Customer Reviews

Cover Letters For Dummies

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is chock full of cutesy icons and useless advice. The author spends far too much time touting her previous book (resumes for dummies) and dispensing annoying catch phrases as opposed to giving solid writing tips. We've recieved letters like those featured in the book and dumped them directly in the trash. Unless you are applying for a sales job at a used car lot, don't bother using the letters in this book.

While the companion volume, "Resumes for dummies" is excellent and well worth your time and money, this book does not justify itself. It could easily have been condensed into a few chapters and added to the resumes volume. "Resumes AND cover letters for dummies" would have made sense. I bought the resumes volume and am glad I did. I spent an entire weekend reading it and picking up excellent hints that dramtically improved my resume. I was able to peruse this book in 30 minutes at the bookstore, however. If you know how to write a simple business letter, you do not need this book. Definitely get the resumes volume, though.

This is not just a book on cover letters; it's a wealth of knowledge on the entire job-hunting process. Joyce Lain Kennedy has put together a tremendous resource for the current or soon to be job hunter, which is really most of us.

I know people scoff at Dummies books, especially for highly technical subjects, but this book is the perfect format for the vast collection of job-hunting facts, ideas and wisdom in this book. The author does an excellent job of presenting a lot of material in a way that is clear, entertaining and extremely readable.

I highly recommend this book, and liked it so much I went out and bought her other two books, Resumes' and Job Interviews for Dummies, which I will be reviewing as I finish them.

Once again Joyce has nailed the complete process in creating the "Cover Letter" to stand out amongst the competition! Time and time again I have found myself referring to this book as my main source in creating cover letters. The book is designed for both the novice and the seasoned job search candidate while also injecting humor and insightful knowledge. This book also won the prestigeous "1st place National Benjamin Franklin Awards -2009 Best Career Book of the Year" Impressive accomplishment as a Career Book!

This is a good book..... but very jumbled. Make sure to have lots of time to read before using. The best part is the front
inside cover - the Cheat Sheet!

Cover Letters for Dummies is a powerful and easy to read resource! Most employers are now requesting applicants to submit a cover letter along with their resumes. For those individuals who struggled to write resumes and don't know where to begin with writing a cover letter, this is the book for you. It gives you step-by-step instructions to writing an impressive cover letter. Plus, it has tons of useful samples to review.

This book is valuable not only for the great cover letter examples. It also contains a warehouse of tips about the entire process of getting hired. I know professional resume writers, recruiters, and career coaches who keep this volume handy. In the current economic climate it is an important tool for getting your resume to stand out and nailing that job interview. Highly recommended!

This book contains all you need to know about cover letters, and in a pretty digestable format (a la the dummies series). The author cuts to the chase, throws in some humor, and gives plenty of options for ways to grab your audience's attention. Works for me. I've actually read quite a few books on cover letters (lots of free time while unemployed) and this one stands out to me--at least it's the one I keep on my bookshelf.

A cover letter is often your first contact with a potential employer. Joyce Lain kennedy offers some great advice and information about this valuable piece of a resume package. Excellent work! -David Jensen

Joyce Lain Kennedy knows how to start a paragraph. In "A Sampling of Grand Openers", she includes about 30 opening lines that get right into grabbing the attention of the recruiter or supervisor. She gets to the point of the letter and resume and the best you are offering. Such as: "The Breakthrough research being conducted by ...", "Chances are excellent that I'm the multi-talented graphic designer you seek".

And she says "Avoid Leadoff Loosers" such as "I was recently let go due to a reduction in force" ... I am currently in search of a job" ... "I am writing in response to the." Boring, I agree -- why dwell on the negative and the total obvious.

I like her "Power Phrases to Use Anywhere", such as "What you're asking for and what I can delivery sound like a match!" ... As my resume shows, I have substantial and successful experience in ..." I agree, be VERY positive and upbeat!

The quick list of "Words that stick when you're stuck" are great: "played a key role in, project managed, restructured, supervised, took the lead in".

With Joyce Lain Kennedy's years of writing to job seekers in her Syndicated Column, Careers Now, she has thousands of cover letter angles. Her comprehensive list in this book will help your resume stand out in a stack of hundreds.

I am Kathryn Troutman, Author of Ten Steps to a Federal Job. I am currently recruiting a full-time writer-editor for my business. I am receiving resumes via email from my [...] job announcement. MOST of the resumes I am receiving, do NOT have a cover letter, or even a simple TEXT BOX email note. I open the resumes that have a cover letter in the textbox!

Joyce's book is important right now, where jobseekers have to write clever, informative and energetic notes to indicate interest and passion in certain jobs. Get inspired with this book. Kathryn Troutman, President, [...]