Chapter 1: Business Correspondence--Application Letters
This section focuses on the application letter
(sometimes called a "cover letter"), which together with the resume
is often called
the "job package." You may already have written one or both of these
employment-seeking documents. That's okay. Read and study this section,
and then apply the guidelines here to the resumes and application letters you
have created in the past.
Note: Students enrolled in the online version of TCM1603 at Austin
Community College, please take the reading quiz
on this chapter. (Anybody else is welcome to try it as well.)
This section presents many different ways to design and write application
letters. Nothing here is trying to force you into one design. You
design your own letter using whatever you find here that is useful
and any other sources you know of.
In many job applications, you attach an application letter
to your resume. Actually, the letter comes before the
resume.
The role of the application letter is to draw a clear connection between the job
you are seeking and your qualifications listed in the resume. To put it another
way, the letter matches the requirements of the job with your qualifications,
emphasizing how you are right for that job. The application letter is not a
lengthy summary of the resume--not at all. It selectively mentions information
in the resume, as appropriate.
Be sure to check out the example application letters accompanying this
chapter:
For related matters:
Common Types of Application Letters
To begin planning your letter, decide which type of application letter you need.
This decision is in part based on requirements that employers may have, and
in part based on what your background and employment needs are. In many
ways, types of application letters are like the types of resumes. The types of
application letters can be defined according to amount and kind of information:
- Objective letters--One type of letter says very little: it identifies the position
being sought, indicates an interest in having an interview, and calls attention
to the fact that the resume is attached. It also mentions any other special
matters that are not included on the resume, such as dates and times when
you are available to come in for an interview. This letter does no
salesmanship and is very brief. (It may represent the true meaning of
"cover" letter.)
- Highlight letters--Another type of application letter, the type you'll be doing
in TCM1603, tries to summarize the key information from the resume, the
key information that will emphasize that you are a good candidate for the
job. In other words, it selects the best information from the resume and
summarizes it in the letter--this type of letter is specially designed to make
the connection with the specific job.
How do you know which to write? For our technical-writing class, write the
highlight letter. However, in "real-life" situations, it's anybody's guess. Try
calling the prospective employer; study the job advertisement for clues.
Common Sections in Application Letters
As for the actual content and organization of the paragraphs within the
application letter, consider the following comon approaches.
Introductory paragraph. That first paragraph of the application letter is the
most important; it sets everything up--the tone, focus, your most important
qualification. A typical problem in the introductory paragraph involves diving
directly into work and educational experience. Bad idea! A better idea is to do
something like the following:
- State the purpose of the letter--to inquire about an employment opportunity.
- Indicate the source of your information about the job--newspaper
advertisement, a personal contact, or other.
- State one eye-catching, attention-getting thing about yourself in
relation to the job or to the employer that will cause the reader to want
to continue.
And you try to do all things like these in the space of very short
paragraph--no more than 4 to 5 lines of the standard business letter. (And
certainly, please don't think of these as the "right" or the
"only" things to put in the introduction to an application
letter.)
Main body paragraphs. In the main parts of the application letter,
you present your work experience, education, training--whatever makes that
connection between you and the job you are seeking. Remember that this is
the most important job you have to do in this letter--to enable the reader
see the match between your qualifications and the requirements for the
job.
There are two common ways to present this information:
- Functional approach--This one presents education in one section, and work
experience in the other. If there were military experience, that might go in
another section. Whichever of these section has your best stuff should come
first, after the introduction.
- Thematic approach--This one divides experience and education into groups
such as "management," "technical," "financial," and
so on and then discusses your work
and education related to them in separate paragraphs.
If you read the section on functional and thematic
organization of resumes, just about everything said there applies here. Of
course, the letter is not exhaustive or complete about your
background--it
highlights just those aspects of your background that make the connection with
the job you are seeking.
Figure 1-4. Common sections of application
letters. You can organize the letter thematically or functionally the same
way that you can the resume.
Another section worth considering for the main body of the application
letter is one in which you discuss your goals, objectives--the focus of
your career--what you are doing professionally. A paragraph like this is
particularly good for people just starting their careers, when there is not
much to put in the letter. Of course, be careful about loading a paragraph
like this with "sweet nothings." For example, "I am seeking
a challenging, rewarding career with an dynamic upscale company where I
will have ample room for professional and personal growth"--come on!
give us a break! Might as well say, "I want to be happy, well-paid,
and well-fed."
Closing paragraph. In the last paragraph of the application letter,
you can indicate how the prospective employer can get in touch with you and
when are the best times for an interview. This is the place to urge that
prospective employer to contact you to arrange an interview.
Common Problems in Application Letters
- Readability and white space--Are there any dense paragraphs over 8 lines?
Are there comfortable 1-inch to 1.5-inch margins all the way around the
letter? Is there adequate spacing between paragraph and between the
components of the letter?
- Page fill--Is the letter placed on the page nicely: not crammed at the top
one-half of the page; not spilling over to a second page by only three or four
lines?
- General neatness, professional-looking quality--Is the letter on good quality
paper, and is the copy clean and free of smudges and erasures?
- Proper use of the business-letter format--Have you set up the letter in one
of the standard business-letter formats? (See the references earlier in
this chapter.)
- Overt, direct indication of the connection between your background and the
requirements of the job--Do you emphasize this connection?
- A good upbeat, positive tone--Is the tone of your letter bright and positive?
Does it avoid sounding overly aggressive, brash, over-confident (unless that
is really the tone you want)? Does your letter avoid the opposite problem of
sounding stiff, overly reserved, stand-offish, blase, indifferent?
- A good introduction--Does your introduction establish the purpose of the
letter? Does it avoid diving directly into the details of your work and
educational experience? Do you present one little compelling detail about
yourself that will cause the reader to want to keep reading?
- A good balance between brevity and details--Does your letter avoid
becoming too detailed (making readers less inclined to read thoroughly)?
Does your letter avoid the opposite extreme of being so general that it could
refer to practically anybody?
- Lots of specifics (dates, numbers, names, etc.)--Does your letter present
plenty of specific detail but without making the letter too densely detailed?
Do you present hard factual detail (numbers, dates, proper names) that
make you stand out as an individual?
- A minimum of information that is simply
your opinion of yourself--Do you
avoid over-reliance on information that is simply your opinions about
yourself. For example, instead of saying that you "work well with others," do
you cite work experience that proves that fact but without actually stating it?
- Grammar, spelling, usage--And of course, does your letter use correct
grammar, usage, and spelling?
Return to the table of contents for the TCM1603 Course Guide
(the online textbook for Austin Community College's online
technical writing course).
This information is owned and maintained by David A. McMurrey. For
information on use, customization, or copies, e-mail
davidm@austin.cc.tx.us or call (512) 476-4949.