200 Cover Letters for Job Hunters

Writing a business letter is never easy. If there is something as important as a job on the line, most folks would rather go clean the refrigerator. For that time, when writer's block seems terminal, click into the CareerLab web site. Here you will find "200 Cover Letters for Job Hunters", an abbreviated version of the informative little book put out by Berkeley's Ten Speed Press.

Written by William S. Frank, the founder and CEO of CareerLab, the popular letter-writing manual is now in its third printing. CareerLab provides management and job-search help for individuals, as well as outplacement and human resources.

Although not all the letters in the book are available on-line, there are plenty and they cover just about every job-hunting situation. There are sample letters to find a part-time job, to announce a job change, to uncover hidden markets, to protect yourself from being fired and to negotiate a pay raise. What's more, the letters will not put the reader to sleep. Yes, they are professional, but they are also human and interesting to read. They reflect the writers' personalities and enthusiasm for their work.

Road Map to the Site

An index with 20 sections makes this a very easy site to navigate and use. Click on the section number and you'll find yourself reading informative, but sometimes simplistic copy about the subject. The meat of this site are the actual letters. To the left of the screen are letter links. Click on one and it will take you to sample letters that have been used (and if you believe the author, used successfully.). For example, Section 11, "Form to Increase Response to Letters" has seven letter links.

Although much emphasis is on the sample letters, "200 Letters for Job Hunters" is really divided into two parts. There is a "how to" section with 13 do's and don'ts for letter writing. For example, topics include 28 letter-writing mistakes, how to end a letter (or the sincerely syndrome), how to follow-up, and what to do once that letter is in the envelope. (It seems some people just can't take that long walk to the mailbox.)

Want to know more about William Frank? Then click on the author link. If you'd like to purchase the book, check out the on-line store. Think you or one of your friends has written a letter worthy of publication? Then submit it.

On the scale of one-to-five mouse clicks, I'd give this a four. The information is clear and well-organized. The links all work and it loads quickly. The visual distractions are few since graphics are almost non-existent. The only problem is the cartoons found in each of the sections. Even on my 17" monitor, the drawings were fuzzy and hard to decipher and the cartoon punchlines impossible to read. It's distracting, but not enough to pass over this 650-page site.