Today we would like to speak with you about how to start properly your application letter. Usually, the beginning isn’t a very simple thing, so here we provide you with the main information to help you deal with it.
The list of things that must be in the beginning
- the greeting;
- your name and qualification;
- the reason for your letter.
The greeting
First of all, we recommend you to look attentively at the company information, for which you’re going to write the letter. Remember or save in text file names and main information about the company. To get the information, use the Internet or the sources, that company provided itself. If you know about the company after your friends’ recommendations, you can tell about it too. Start your letter with a polite greeting using found names. If you could not find the names, use only the company name. Good words for the greeting are:
“Dear Mr./Mrs.”
“Dear hiring manager”
“Dear Firstname Lastname”
Don’t use the only first name and informal greetings like:
”Hi”
“Hello, Name”
“Good morning all”
Using of these words are too familiar and suits only if you know the person already. Tip for those who know the employee personally: you can use more informal greeting for your letter, but not to be too personal.
Your name and qualification
Introduce yourself and point out your current profession. If you’re just a student, or don’t have yet the experience that the company needs, you can tell about that too, but then you need to spend a little more time to tell about the reasons for your letter. Be honest, because your lie can be not evident in the letter, but after the interview, in reality, everything becomes clear. You can be ashamed after it or even lose your motivation for further search. You can write also your contacts at the beginning of the letter, or write them in the end.
The reason for your letter
At this point you need to tell, why you’re interested in this job, your reasons must be not too detailed. Tell about your interest in this profession and something about your previous similar work in this field. Tell something about the company policy and ideas that you like and that inspired you. If you don’t have experience in this field yet, say about it and tell about your great interest in this field. Students can tell something about their graduate work if it concerns the skills that the company needs. Try to do this part of letter very personal for the company, your letter doesn’t be like you sent it other 15 companies. Especially it is about the middle of the letter, but read another article about the whole application writing on our site. The reason at the beginning of the letter must be short, it is not the same that the detailed story about your previous relevant experience in the middle.
Things that you’ll better not to do in the beginning
- Use the names of people improperly
Here is our first advice. Use the names only if they are provided in open sources! Nobody likes spies and you can just scare people if you show them that you know too much personal information about them. There are two possible exceptions for this point: if you’re trying to become a CIA agent or first-class hacker. But we recommend you to think again before giving your personal information.
Now the second advise. Don’t ever confuse the names of people and companies! If someone opens your letter and sees the inappropriate name, with big opportunity your letter will be sent in spam without further reading. No one wants to spend the time on garbage.
- Employers don’t like when you write that you need this job
Every company wants to see in their staff strong and clever people, who choose their company not because of the money, but because these people are interested in what they are doing. Even if you need in money desperately, don’t mention about it. Instead of it, write about your interest.
- Don’t say about your experience honestly
As we mentioned before, don’t lie about your previous experience in the company field. Today it is very easy to examine all the information by connecting with your previous employer or by asking you professional questions on the interview. You just spend your time in vain and spoil your reputation if you’re lying. Don’t brag also too much.