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Subject:Re: Cover letters From:Richard Lippincott <rlippinc -at- BEV -dot- ETN -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 24 Feb 1995 16:28:58 EST
Karen Kay said:
>I just spoke with someone about a possible job, and he told me that
>they had received 300 resumes for this particular position--and that
>at least half of them were eliminated by the cover letter. So be
>careful!
I agree. The importance of the cover letter is often overlooked.
During my most recent period of job hunting, I started out by sending a
boilerplate cover letter with resumes. It looked like a boilerplate
letter, about all that varied was the address and a few internal details.
My response rate was less than I had hoped.
After several weeks, I revised my thinking and started doing more detailed
cover letters. Each letter would contain specific information that at least
showed I had read the job posting. I'd cite my background and compare it to
the requirements listed for the job. The response rate jumped sharply with
these letters, one of them got me my current job.
It took a few extra minutes to write the customized letters, but that's about
all. Just a few extra minutes. (Gee whiz, if I can't write a simple -letter-
fairly quickly, then I'm not much of a tech writer.)
Rick Lippincott
Eaton Semiconductor
Beverly, MA
rlippinc -at- bev -dot- etn -dot- com
