This was the cover page of Alyson Shontell's letter of application for an interview at Google. What do you think of it?
- Develop your Sales, Coaching and Business Skills in a Positive Environment
- Flexible Work Schedule - Choose Your Hours!
- Domestic & International Travel Opportunities Available
- Are you passionate about working with a vibrant, diverse community?
- Would you like to become a valued member of the Central City Hub team?
- Permanent, full-time position working 40 hours per week
- Pakuranga Campus
- Two Permanent Part Time 20 hours per week, school term time only
- State-of-the-art school sporting facilities
you to stand out from the crowd
next round
Be wary of spending hours on
at the expense of
cover letter
The first thing
________ a potential employer sees in your job application is
the______ . This doesn't just support your CV – it's an opportunity for _________and
persuade the recruiter to put you through to the_________.
___________perfecting your CV ____________your cover letter
1. Standard, conservative style
This is ideal for sectors such as business, law, accountancy and retail.
Dear Mr Black,
Please f___ enclosed my CV in
application f__ the post advertised i__ the Guardian on 30 November.
The nature of my degree course
has prepared me for this p______. It involved a great deal of independent
research, requiring ini____tive, self-m_______n and a wide r____e of skills.
For one course, [insert course], an understanding of the [insert sector]
industry was e______al. I found this subject very stimulating.
I am a fast and accurate writer,
with a keen __e for detail and I should be very _____ful for the opportunity to
progress t__ market reporting. I am able to take o__ the responsibility of this
position _____diately, and have the enthusiasm and de_______n to ensure that I
make a su____s of it.
Thank you for ___ing the time to
con____ this application and I ___ forward to ____ing from you in the n__r
future.
Yours ____erely
2. Standard speculative letter
This may vary according to the nature of the organisation and the industry
you're applying to.
Dear Mr Brown,
I am writing to e_____e if you
have any v______s in your company. I en____e my CV for your information.
As you can s_, I have had
extensive vacation w___ experience in office envi_____, the retail se___r and
service ind___ries, giving me v__ied skills and the a___ity to work with many
different t___s of people. I believe I could fit e__ily into your t__m.
I am a cons_____ous person who
works hard and pays a_____on to __ail. I'm flexible, quick to pick u_ new
skills and __ger to learn from __ers. I also have lots of ideas and e______asm.
I'm keen to work __r a company with a great reu_____n and high pr____le like
[insert company name].
I have excellent ref______s and
would be de______ed to discuss any possible vacancy with you at your c____nience.
In case you do not have any suitable op____gs at the moment, I would be ____eful
if you would keep my CV on fi__ for any ___ure possibilities.
Yours sincerely
Exam task
Write a Standard speculative covering letter for a prospective
employer
Include
Greeting
Intro sentence
Your background and experience
Your skills and characteristics and attitude to work
Your availability and interest in further communication
Sign off formally
Name
3. Letter for creative jobs
We've used the example of a copywriter but you can adapt it for your
profession. The aim of a creative letter is to be original and show you have
imagination, but understand what the job entails. Balance is essential: don't
be too wacky, or it will turn off the reader.
Dear Ms Green,
· Confused by commas?
· Puzzled by parenthesis?
· Stumped by spelling?
· Perturbed by punctuation?
· Annoyed at the apostrophe? (And
alliteration?)
Well, you're not alone. It seems
that fewer and fewer people can write. Unfortunately, there are still a lot of
people who can read. So they'll spot a gaffe from a mile off. And that means
it's a false economy, unless you're 100% sure of yourself, to write your own
materials. (Or to let clients do it for themselves.)
To have materials properly
copywritten is, when one considers the whole process of publishing materials
and the impact that the client wishes to make, a minor expense. Sloppiness
loses clients, loses customers.
There is an answer. Me. Firm
quotes are free. You can see some of what I do on my multilingual website at
[insert web address]. If you'd like, I can get some samples out to you within
24 hours. And, if you use me, you'll have some sort of guarantee that you can
sleep soundly as those tens of thousands of copies are rolling off the presses.
Luck shouldn't come into it!
With kindest regards
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