Application Letter

Definition

            A letter of application, also known as a cover letter, is a document sent with your resume to provide additional information on your skills and experience.

A type of letter you may called on write at any time is a application letter. You may be writing to ask for a summer or after-school job. Or you may want to be considered for a school program or a summer champ where students are given special training in computer, music, sport.

            Employer or those who must select candidates for special programs ask for letter from applicants. This is true even when the job or special training you apply for has little to do whit writing ability. Those who select people for special programs may fell that a well-planed and correctly written letter will tell them a great deal about an applicant.

Characteristic of Application Letter

    Positivity

        Quality cover letters are written in an enthusiastic tone. Simply going on about your past work experience and successes is not only boring for the reader but often wholly irrelevant to the matter at hand, which is to land an interview. Recruiters and human resources professionals aren't interested in reading about every job you've ever had. Your cover letter should explicate your interest and qualifications in a positive, passionate and friendly tone . This can often be difficult if you're mired in a lengthy job search, but it is a must. If you find yourself faking the enthusiasm, the position probably isn't right for you.

    Perspicacity

        To many job seekers, their professional experience is so familiar to them that they tend to assume sweeping, generalized descriptions of their prior professional experience will be understood by recruiters and human resources professionals. If your cover letter parrots generic administrative experience, chances are you'll be deemed a generic candidate. Delineate your specific experience as it relates to the tasks and responsibilities outlined in the job description. If you lack experience in a particular area, your cover letter should clearly state your desire to learn more about a specific facet of the organization or a professional skill. Enthusiasm can be as effective as experience.

    Initialization

        Effective cover letters should initiate action. Close your letter by stating that you are looking forward to an interview and that you are eager to learn more about the position. Poor cover letters simply conclude under the assumption that the ball is now in the employer's court. If you live in the same city or near the employer, state that you would welcome the opportunity to visit. Words on a page don't sell skills; people do.

Maxwell Wallace. (n.d.) Characteristics of an effective application letter. Retrieved 2003, from http://www.eHow.com.htm