Customer Reviews

Cover Letter Magic, 4th Ed: Trade Secrets of Professional Resume Writers

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I got this book as a complement to Resume Magic. At first I thought that 443 pages was way too much information for something that should be easy to write. The book is so long because it has 100s of examples which really help the reader to understand how to write a cover letter.

The most valuable chapter in the book is Chapter 3 - Writing Your Cover Letters. This chapter goes into depth the steps to write an outstanding, winning cover letter. However, you don't find out until Chapter 4 that the long cover letters written in Chapter 3 do not apply to email cover letters. Which is how 95% of cover letters are sent today. :(

The book also offers ways in which to handle disclosing salary requirements and salary history. As this was something I needed help with, I found the information extremely useful.

There are 120+ pages devoted to sample cover letters for Blue Collar & Trades Positions, Young Professionals/New Graduates, Mid-Level Career Professionals, Senior Managers & Executives, Technical & Scientific Professionals, and Career Changers. I found these samples invaluable. I used them to compare my cover letter to the ones written by professionals.

There are 100+ pages devoted to the other parts of your job search -- Thank You Letters, Tips & Techniques from Recruiters, Next-Generation Job Search Letters, Winning Resume Strategies, and tips and techniques to recession-proof your career. None of these chapters really added anything to the book. You will find more useful advice in a resume book and a career management book.

Overall, I found this book provided too much information. I recommend 15-Minute Cover Letter: Write an Effective Cover Letter Right Now (15 Minute Cover Letter) instead.

I really liked this book and the examples. There were real life scenarios and very well written examples of how to adress them in your letters. The same goes for Resume Magic.

This book is helpful but not very "new". In this market you need new ideas to catch peoples attention. It is definitly worth getting tho if you are just starting in the job market.