Newsletters come in many forms. This one—a real letter—is one of my favorite formats. I like it better than a traditional glossy piece, because it seems more personal, more one-on-one. It can also be created and sent immediately, where a printed letter might take weeks. Electronic letters are good, but may be perceived as mass mailings. I often use a P.S. at the end, because the P.S. tends to be read first. Starting the year with a BANG refers to our 20 years in business.
January 11, 20—
Maynard Shirey
Vice President of Human Resources
AT&T
7334 Delaware Place
Denver, CO 80112
Dear Maynard,
We started 20— with a BANG!
The FOX News Channel interviewed me on Christmas Eve for a story on preventing workplace violence. "The Rocky Mountain News" named our Website (www.careerlab.com) one of "100 Great Colorado Web Sites," and also featured us in an article on Executive Coaching (Enclosed).
In addition, after a week-long intensive training, Frank Delaney and Dr. Saundra Friedland were certified to administer The Birkman Method, the most advanced career development tool on the market.
The Birkman Method has been continually improved for 40 years. More than 1.5 million people in 5,000 brand-name organizations have taken the profile, which is used to:
- Improve Recruiting and Hiring
- Reduce Turnover—Retain Key Employees
- Expand Sales
- Increase Management Effectiveness
- Reduce or Resolve Conflict
- Increase Productivity
- Guide Executive Coaching
- Facilitate Outplacement
In other words, this tool is used to improve individual careers and organizational behavior in every possible way. As you can imagine, I've taken dozens of career tests and profiles in my time, and
The Birkman Method is far-and-away the best. Once in a while we hit a home run—and this one is it!
The report provides extensive, highly accurate portraits of preferred work habits and strengths, as well as behavioral styles and interests. A typical report—which may run 45 pages—also
January 11, 20—
Page Two
indicates individual potential for specific professional occupations and working environments, the support needed from other individuals, and the stress behaviors likely if these needs are not met. In addition, it provides a comprehensive profile of probable success at various levels of management, and of the ability to interact as a team member.
The Birkman Method recognizes that two individuals who act very much alike may be motivated by completely different behaviors, rewards, and environments. In fact, the way an individual behaves often gives no clue as to how they need to be treated.
Supported by a large database of occupational and behavioral information, The Birkman Method helps individuals understand, not underestimate their strengths, and remove pre-conceived barriers that limit their personal achievement and career development within an organization. Because it gives managers specific, concrete techniques—not vague generalities—it's a catalyst for positive organizational change.
The profile consists of a three-part questionnaire. The first two parts have 125 true-false items each, measuring: 1) perceptions about how most people feel, think and behave, and 2) patterns of thoughts, feelings, and actions. The third section consists of a 48-item survey on occupational interests. The questionnaire can be administered in about an hour, by pencil and paper or by computer.
I know you're familiar with other assessment instruments: The Myers Briggs, The Campbell Interest & Skills Test, the PF-16, and others. These other instruments may emulate The Birkman Method in select areas, but no other competitor even pretends to offer its breadth and scope. Add to this the fact that this methodology was designed from the beginning for use in the business-industrial world, and the choice is clear—The Birkman Method is far-and-away the best. I hope you'll give us a chance to show you why.
Have a great TODAY!
William S. Frank
PRESIDENT
wsfrank@careerlab.com
P.S.—Travelers from more than 100 countries have visited our Website, www.careerlab.com. With 400,000 hits per week, we're one of the Web's 100 most popular jobs and careers sites (100hot.com/jobs/). "USA TODAY" gave us their "HOT SITE" award. "The Rocky Mountain News" names CareerLab one of 100 Great Colorado Websites, "Yahoo! Internet Life" calls us "an incredibly useful site," and "Bottom Line: Personal" lists our cover letter collection as "the #1 most useful career site." In addition, we consistently rank as one of the top employment resources on "America Online."