You write a letter in response to a vacancy. Either your personnel officer or manager will read your letter.
The personnel officer makes the decision whether to admit you to the head. It works with a coarse filter: weeds out patients, inadequate, professionally unsuitable and anyone who does not meet the formal requirements of the vacancy. A criterion for the effectiveness of his work - the head received a choice of adequate candidates.
See also: How to write a resume?
The manager decides to hire. He has another problem: a functional hole has formed in business, and it urgently needs to be closed by a qualified, adult and independent employee. It is advisable that the employee copes with the work without assistance. Efficiency criterion - the business function has been closed; you no longer need to spend time on it.
The personnel officer and manager have two pains:
The candidate is inadequate, does not meet the requirements of the vacancy.
The candidate is not independent, you need to bother with him.
To get an invitation to an interview, work with these pains. Nothing more is needed. This is especially not necessary:
Tell your detailed biography. You will be asked about this at an interview.
Say how much money the company will earn with your help. You do not know this for sure, and from the outside it looks ridiculous and childish.
Compare yourself with other candidates. You do not know who else posted the resume.
Talk about how you need work to pay for an apartment and feed your children. Your well-being does not interest anyone yet.
To seek a meeting by all means, for example, “I would like to tell about my work experience in person.” This is like manipulation, and the leader does not have time to meet everyone. It’s easier for you to refuse.
Now let's show the employer that you are adequate, professional and independent.
See also: Types of interviews: what should you be prepared for?
Job requirements
Imagine the vacancy text is a treasure map. You must be able to read it, and your piastres. Look at each item in the vacancy and think about why it is there. What is the pain behind him?
Sociability. It is important that you want and can communicate with clients from morning to evening. Customers come across harmful.
Full customer support. You must lead the client yourself, answer all questions and solve problems. The main thing is not to touch colleagues and do everything yourself.
Management of contractors, work with contractors. You will receive tasks for seven, and your task will be to ensure that it is completed by seven independent contractors, for a reasonable price and in the right quality. You are responsible for the result.
Teamwork. In addition to you, other people work in the department, and they will constantly ask for something from you. Be prepared to help them.
Work on the result. You do not whine and do not give up if something does not work out, but you finish it to the end. With refining.
Stress resistance. Your colleagues, partners, contractors, or executives are disorganized, forgetful, or unreliable. Accept this fact of life and deal with it.
Experience in the corporate environment. You should know that corporations are an oppressive swamp. You must be able to resist this and do your job.
At least two years of marketing experience. You have no time to train. If you do not know the profession, you will not cope.
Examine vacancy requirements under a microscope. If at least you do not meet them, this is serious baggage.
Create a label of three columns or rows: Yes, No, and Don't Know. In “Yes” write down the requirements that you exactly meet and can prove it. In the "No" - just do not match. In “I don’t know” - those things that you do not understand or cannot prove. It will turn out something like this:
Yes - 2 years marketing experience, knowledge of English, management experience.
I don’t know - sociability, stress resistance, learning ability.
No - work experience in a corporation, work in program X.
The last paragraph in the “Yes” add independence, if you have not done so before. Give yourself an argument in which you are independent. The argument should concern the vacancy:
He conducted corporate mailing independently: he solved technical, organizational, financial issues, connected designers and writers, and corresponded with readers.
I conducted an advertising campaign on my own: from the idea to the analysis of statistics. Connected designers, agencies, coordinated the placement of billboards at City Hall, worked with the printing house.
The table you compiled is the outline of your cover letter. Let's write it now.
Letter
Relax, take a deep breath. Writing a cover letter is easier than it sounds.
Take the first formal requirement from the “Yes” column. Explain in one paragraph why you meet this requirement:
For the last two and a half years I have been working in the marketing agency “X”: I conducted advertising campaigns for clients, collected statistics, worked on documentation and solved problems with contractors.
Fluent in English: graduated in. I was at university X, worked as a tutor and English teacher, lived in the USA for three months. One of my clients at X was an international company: all correspondence and skype with them were in English.
Please note: I talked about education and summer trips to America, but not within the framework of a general biography, but with reference to the requirements of the vacancy. If a job did not need knowledge of English, this information would be useless.
When you have described all the requirements from the Yes column, go to I Don't Know. Keep on being honest:
It’s hard for me to appreciate how sociable I am. At past places of work, I constantly talked with clients and contractors, spoke at conferences, and gave presentations within the company. According to my feelings, there were no problems with communication. However, I do not have a public education, I did not take courses in communication or negotiation.
Pay attention to the formula:
I do not know + My actual experience + Possible problems and obstacles.
Let's try again:
In the vacancy there is a requirement "stress resistance". It is difficult for me to judge myself in this vein. At the previous place of work, I often had to work in an emergency mode, finish projects at night, redo presentations five minutes before the start, or urgently find new contractors. I coped with these tasks, but after a long rush, I needed a rest. Unfortunately, I do not yet have professional techniques to deal with stress, but I plan to study them.
Now the “No” column. Also, honestly admit that you do not meet these requirements. If you are ready to fix this flaw, write about it:
Unfortunately, my experience in marketing is only a year. During this time, I conducted six advertising campaigns and two studies, attended marketing courses and launched a new company website, but I understand that I still have little experience.
Unfortunately, I have never worked in a corporation. At the previous place of work, I worked remotely, talked with contractors on Skype and reported to one manager. I am ready to work in the office, but I don’t know how corporate style will affect my work.
So you disarm the addressee: he only wanted to drop you because of a mismatch with the formal requirements, and you honestly admitted to him that you did not know how, but were ready to improve. Honesty is the best strategy.
Remember that formal requirements in a job are not just. If it says "work in the office", this does not mean that you agree to work remotely. Sometimes “office work” means office work. And if you do not meet this requirement, you do not qualify for the vacancy. Even if you are a genius, and your letter is brilliant.
Finishing touches
If the vacancy has five formal requirements, now your letter should have five paragraphs, one for each requirement. Plus a paragraph on independence. Six. Three more remained: introduction, conclusion, appeal.
In the introduction, you say you want to work in this position. The paragraph goes at the very beginning:
Hello! My name is Maxim. I want to become the chief editor in the journal "Golden Taurus".
The purpose of the introduction is to immerse the reader in context. Here you are, here is a vacancy, you want to close it. Point.
The conclusion will go after the main text of the letter. Tell us why you want to work in this company:
I have been reading The Golden Calf since childhood. This magazine inspired me to become a writer and journalist. Now I want to take part in its creation.
I want to work with you because I like your projects and clients: Nestle, Adidas, Microsoft.
I want to work with you because your values and principles inspire me.
If you have nothing to say, but just need money, then omit the conclusion and proceed to the appeal.
A call is an invitation to continue the dialogue:
I will be glad to answer questions and complete the test task.
I will be glad to talk personally.
Unfortunately, until September I will not be in the city, but I will be glad to talk by phone or mail.
Do not forget the decree
The personnel officer makes the decision whether to admit you to the head. It works with a coarse filter: weeds out patients, inadequate, professionally unsuitable and anyone who does not meet the formal requirements of the vacancy. A criterion for the effectiveness of his work - the head received a choice of adequate candidates.
See also: How to write a resume?
The manager decides to hire. He has another problem: a functional hole has formed in business, and it urgently needs to be closed by a qualified, adult and independent employee. It is advisable that the employee copes with the work without assistance. Efficiency criterion - the business function has been closed; you no longer need to spend time on it.
The personnel officer and manager have two pains:
The candidate is inadequate, does not meet the requirements of the vacancy.
The candidate is not independent, you need to bother with him.
To get an invitation to an interview, work with these pains. Nothing more is needed. This is especially not necessary:
Tell your detailed biography. You will be asked about this at an interview.
Say how much money the company will earn with your help. You do not know this for sure, and from the outside it looks ridiculous and childish.
Compare yourself with other candidates. You do not know who else posted the resume.
Talk about how you need work to pay for an apartment and feed your children. Your well-being does not interest anyone yet.
To seek a meeting by all means, for example, “I would like to tell about my work experience in person.” This is like manipulation, and the leader does not have time to meet everyone. It’s easier for you to refuse.
Now let's show the employer that you are adequate, professional and independent.
See also: Types of interviews: what should you be prepared for?
Job requirements
Imagine the vacancy text is a treasure map. You must be able to read it, and your piastres. Look at each item in the vacancy and think about why it is there. What is the pain behind him?
Sociability. It is important that you want and can communicate with clients from morning to evening. Customers come across harmful.
Full customer support. You must lead the client yourself, answer all questions and solve problems. The main thing is not to touch colleagues and do everything yourself.
Management of contractors, work with contractors. You will receive tasks for seven, and your task will be to ensure that it is completed by seven independent contractors, for a reasonable price and in the right quality. You are responsible for the result.
Teamwork. In addition to you, other people work in the department, and they will constantly ask for something from you. Be prepared to help them.
Work on the result. You do not whine and do not give up if something does not work out, but you finish it to the end. With refining.
Stress resistance. Your colleagues, partners, contractors, or executives are disorganized, forgetful, or unreliable. Accept this fact of life and deal with it.
Experience in the corporate environment. You should know that corporations are an oppressive swamp. You must be able to resist this and do your job.
At least two years of marketing experience. You have no time to train. If you do not know the profession, you will not cope.
Examine vacancy requirements under a microscope. If at least you do not meet them, this is serious baggage.
Create a label of three columns or rows: Yes, No, and Don't Know. In “Yes” write down the requirements that you exactly meet and can prove it. In the "No" - just do not match. In “I don’t know” - those things that you do not understand or cannot prove. It will turn out something like this:
Yes - 2 years marketing experience, knowledge of English, management experience.
I don’t know - sociability, stress resistance, learning ability.
No - work experience in a corporation, work in program X.
The last paragraph in the “Yes” add independence, if you have not done so before. Give yourself an argument in which you are independent. The argument should concern the vacancy:
He conducted corporate mailing independently: he solved technical, organizational, financial issues, connected designers and writers, and corresponded with readers.
I conducted an advertising campaign on my own: from the idea to the analysis of statistics. Connected designers, agencies, coordinated the placement of billboards at City Hall, worked with the printing house.
The table you compiled is the outline of your cover letter. Let's write it now.
Letter
Relax, take a deep breath. Writing a cover letter is easier than it sounds.
Take the first formal requirement from the “Yes” column. Explain in one paragraph why you meet this requirement:
For the last two and a half years I have been working in the marketing agency “X”: I conducted advertising campaigns for clients, collected statistics, worked on documentation and solved problems with contractors.
Fluent in English: graduated in. I was at university X, worked as a tutor and English teacher, lived in the USA for three months. One of my clients at X was an international company: all correspondence and skype with them were in English.
Please note: I talked about education and summer trips to America, but not within the framework of a general biography, but with reference to the requirements of the vacancy. If a job did not need knowledge of English, this information would be useless.
When you have described all the requirements from the Yes column, go to I Don't Know. Keep on being honest:
It’s hard for me to appreciate how sociable I am. At past places of work, I constantly talked with clients and contractors, spoke at conferences, and gave presentations within the company. According to my feelings, there were no problems with communication. However, I do not have a public education, I did not take courses in communication or negotiation.
Pay attention to the formula:
I do not know + My actual experience + Possible problems and obstacles.
Let's try again:
In the vacancy there is a requirement "stress resistance". It is difficult for me to judge myself in this vein. At the previous place of work, I often had to work in an emergency mode, finish projects at night, redo presentations five minutes before the start, or urgently find new contractors. I coped with these tasks, but after a long rush, I needed a rest. Unfortunately, I do not yet have professional techniques to deal with stress, but I plan to study them.
Now the “No” column. Also, honestly admit that you do not meet these requirements. If you are ready to fix this flaw, write about it:
Unfortunately, my experience in marketing is only a year. During this time, I conducted six advertising campaigns and two studies, attended marketing courses and launched a new company website, but I understand that I still have little experience.
Unfortunately, I have never worked in a corporation. At the previous place of work, I worked remotely, talked with contractors on Skype and reported to one manager. I am ready to work in the office, but I don’t know how corporate style will affect my work.
So you disarm the addressee: he only wanted to drop you because of a mismatch with the formal requirements, and you honestly admitted to him that you did not know how, but were ready to improve. Honesty is the best strategy.
Remember that formal requirements in a job are not just. If it says "work in the office", this does not mean that you agree to work remotely. Sometimes “office work” means office work. And if you do not meet this requirement, you do not qualify for the vacancy. Even if you are a genius, and your letter is brilliant.
Finishing touches
If the vacancy has five formal requirements, now your letter should have five paragraphs, one for each requirement. Plus a paragraph on independence. Six. Three more remained: introduction, conclusion, appeal.
In the introduction, you say you want to work in this position. The paragraph goes at the very beginning:
Hello! My name is Maxim. I want to become the chief editor in the journal "Golden Taurus".
The purpose of the introduction is to immerse the reader in context. Here you are, here is a vacancy, you want to close it. Point.
The conclusion will go after the main text of the letter. Tell us why you want to work in this company:
I have been reading The Golden Calf since childhood. This magazine inspired me to become a writer and journalist. Now I want to take part in its creation.
I want to work with you because I like your projects and clients: Nestle, Adidas, Microsoft.
I want to work with you because your values and principles inspire me.
If you have nothing to say, but just need money, then omit the conclusion and proceed to the appeal.
A call is an invitation to continue the dialogue:
I will be glad to answer questions and complete the test task.
I will be glad to talk personally.
Unfortunately, until September I will not be in the city, but I will be glad to talk by phone or mail.
Do not forget the decree
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