One letter is seldom right for everyone on your list of friends, so you may want to send tailored letters to various subgroups: one for consultants, another for close personal friends, for family, for former vendors, and so on. The more you personalize your campaign, the better it will work. Rao's letters are variations on Dale Kreeger's friendship theme.
RAO PHAISAWANG
13050 North 40th Street | Paradise Valley, Arizona 83606
O: 602-555-3832 | C: 602-557-8255 | rphaisawang@att.net
September 24, 20––
Tracey Lammers
1140 Fairfield Drive N.W.
Sioux Falls, South Dakota 57117
Dear Tracey,
I am in the process of making a job change and am writing to college friends whose opinions and insights I value.
Thirteen years ago I joined Beco-Med, a small-but-gaining medical products company. Over that period its size has tripled and its sales quadrupled. In the process it has moved away from the dynamic let's-make-something-happen-today operation that I thoroughly enjoyed. Now the company has been merged with a competitor to form an organization three times the size of Beco-Med.
Reorganization and downsizing of the management staff are not uncommon activities following a merger of this sort. I have accepted an attractive severance package and am now searching for another small company. I once again want to enjoy the feeling of "making something happen today."
During my working years I have acquired considerable knowledge and experience of manufacturing operations. This, coupled with BSME and MBA degrees, strong organizational skills and leadership abilities, makes me a candidate for consideration in a wide variety of operations management positions.
I realize that you are not an employment office. However, I also know that only 20% of positions filled are listed in the employment ads. The rest are filled by people being in the right place at the right time.
I would really appreciate your reviewing the enclosed resume. If you know of anyone that might be looking, now or in the future, for someone with my background, please contact me. Or if you have any ideas as to where I should direct my search, please let me know that also. With your help I might just be in that right place at the right time!
Thanks!
Rao