Okay, so Savvy posted yesterday about cover letters. I've read books that say that your cover letter is solely to introduce your resume. While other books say your cover letter should summarize your experience and "sell" your resume to potential employers. The difference being that one briefly states who you are, your work ethic and your desire for the position while the other well is more detailed and summarizes your work history in an attention-grabbing three paragraphs. Both varieties are tailored to the job listing.

Yet in books and posts, no one has ever shown me a "successful" cover letter (I suspect because the cover letter is not the thing that got their foot in the door- the resume did). I would like to see an example of a cover letter style or format that is from a person who knows their cover letter got their resume read and got them an interview. One would think that if your cover letter writing skills got you an interview, instead of your resume, then the Human Resources staff would have commended you on your stellar cover letter before they ever mention your resume. I'm really not sure how anyone can be sure that it was their cover letter that got them in and not their resume and experience or just happenstance.

I know that my resume (actually the experience listed therein) has gotten me interviews and my interview and experience has gotten me employment. And I also know that the majority of people I've interviewed with have never read my cover letter because they ask for information that is addressed in my cover letter. Personally, the more I read about cover letters and their supposed importance the more difficulty I have in even beginning to write one for submission and the more I doubt the quality of my letter.

So I'd like to see how other people do this. What would your cover letter look like for a particular position?

So here's a job listing from Craig's List, I just grabbed one from a few days ago - I'm not applying for this position as the commute would be about 1000+ miles a day round trip.

So if your game, use your real work experience, abilities etc to demonstrate how you'd write your best cover letter for this position. I think this would help me to know if I'm even remotely in the ballpark when I write a cover letter.

Administrative Assistant

Entertainment Trade Association is seeking an Administrative Assistant in our Sherman Oaks, California office. This position will provide general administrative support to the Corporate Communications department.

Responsibilities/Duties: Drafts, edits and sends press releases and other communication materials; Reports, develops and maintains press lists; Liaison with the Information Systems department for web content; Monitors new cycles and stories; Provides general department support including: travel arrangements, expense reports, reception and direction of phone calls; Provides other support as the department deems necessary including participation in strategy and budget sessions, and coordination of logistics for meetings and events.

Minimum Qualifications: Six months to one year of experience working in a press/media or public affairs office or a non-profit organization or trade association; Ability to write and/or learn to write newsworthy materials; Expertise in the Microsoft Office package of applications, including Windows 95 or later, MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, e-mail applications and familiarity with the Internet; Excellent organizational skills, the ability to handle multiple assignments simultaneously, strong attention to detail, resourceful as well as good traditional office skills are all required; Bachelor’s degree.

Qualified candidates should submit resume, along with a cover letter and salary requirement. Salary requirement must be included to be considered for position.

The Association is committed to creating a diverse work environment and proud to be an equal opportunity employer. Due to the high volume of responses, we will only respond to those candidates that most closely match our requirements.

Please show me your best example of a successful cover letter for the position listed above using the rules that Savvy posted yesterday. I don't even want to go into how you write up your salary requirement letter but if you want to show off your salary requirement letter writing skills too - go for it!

Thank you ladies and gentlemen.