1、Unit 3 Job ApplicationWritingaCoverLetterYouwillneedtoknownWhatacoverletterisandwhatitisusedfor?nWhyacoverletterisimportanttousewhenapplyingforajob?nHowtowriteacoverletter(format,contentandlanguage)?nWhatkindofthingsarerememberedoravoidedinacoverletter?YouwillbeabletonEvaluateacoverletter(goodorbad)
2、nCraftagreatcoverletterWhatisacoverletter?nAcover letter,covering letter,application letter,motivation letter,motivational letteroraletter of motivationisaletterofintroductionattachedto,oraccompanyinganotherdocumentsuchasarsumorcurriculumvitaenYourCV/resumewillhaveacoveringletter/aletterofapplicatio
3、n.Itisthefirstandmostimportantletterinyourjob-hunting,which,infact,isyourfirstcontactwithyourtargetemployer.Itiscrucialinyoursuccessorfailureinjobhunting.Whatisacoverletterusedfor?nThepurposeofacoverletteristomakeafavorableimpressionontheemployerandgetyouaninterview.Inmanycases,itisthewell-craftedco
4、verletterthatgetstheapplicanttheinterview,nottheirresume.Therearethingsacoverlettercandothataresumecannot.Thecombinationofbothawell-craftedcoverletterandastrongresumecangiveyouanedgeandaninterview.Whatisagoodcoverletter?nAcoverletterwithstandardformat,integralcontent,logicalclarityandappropriatechoi
5、ceofwordswillmakeyoustandoutamongthemultitudesofapplicants.FormatofacoverletternCoverlettersaregenerallyonepageatmostinlength,dividedintoaheader,introduction,body,andclosing.nHeader.Coverlettersusestandardbusinessletterstyle,withthesendersaddressandotherinformation,therecipientscontactinformation,an
6、dthedatesentaftereitherthesendersortherecipientsaddress.Thefinalpartoftheheaderisasalutation(e.g.,DearHiringManager).nIntroduction.Theintroductionbrieflystatesthespecificpositiondesired,andshouldbedesignedtocatchtheemployersimmediateinterest.nBody.Thebodyhighlightsoramplifiesonmaterialintheresumeorj
7、obapplication,andexplainswhythejobseekerisinterestedinthejobandwouldbeofvaluetotheemployer.Also,mattersdiscussedtypicallyincludeskills,qualifications,andpastexperience.Ifthereareanyspecialthingstonotesuchasavailabilitydate,theymaybeincludedaswell.nClosing.Aclosingsumsuptheletterandindicatesthenextst
8、eptheapplicantexpectstotake.Itmayindicatethattheapplicantintendstocontacttheemployer,althoughmanyfavorthemoreindirectapproachofsimplysayingthattheapplicantwilllookforwardtohearingfromorspeakingwiththeemployer.Aftertheclosingisavalediction(e.g.Sincerely),andthenasignatureline.Optionally,theabbreviati
9、onENCLmaybeusedtoindicatethatthereareenclosures.Howtowriteacoverletter?nStep1:Writea_unique_letternStep2:_Personalize_yourletter.maketheconnection_.whatyouhavegotto_offer_.callfor_further information_.nStep3:Perfectlayout.ThingstoberememberednWhenwritingyourcoverletter,keepinmindthatthereviewerisonl
10、yinterestedinonething:thefacts.Donotthinkofyourcoverletterasanautobiography;itshouldbebriefandtothepointnThepurposeofthecoverletter(andresume)shouldbeonethingitshoulddemonstratethatyoumeetorexceedtherequirementslistedinthejobdescription.nItshoulddemonstratethatyoureinterestedintheposition,andthatyou
11、reavailabletoacceptthepositionifoffered.Additionalinformationbeyondthiscanbecounterproductive,asitdilutesthecorepurposeofthecoverletter.ThingstobeavoidednWhenwritingthecoverletter,avoidnegatives.Acoverletterisnottheplacetoexplainwhyyouleftorareleavinganemployer,whytherearegapsinyouremploymentdates,e
12、tc.Thesenegativesarebestdeliveredinpersonduringtheinterviewsothatyourpersonalitycancounterthem.nTrytoavoidasalaryhistoryinthecoverletter.Evenifthepositionspecificallyasksforyoursalaryhistory,providingthisinformationwillmorelikelycostyouajobthannot.Ifthejobadspecificallysaysthatresumeswithoutasalaryh
13、istorywillnotbeconsidered,giveahistoricalsalaryrange,andstatethatyoursalaryrequirementsareflexiblebasedontheopportunitythepositionwillprovide.nSpendtimethinkingaboutthelayoutofyourletter,andmakesurethatitseasyontheeyes.nItshouldbeeasytoscantheletter,andhavealogicalprogression.Keepinmind,thereviewero
14、fyourcoverletterandresumehashundreds(ifnotthousands)ofcoverlettersandresumestolookat,somakeiteasyforhim/hertofindtheinformationyouwanttohighlight.Buncheduptextinlongparagraphswillfrustrateanyonewhohastoreviewhundredsofresumesandcoverlettersaweek.nInadditiontothelayout,dontjustrepeatyourresume.Yourco
15、verletterisnotasummaryofyourresume;instead,itsanintroductionofyourself,andanargumentforwhyyouarethebestcandidatefortheircompanyandthespecificposition.Aboveall,avoidthegenericcoverletterthatyougetfrombooks.Tipsforwritingagreatcoverletter1.Takethejobpostingandlistthecriteriatheemployerislookingfor.The
16、nlisttheskillsandexperienceyouhave.Statehowyourskillsmatchthejobinparagraphformorinabulletedlist.2.Includeyourcontactinformation(address,phone,emailaddress)atthetopofeveryletteryouwriteandinthesignatureofeachemailmessageyousend.3.Personalizeyourcoverletterand,ifyoucan,addressittotheindividualrespons
17、ibleforhiring.Whenyoudonthaveacontactperson,addressyourlettersandemailmessagestoDearHiringManagerorToWhomitMayConcern.4.Writesimplyandclearly.Yourlettershouldbeonepage,orless.Eachparagraphshouldcontainthreeorfoursentences,atmost.Usea10or12pointfontthatiseasytoreadlikeTimesNewRomanorArial.Singlespace
18、yourletterandleaveaspacebetweeneachparagraph.5.Whenyourewritingacoverletterorsendinganemailmessagetoapplyforajobitsimportanttocloseyourletterinaprofessionalmanner.6.Evenwhenapplyingonlineorviaemail,yourcoverletterneedstobeproperlyformatted,readable,andwithoutanymistakes.7.DontforgettoincludeaSubject
19、inyouremailmessagewithyournameandthejobtitleyouareapplyingfor.8.Includeasignatureonallyouremailmessageswithyourname,phonenumber,emailaddress,andLinkedInURLifyouhaveaLinkedInprofile.Theeasieryoumakeitforthehiringmanagertogetbacktoyou,thebetteroutcomeyoullhave.HintsandTipsn nHerearesomegoodwaystomakey
20、ourapplicationletterstandout:n1.Lookforsomethingunusualinyourexperienceorqualifications Put them near the start of your lettern2.Makethecontentofyourletterappropriateforthejobn3.Avoidannoyingphrases“I hope to get the job.”“I am looking forward to working for you.”n4.Getsomeonetoreadyourletterbeforey
21、ousentitNEVER send your first draft!n5.KeepthelettershortSummarize your strengths on a single pagen6.Mentiontheorganization“I am especially interested by your companys latest products,particularly the P8 series,which demonstrates your commitment to innovation and quality.”“I noted the recent coverag
22、e of your company in the Asian Wall Street Journal.”“I would like to play a part in your plans to expand in the United States that were recently announced by your chairman.”n7.Makeyourletterphysicallyeasytoreada.Dont use handwriting.b.Use a good quality printer.c.Use short sentences and paragraphs.d
23、.Use plenty of breaks and white space.e.Use a type or font that be easily read and use 12-point size.f.Dont overuse italics,bold,underlining or CAPITALS.WrittenassignmentnSearchthesamplesofcoverlettersontheinternetandtrytoidentifythestructureandtheuseoflanguageofthem.nCraftacoverletterforapplication,payingmuchattentiontotheformat,contentandlanguageofthecoverletter.