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Direct mail marketers have tested and found that including a P.S. in a letter can substantially increase
response rates - in this case in a cover letter.
This happens because most of us will read a P.S. first because we're curious about what
someone would put in a P.S. in a cover letter.
Originally, people included a P.S., or postscript in their cover letters, because they had forgotten to put something in the body of their
cover letter and didn't want to rewrite it. With the advent of
word processing an afterthought can be added very easily so it seems a P.S. shouldn't be
needed in a cover letter.
However, using a P.S. is still an excellent way to grab an employer's attention
with your cover letter and make an important point stand out.
When I applied to the University of Washington, Bothell for a Job Placement Specialist position, I used a
P.S. in my cover letter. I did this because I knew I would be competing with people who had B.A. and Masters Degrees in Career Counseling and I only have a two year
degree (I didn't mention this in my cover letter). To be considered a top candidate I knew I had to illustrate all of the techniques
from my book - so that I would look the most qualified - and
my cover letter would stand out.
I was finishing up the first edition of Proven Resumes and Confidence Builders and knew that the book
would be my most convincing qualification to address in a
cover letter. But, I felt that sending a book would be too much to include with a cover letter. So I called and talked with Kathleen, the Director of Career Counseling, who ultimately hired me. I asked her if she would be interested in seeing several pages from my book and she said she would be very interested. Then in my cover letter, I included the following postscript:
P.S. As we discussed, I have enclosed several pages from my book which further illustrate my skills in teaching resume, job search and interviewing strategies.
What would you do next if you read this P.S. in a cover letter that I had sent you? Most people say they would automatically turn to the pages of my book. That's exactly what Kathleen did. I had purposely included this P.S.
in my cover letter, so this reference to my book pages would
stand out.
This directed Kathleen's attention to the pages from my book. Facing such heavy competition I didn't want them to be overlooked. After Kathleen hired me, she told me that the hiring committee had decided they wanted to hire me
from reading my cover letter and the pages from my book, even before they interviewed me.
That's how impressed they were with the "cover letter and paper package" I had submitted. They just needed to verify that "I could walk and talk!" This was a personal victory for me because I almost didn't apply for the position. I thought, "Gee, why would they want someone with a two year degree counseling their four year and masters degree
students - it's probably not even worth my time to write a
cover letter. I doubt I'll even get an interview. But what the heck, I don't have anything to lose and I can test all the
cover letter strategies I've been telling everyone else to use."
Below
are more cover letter snippets, cover letter tips and cover
letter samples from my book Proven Resumes Strategies
That Have Increased Salaries $9.95 instant access
which provides more
detailed information on cover letters. It is filled
with success stories of job seekers who thought they were
not qualified for the jobs they wanted - but wrote their
cover letters anyway - and landed good jobs.
The cover letter strategies in my book have been responsible
for helping clients raise their pay $2,000 to $80,000 more
per year.
If you're having difficulty creating a resume and
cover letter - you
might consider hiring me to write your resume.
The fee is $150 or $250.
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Order Master Resume
and Cover Letter Service
by Regina Pontow
Cover
letter landed 14 times as many interviews
from
$36,000 to $53,000
$17,000 pay Increase
sales
resume from $20,000 to $40,000+
from $5 hour offer to $46,000 with $6,000 pay increase
from
$80K to $160K in one job move
click
my book
covers to order
$9.95 - $7.95
instant access .pdf
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Website
Contents, Regina Pontow, 1997-2013
