Acknowledged Difficulties in Getting Employers’ Attention 19

A Guarantee 20

What’s Ahead 20

Chapter 2 COVER LETTER MISTAKES HIRING MANAGERS SAY TO AVOID 23

Mistakes You Should Not Make 25

1. Don’t Start Your Letter with: “I’m Applying for the Job I Saw in Sunday’s Newspaper” 25

2. General Letters Are Worthless 26

3. Do Not Ignore the Stated Criteria 27

4. Don’t Let Careless Errors Torpedo You 28

5. Clueless About My Company 29

6. Paying Little Attention to Format or Style 30

7. Sloppiness 31

8. Poor Salutations Start You Off on the Wrong Foot 32

9. Negatives Are a Major Turnoff 33

10. Just Wanting It Is Not Enough 34

11. Don’t Specify the Salary or Benefits Desired 35

12. Phone Etiquette Doesn’t Exist 36

13. The Meat’s In the Resumé 37

14. They Could Do My Job 37

15. Can’t Do the Job 38

16. Can’t Work the Hours Requested 39

17. Long Letters Are Losers 41

18. Unsubstantiated Bragging Backfires 41

19. Not Showing a True Interest 42

20. Don’t Expect the Employer to Find a Need for You to Fill 42

21. Using Buzz Words Can Backfire 43

22. Don’t Include the Employer’s Want Ad 43

23. Gimmicks Rarely Work 44

Bad Cover Letter Example 44

Summary 48

Chapter 3 THE POWER IMPACT TECHNIQUE™ 49

Success Stories 52

Summary 80

Chapter 4 MORE SUCCESSFUL COVER LETTERS 81

Proven Cover Letter Examples 82

High-Level Executive Cover Letters 95

Terrific Job Search Resources and Advice 106

Internal Promotions 107

Targeting Your Skills to Different Types of Organizations 109

Referral 113

Insider Information 117

Volunteer Experience/Reentry 119

New Graduates 122

Bachelor’s Degree 122

The MBA Challenge 124

Career Changing 129

Special Notice for Those in the Creative Arts 133

More Examples of The Power Impact Technique at Work 135

Salary History Requests 142

Summary 144

Chapter 5 WRITING YOUR COVER LETTERS 145

The Writing Technique 146

Paper, Printing, and Envelope Recommendations 155

Creating Your Marketing Package 156

Chapter 6 SPECIAL LETTERS THAT CRACK THE HIDDEN JOB MARKET 159

Prospect Letters 160

Highly Competitive Fields 166

Informational Interview Request 173

Chapter 7 WRITING SELF-MARKETING LETTERS 179

Prospect Letters 179

When You Have a Referral 183

Informational Interview Letters 186

Chapter 8 INTERNET, FAXING, SCANNING, AND E-MAILING 189

Faxing 196

Netiquette 199

Chapter 9 THANK-YOU LETTERS THAT CAN LAND YOU THE JOB 203

The Strategic Note 205

The In-Depth Letter 207

Chapter 10 THE ACCEPTANCE/EMPLOYMENT LETTER 215

Chapter 11 THE EASY TRACKING SYSTEM 219

Hot Leads 222

High-Impact Words and Phrases 222

Notable Abilities 224

Guidelines to Follow When You Have a Full-Time Job 225

Guidelines to Follow When You’re Not Working 226

Chapter 12 BE A SUCCESS STORY 227

MORE CAREER HELP AVAILABLE 231

Index 233

About Robin Ryan, Author, National Speaker, and Career Coach 239