Winning Cover Letters, Second Edition

<p>Acknowledgments 11</p>
<p>Chapter 1 A GREAT COVER LETTER IS A KEY ELEMENT IN LANDING THE PERFECT JOB 15</p>
<p>The Importance of Cover Letters 16</p>
<p>Our Hiring Managers Survey Results 17</p>
<p>Why Use The Power Impact Technique ? 18</p>
<p>Acknowledged Difficulties in Getting Employers Attention 19</p>
<p>A Guarantee 20</p>
<p>What s Ahead 20</p>
<p>Chapter 2 COVER LETTER MISTAKES HIRING MANAGERS SAY TO AVOID 23</p>
<p>Mistakes You Should Not Make 25</p>
<p>1. Don t Start Your Letter with: I m Applying for the Job I Saw in Sunday s Newspaper 25</p>
<p>2. General Letters Are Worthless 26</p>
<p>3. Do Not Ignore the Stated Criteria 27</p>
<p>4. Don t Let Careless Errors Torpedo You 28</p>
<p>5. Clueless About My Company 29</p>
<p>6. Paying Little Attention to Format or Style 30</p>
<p>7. Sloppiness 31</p>
<p>8. Poor Salutations Start You Off on the Wrong Foot 32</p>
<p>9. Negatives Are a Major Turnoff 33</p>
<p>10. Just Wanting It Is Not Enough 34</p>
<p>11. Don t Specify the Salary or Benefits Desired 35</p>
<p>12. Phone Etiquette Doesn t Exist 36</p>
<p>13. The Meat s In the Resum&eacute; 37<br /><br />14. They Could Do My Job 37</p>
<p>15. Can t Do the Job 38</p>
<p>16. Can t Work the Hours Requested 39</p>
<p>17. Long Letters Are Losers 41</p>
<p>18. Unsubstantiated Bragging Backfires 41</p>
<p>19. Not Showing a True Interest 42</p>
<p>20. Don t Expect the Employer to Find a Need for You to Fill 42</p>
<p>21. Using Buzz Words Can Backfire 43</p>
<p>22. Don t Include the Employer s Want Ad 43</p>
<p>23. Gimmicks Rarely Work 44</p>
<p>Bad Cover Letter Example 44</p>
<p>Summary 48</p>
<p>Chapter 3 THE POWER IMPACT TECHNIQUE 49</p>
<p>Success Stories 52</p>
<p>Summary 80</p>
<p>Chapter 4 MORE SUCCESSFUL COVER LETTERS 81</p>
<p>Proven Cover Letter Examples 82</p>
<p>High–Level Executive Cover Letters 95</p>
<p>Terrific Job Search Resources and Advice 106</p>
<p>Internal Promotions 107</p>
<p>Targeting Your Skills to Different Types of Organizations 109</p>
<p>Referral 113</p>
<p>Insider Information 117</p>
<p>Volunteer Experience/Reentry 119</p>
<p>New Graduates 122</p>
<p>Bachelor s Degree 122</p>
<p>The MBA Challenge 124</p>
<p>Career Changing 129</p>
<p>Special Notice for Those in the Creative Arts 133</p>
<p>More Examples of The Power Impact Technique at Work 135</p>
<p>Salary History Requests 142</p>
<p>Summary 144</p>
<p>Chapter 5 WRITING YOUR COVER LETTERS 145</p>
<p>The Writing Technique 146</p>
<p>Paper, Printing, and Envelope Recommendations 155</p>
<p>Creating Your Marketing Package 156</p>
<p>Chapter 6 SPECIAL LETTERS THAT CRACK THE HIDDEN JOB MARKET 159</p>
<p>Prospect Letters 160</p>
<p>Highly Competitive Fields 166</p>
<p>Informational Interview Request 173</p>
<p>Chapter 7 WRITING SELF–MARKETING LETTERS 179</p>
<p>Prospect Letters 179</p>
<p>When You Have a Referral 183</p>
<p>Informational Interview Letters 186</p>
<p>Chapter 8 INTERNET, FAXING, SCANNING, AND E–MAILING 189</p>
<p>Faxing 196</p>
<p>Netiquette 199</p>
<p>Chapter 9 THANK–YOU LETTERS THAT CAN LAND YOU THE JOB 203</p>
<p>The Strategic Note 205</p>
<p>The In–Depth Letter 207</p>
<p>Chapter 10 THE ACCEPTANCE/EMPLOYMENT LETTER 215</p>
<p>Chapter 11 THE EASY TRACKING SYSTEM 219</p>
<p>Hot Leads 222</p>
<p>High–Impact Words and Phrases 222</p>
<p>Notable Abilities 224</p>
<p>Guidelines to Follow When You Have a Full–Time Job 225</p>
<p>Guidelines to Follow When You re Not Working 226</p>
<p>Chapter 12 BE A SUCCESS STORY 227</p>
<p>MORE CAREER HELP AVAILABLE 231</p>
<p>Index 233</p>
<p>About Robin Ryan, Author, National Speaker, and Career Coach 239</p>