A letter of application is one’s first introduction to his/her prospective employer. It is a persuasive message that sells the applicant’s talents to the employer. In that case, it should be similar to that of a sales letter in attracting and impressing the reader and motivating him to take action. Job application letter, usually, has two parts: (i) Cover letter and (ii) Resume.
(i) COVER LETTER
The cover letter is not just a forwarding letter. The purpose of writing a cover letter is to persuade the employer to read the resume enclosed. It should be tactfully written and carefully organized, so that it gains attention and builds interest and motivates the employer to take action.
Format
Though there are many formats, full block format with open punctuation marks is the most popularly used forms in today’s business communication. Full block format means, aligning all the parts of the letters in the left margin without indenting. One line space has to be left between the parts. Open punctuation refers to using punctuation marks only in the main body of the letter in order to ensure clear comprehension and omitting punctuation marks like commas and full stops in all other parts (date, address, salutation, subscription, etc.)
How to Write an Effective Cover Letter?
An effective cover letter must convince the employer that the candidate possesses the requisite skills for the job and ensure him that he is the suitable person for the post. So the cover letter should highlight the most relevant skills/achievements/performance, needed for the job. The cover letter is usually written in three or four small paragraphs with enough white space in between.
In the first paragraph,
(i) mention the subject and reference. In other words, the name of the post you are applying and the source of information (name of the newspaper and the date) are to be mentioned. In case of some other sources like personal contacts, due