I wrote about cover letters recently, using one of mine as an example.

Recently, in a discussion I was involved in on a Northwestern alumni listserv, I saw another and asked the author if I could run it on my blog. She agreed, so here it is, look for the elements of a good cover letter here:

Dear Hiring Manager:

With my communications and journalism career spanning more than 10 years, I would be a good fit for the position of Public Relations Specialist for The Humane Society of the United States. Drawing on my extensive experience, I would advance the society’s objectives, and I would contribute ideas on how to promote the positive stories.

In my most recent communications position with the nation’s second-largest public university, the University of Central Florida, I mined ideas from all corners of campus and wrote stories, including covering the exciting research at the university’s renowned College of Optics and Photonics. Known as one of the more difficult colleges to cover, I forged relationships with professors there in a short time, and I received positive feedback from them about my ability to break down the complexity of photonics topics for news releases.

In addition, I advised educators and administrators across colleges and departments during crisis moments and worked with them to achieve media placements and come up with creative ideas to promote and enhance the university’s reputation. As lead editor for a team of five writers, I edited a variety of copy, including pieces on scientific and technical topics. I used my teaching expertise to mentor interns in our office. I kept the media relations website updated with fresh content and handled the overall presentation of articles and their graphics, captions, teasers and headlines.

I truly believe in the society’s mission, as I am the owner of a severely abused dog who, near death, was rescued and painstakingly nursed back to health. I would welcome the chance to talk with you more about working for The Humane Society. You may also take a look at my LinkedIn profile to see what my colleagues and former managers think of my work.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Rebecca Basu