Cover LettersThe Hardest Letters

You Never Wanted to Write

Dear Sir/Madam:

Please accept this letter and resume for the Product Marketing Manager position as referenced on craigslist.com.

As a recent MBA graduate, I believe that I offer the skills that are crucial to this position. My background in marketing, as well as my formal education in business and marketing from the UCLA will serve as a complement to your firm.

After doing some extensive research about your company, I am sure that my work history and educational background will greatly benefit the future endeavors of your organization. My work history, coupled with my education in business administration, has provided me with an invaluable sense of communication and negotiation, as well as quantitative analytical skills.

From both my professional and personal experiences, I have developed an enthusiastic, entrepreneurial, and disciplined work ethic. I possess the ability to work under pressure and rapidly adapt to changing work conditions. I excel in both individual and team driven environments. With this in mind, I am confident that my employment background, eagerness to learn, and genuine character will prove to be an asset to your company.

I look forward to discussing employment opportunities with you in the near future. I am available for an interview at your earliest convenience. Thank you in advance for your consideration.

James,

OK, I admit. I just saw your craigslist posting for the Product Marketing Manager for Outdoor Adventures and Experiences, and I'm salivating. I can't imagine a better adventure for a career than to market excitement and fun. Let me tell you 3 reasons you should consider me for this position:

1. Strong design skills. Your ad said you were looking for someone who can design brochures and other marketing materials. I have 2 years of design experience, and I am proficient in Adobe Illustrator and Pagemaker. I have created brochures for XYZ company and ABC company, and I have attached a PDF of my work. I'd be happy to show you my portfolio in an interview.

2. Good communication and writing skills. In my former job, I regularly led meetings that involved dozens of people. Several times a year, I would speak for my company at industry events, sometimes to audiences of several hundred people. I know how to craft a good press release and have successfully managed to get several articles into print.

3. I love experiences. I completely relate to your philosophy that life is about experiences. I love to travel, and have recently returned from 2 months in Peru where I helped feed orphan children in a small town. I've never been skydiving, but it is on my top ten list of things to do next year. Perhaps this is my opportunity.

Concentric, Inc., is a place where I know I can make a difference, and with my experience at conceiving plans and putting projects into motion, I'm sure I could make an impact very quickly without spending too much time in the starting gate. I would love to meet with you in person to talk about how I can help take the adventure to a whole new level.

Source: http://newyork.craigslist.org/about/best/sfo/101949754.html

Cover Letter Advice #1

I know that at my company, a nicely written cover letter outlining your interest in the position and the specific reasons you feel you're qualified is a huge plus. Yes, the info has to be in your resume, but if your cover letter clearly indicates that you read our job description and know at least something unique about our company, it's a huge step in the right direction towards getting an interview.

How long does it take to write a simple cover letter? 5-10 minutes? I would never skip writing a cover letter for a job I really wanted. Worst case scenario, it goes unread. Better to err on the side of politeness and doing things properly, and score all the brownie points you can get.

Cover Letter Advice #2I use the cover letter to make the case why I am perfect for this job at this company. In the letter, I literally list the requirements from the ad or job description, and describe my qualifications for each one.

The resume, on the other hand, is targeted at the type of job I want. (For example, if I'm applying both for copywriter and technical writer jobs, I would have two different resumes.)

This keeps me from having to rewrite my resume for every application. It also gives me a place to talk about people I know who work there, why I think the firm is awesome, etc.

Speaking as a former hiring manager, I love anything that saves me from having to pick through the person's resume trying to find whether they have my specific requirements.

So: yes, write a cover letter. It can't hurt, and it definitely might help.

Cover Letter Advice #3

So: yes, write a cover letter. It can't hurt, and it definitely might help.

This is outrageously wrong advice. I often overhear the responses of the hiring staff regarding the resumes that come in to the office, or rather, I hear the ridiculing of the cover letter's content. A poorly-written cover letter can most certainly hurt your chances of landing a job.

Source: http://ask.metafilter.com/mefi/44554

Why Are Cover Letters So Bad?

Reason #1: A writer uses pseudo-legalese because he lacks confidence in his authentic voice. From undergraduates trying to ace our Creativity Test, to MBAs immersed in BizSpeak, applicants feel they must inflate their prose by imitating Dickens, or combing the thesaurus to select — sigh — precisely the wrong word. Imagine, if you will, two roommates at Thesaurus U.: “I aspire to obtain a beverage. The vending machine is where my path leads.” “I wish to accompany you, since I have assembled a myriad of coins.” “I possess coins, as well. Let's embark.”

Why Are Cover Letters So Bad?

Reason #2: Some people fail to understand the mission. Hey, kids, it’s attached to a résumé. You don't need to explain what you're doing, to repeat what’s in the résumé itself, or to explain why résumés exist. You want a job. (Let's see: that took four clear, direct, one-syllable words.) The actual mission of the cover letter is to call attention to yourself, to separate yourself from 1000 other applicants, to reveal the personality attached to the credentials. (Take this with a grain of salt, by the way. We know a headhunter who throws away cover letters, and looks only at résumés.)

Why Are Cover Letters So Bad?

Reason #3: Some people fail to see a human being on the other end. They write to an abstraction, instead of a person who has just disposed of 19 other résumés that morning. They might start with the non-starting “My name is ______,” which provokes us to ask, “Are you highlighting your name to impress us with your celebrity status?” Even worse is Mail Merge Slippage, where a name, or company name, inserted into the text fails to match the name of the recipient. (No, we’re not kidding. It happens.)

Source: http://www.killianadvertising.com/coverletters.html

Resumes

Basic Advice

Resumes and Visual Design

Resumes and Visual Design

Basic Tips• Rhetorical Situation

– Call the personnel department!– Research the Company!

• Best Experience Type on Top – Most of you that’s education

• Chronological Within Category • Position is more important than location• 2 Pages Vs. 1 Page• Other Experience

– Leadership– Finance– Careful