Cover Letter Magic - Trade Secrets Of Professional Resume Writers, 2Nd Ed - 2004

Wendy S Enelow is the founder and executive director of the Career Management Alliance (formerly Career Masters Institute), a prestigious training and development organization of career professionals worldwide.

Laurence Shatkin has over 30 years in the career information field and is the author or coauthor of many best-selling books, including 50 Best Jobs for Your Personality, 90-Minute College Major Matcher, Best Jobs for the 21st Century, and New Guide for Occupational Exploration. Laurence is sought after by the media for his expertise on occupations and career trends, and he speaks frequently at national conferences and gives Webinars.

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.