Write Job Application letter:
It is always a good idea to draft (make a rough attempt) of your letter on a piece of scrap paper, before you write out the ‘final’ letter itself. First jot down the types of information that you want to include in the letter – personal facts, facts about your education, about your job experience, etc., and sort them into the best, most logical sequence – perhaps in the sequence used in the specimen application form (refer to my last post). Then ‘expand’ each fact so that your letter will contain all the information you want – or need – to provide.
The advantage of the draft is that you can make corrections, amendments, additions, deletions, etc., and even change the order(s) in which information is given. Make sure you keep each type of information in a separate paragraph (although some, like details of employment history, may need to take two or more short paragraphs, instead of one long paragraph). You may need to produce two or more drafts before you are satisfied.
When you have produced your best draft, start writing/typing the ‘final’ letter itself, paying particular attention to good, clear handwriting (or typing) and to attractive layout, as explained above. It would be a great pity if all your work in drafting and in producing the final letter is wasted by a poor or untidy presentation.
Copy of Letters
It is always worth retaining copies of letters of application you write, or at least the drafts on which they were based. There are two main advantages:
One: You may be able to use the copies or drafts on which to base other letters, to avoid having to start ‘from scratch’ each time;
Two: You will be able to refresh your memory, prior to an interview, about what information you supplied to a prospective employer. This is important if there is a lengthy gap between your despatch of a letter and your receipt of an invitation to attend an interview, during which circumstances may have changed. For example, you may have stated in a letter that you were awaiting an examination result, but by the date of the interview you may have received the result.
Wherever possible, attach to your copy letter or draft the advertisement in response to which your letter was written. If, for instance, you apply for a number of jobs at the same time, and are called for a number of interviews, you can refresh your memory about each job by re-reading the relevant advertisement. Without copies for reference, you could become confused as to which job you are being interviewed for – this could be embarrassing and, if you say the wrong things during an interview, could lose you the offer of the job.
Note: The foregoing points about copies apply equally to application forms; do, if possible, keep photocopies or carbon copies (on plain paper) of forms you submit, with copies of the relevant advertisements attached to them.
Continued in the following post…