Cover Letter

Following is a convenient template you can use to help put together your own cover letter.

Your name

Mailing address
City, state, and zip
Telephone number(s)
Email address

Today’s date

Your addressee’s name

Professional title
Organization name
Mailing address
City, state and zip

Dear Mr. (or Ms.) last name,

Start your letter with a grabber, a statement that establishes a connection with your reader, a probing question, or a quotable quote. Briefly say what job you are applying for. The mid-section of your letter should be one or two short paragraphs that make relevant points about your qualifications. You should not summarize your resume! You may incorporate a column or bullet point format here. Your last paragraph should initiate action by explaining what you will do next (e.g., call the employer) or instigate the reader to contact you to set up an interview. Close by saying “thank you.”

Sincerely yours,

Your handwritten signature

Your name (typed)

Enclosure: resume

August 12, 2008

Oakland Children’s Hospital
P. O. Box 12345
Oakland, CA  55678

Attn: Phil Beryl, Human Resources
Re: Director for Patient Financial Services

Dear Mr. Beryl:

I was very interested to see your advertisement for a Director of Patient Financial Services in the Oakland Tribune (8-11-08). I have been seeking just such an opportunity as this, and I think my background and your requirements may be a good match. My resume is enclosed for your review.

Of particular note for you and the members of your team as you consider this management placement are my strong accomplishments in reducing outstandings and reorganizing accounting and collections functions to achieve improved operating efficiency internally and improved cashflow for the institution as a whole.

Consider the following:

• Reduced A/R days from 110 to 60.4.
• Reduced staff by 6.5 FTEs with concurrent increase in total departmental performance.
• Reduced patient complaints with simultaneous increase in A/R collected.
• Improved cashflow by $1.6 million per month.

Additionally, my contributions have been mainly achieved by improving information flow within the patient financial services function, improving patient financial services utilization of already available MIS services, and improving cooperation between patient services and admissions, UR, contracting, and medical records functions.

After fifteen years in patient accounting, I have a thorough understanding of every aspect of this function in a modern hospital/medical center setting. My current employer is very happy with my performance, but I view myself as somewhat of a troubleshooter, and most of the reorganizations initiated here have already come to fruition, so I am eager to consider new challenges.

If you are seeking a manager who stays abreast of her field, who understands technology, who earns 100% staff support, and who is as career-committed as it takes to achieve total success, then please consider what I have to offer. I would be happy to have a preliminary discussion with you or members of your committee to see if we can establish a mutual interest. I will call you within the week to answer any initial questions you may have, and to hear about your hiring process.

Thank you for your attention to these materials. I certainly look forward to exploring this further.

Yours truly,

Wanda Sykes

Enclosure