Robin Ryan 
Winning Cover Letters [PDF ebook] 

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(TM)? 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(TM) 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

ROBIN RYAN is the bestselling author of 60 Seconds & You re Hired!, Winning Resumes, and What to Do with the Rest of Your Life. She has appeared on 700 TV and radio shows, including NBC Nightly News and Oprah, as well as in most major magazines and newspapers, including USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Money, and Business Week. She has also been a Seattle Times career columnist for nearly six years.