Letters of Application

If you are replying to vacancy adverts, or simply sending a speculative letter, you will need to find out about the organisation to which you intend to write. You will need the contact name and address as well as information about what the company does. You can use this information to help you think about what it is that you can offer the company.

Use the following pointers in your letter to make it more personal and to emphasise what you know about the company and what you have to offer them.

• Address letters to a specific person. If you don’t know who this is, telephone the company and ask for the name of the person who deals with applications.
• Put your own address and telephone number at the top right of the letter and the date and the name and address of the organisation on the left-hand side.
• If you begin by using a name, e.g. Dear Mrs Shaw, end the letter with Yours sincerely. If you cannot find out the person's name begin with Dear Sir or Madam and end with Yours faithfully. (Note the lower case s and f).
• Write a draft of the letter and check it for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. Ask someone to proof read it before it is sent.
• If you are responding to a specific vacancy advert, include its reference number if this is given in the job advert.
• Sound enthusiastic about the job advertised (or else working for the company in general, if the letter is speculative and no job has been advertised).
• Mention where you have seen the vacancy, or where you heard about the company.
• Be punctual. If there is a closing date for applications, make sure yours is submitted on time.
• Type the letter, word process it or get someone else to do this for you. If this is not possible then write the letter neatly and clearly on quality white paper (A4 size).
• Sometimes employers ask for hand-written letters and you should always provide what is requested. The pen you use should produce your best handwriting. If a mistake is made, start again. There should be no crossings out or inky blots on the letter.
• Organise the page so that the typing or written word looks balanced on the page. For instance, all the margins (top, bottom, sides) should be about the same size. Keep the paragraphs as balanced as possible i.e. a short opening paragraph, a fuller main body of the letter and finishing with a short closing paragraph.

Additional Guidelines for writing Covering Letters

• A Covering Letter is always sent with a CV. The points made in the section above are all relevant to this, but here is some additional advice.
• Briefly emphasise your strong points in the covering letter. These are the skills/achievements/work experience/qualities that draw attention to what you, as an individual, have to offer the employer.
• Some of the information given in the CV can be repeated but keep the letter short (one side of A4 only) and to the point. Use phrases such as, ‘As you can see from my CV, for a number of years I have helped out at Pinewood Kennels, Foxley in my spare time.’

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