Cover Letters That Knock'em Dead 7th Edition

by Martin Yate

A great cover letter can't always get you hired, but it can get your resume read with serious attention. Learn how to stand out from the crowd by packaging your background and work experience into a readable and powerful sales pitch. Cover Letters That Knock 'em Dead arms you with the key words and phrases you need to land that critical first interview and provides you with follow-up letters to help turn those meetings into job offers.
The bestselling book in its category for more than twelve years, Cover Letters That Knock 'em Dead has been updated to

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Business

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Martin Yate, CPC, also publishes as Martin John Yate.

Reviews

[Ric]

Well, it got people to read my resume and I have some interviews coming up, so that's good.

[Sebah Al-Ali]

مفيد. و تكثر فيه الأمثلة التي يمكن استخدامها أو توظيفها في مختلف الوظائف.

-

تعلمت:

"Your cover letter is your only chance to achieve any kind of personal rapport with the reader of your resumé."

Four steps:
1. Grab reader's attention: appearance (typeface, spellings, etc)
2. Generate interest: show them you know enough about their thing
3. Turn interest into desire to learn more: tie yourself to a specific job category or work area. then highlight one or two special contributions/achievements "...this combination has enabled me to...". You want them to see that you understand the job and their need.
4. Turn desire into action: brevity (leave the reader wanting more), ask for an interview and show that you'll follow up if contact has not been made by a certain time.


--
Examples:

"It encouraged me to do a little research on your company. I am now convinced of two things: You are the kind of people I want to be associated with, and I have the kind of qualifications you can use."

"I have always followed the performance of your company in..."

"...you will see that my resume demonstrates a person of unusual dedication, efficiency, and drive."

Phrases for step 3, "I am writing because..." "I would like to talk to you about your staffing needs for..... and how I might be able to contribute to your department's goals"

"Thank you for your time and consideration; I hope to hear from you shortly."

"Please allow me to highlight my skills as they relate to your stated requirements." Then list in a table of two cols their requirements and your skills/experience.


Verbs that can help when describing your skills:
accomplished, achieved, innovated, worked, invented.

"I read your advertisement in... for a ..... and, after researching your company, felt I had to write..."

[BookBec]

Not as useful as the Knock 'em Dead Resumes book. That may be partly due to the fact that a lot of the information here is the same. But it's also the quality of the samples: I found the resumes to be quite varied in format and content, offering lots of food for thought. These cover letters, in contrast, are often repeated (the same letter in more than one section of the book, with few or no changes) and have many typos (that cardinal sin for job seekers!). I found more helpful cover letter advice on the author's website than in this book.

[Janay Lawrence]

An invaluable resources to add to my collection.

[DW]

It's as good as you expect it to be.

[Ghassan Samaha]

I chose to read this book looking for a specific topic: how to follow up after you send your job application.
And I summarized some good points out of it to help me in my new job search

[livia]

🕯️🕯️🕯️ manifesting an internship asap 🕯️🕯️🕯️

While this is pretty solid advice, some of which I have been using, I think some of it is outdated (obviously, as markets change).

[Jodi]

I checked this 1998 edition out from my local public library. I'm currently job searching, and thought some pointers might help.

While this book is full of gems, this edition is extremely dated (one of its recommendations is to not send in a handwritten [!] cover letter). Also, I found some of the "power phrases" downright ridiculous and completely inappropriate for a job seeker's cover letter.

I'd welcome the opportunity to read a more recent edition, but I think this is a good book for all job seekers. Although this edition is geared more toward individuals who have never written a cover letter before, there is plenty of inspirational content for more seasoned job seekers.

I probably would never buy this book, recent edition or no, but it is an excellent library resource.

[Maria]

If you’re in the middle of a job search or just want to polish your resume and cover letter, this set of books gives you simple steps to help make your essential career documents stand out above the rest. Updated for 2013, the newly revised 10th editions emphasize the internet’s essential role in one’s job search, and what that means for today’s job candidates who apply for positions electronically. Both books provide strategies for crafting your documents along with tips for your job search and a plethora of examples to peruse. Beyond resumes and cover letters, you’ll read information about developing your personal brand and marketing it with social media. Avoid the digital black hole, and push through the first round of computer gatekeepers to get your documents into the hands of a person. These books could help you get the next job of your dreams.

[Julie]

My initial thoughts on this book is that it would be really helpful for people who have already got years of experience and who are working in fields where cold contacting might work. There are a few examples for entry-level people like me, but not just a whole lot. My difficulty is that I have years of experience in other jobs, volunteering, and coursework that adds up to me being fit for a job. I don't have a ton of paid job experience in my field though, which is public librarianship.

It may just be me, but as far as I can see, cold-calling in a public library may work for internships, but I don't know that it works so well for hiring given local government regulation and hiring practices. I am not going to rate this until I alter my cover letter and see what happens!

[Dez]

Much of the advice in this book is stuff you should already know. However, the worksheet provided to help you brain storm skills and qualifications is useful. Also, the section on LinkedIn is quite useful and helpful if you wish to learn how to use the site for networking. Lastly, there are some good lists of job and career sites that will be useful to many people. The provided samples of cover letters are not great. Don't buy the book if you are looking for those--unless you have never written a cover letter before...then they might be useful.

[Billy]

Overall, this is a pretty great book.

Negatives: the organization of the text is pretty terrible; the author occasionally makes blanket statements with strong opinions that are probably not universally held; plugs his other books about every 10 pages or so.

Positives: the author's text is about 100 pages and is packed with insightful suggestions; there are ~150 example letters/emails that cover a large range of situations, not just to letters to include with your résumé. This is basically a business letter book for job seekers.

[Randy Daugherty]

This is a must have, it is a great help to those seeking employment. It breaks down the elements that a good cover letter should have even offering sample greeting, structure and closings.
Even though you may have a great resume it is the cover letter that introduces you and grabs the persons eye and attention hopefully leading to that first interview.
Every job seeker should have this in the reference collection.

[Elizabeth Flowers]

Another great guide for job search. My only complaint would be that there are not enough examples for young, inexperienced job seekers. This is most helpful for an individual who has worked for several years to draw upon their experiences.

[Belia]

The Knock 'em Dead series offers the most helpful and useful career advice I have ever read.

[Kasey Tritch]

Everything you should know but never thought about. Great!

[Covenant Presbyterian Springfield Ohio]

Call Number: 650 YAT

Available.

[Anne]

It's more for someone just starting the search rather than someone 21 months into the search. It wasn't helpful at all for librarian positions.

[Covenant Presbyterian Springfield Ohio]

Call Number: 650 YAT

Available.

[Gerardo Garcia]

Incredible book for any serious job hunter

Once again, I am very impressed by the quality and how resourceful Mr. Yate book is. Thank you for succinct and concise information.

[SmarterLilac]

This is okay, but not outstanding.

[Ed]

A must have for anyone that is looking for that perfect job.

[Ariadna73]

Not convincing at all :-(

[Matthew Pare]

Rent it from your library. Marin Yate's collection of job and career books share a significant amount of content from book to book. The best part about this book is contained in a single chapter where Yates covers 6 forms of cover letters and where they are most appropriate. I took notes on the six forms and now use them as a word bank when preparing a persuasive letter.

Getting ready for an interview? Check out "60 Seconds and You're Hired" by Robin Ryan. I found Ryan's book to be practical, easy to read and immediately applicable to both my job interview and general persuasive professional situations.