Practical tips for your application/motivation

Practical tips for your application/motivation

Contribution by LemonGrass Coach Sandra Meijer

Your application or cover letter (or online version of it) is a useful tool for securing an invitation for an interview. With your letter, you are not only going to tell who you are and what you have done, but more importantly bridging the gap between what the organisation is looking for and your person and experience. There is always a difference between your profile and the job requirements. A good appealing letter makes it more likely that this will be seen as less of a problem and you will still be invited for a face-to-face meeting.

Here are some practical and substantive tips to help you do this:

• Always start with an objective analysis of the job description. What values stand out? What are hard job requirements? What language and form are used? This will help you assess your chances, what to look out for, what definitely needs to be addressed and what style to choose.
• If you have an entry point to get more information exploit it. If you make contact, make sure you ask sensible questions! You can make the wrong first impression with an obligatory question (e.g. "How did this vacancy come about?") or a question too focused on your interests.
• The first impression you make in your letter 'sets the tone', so do your best for an appealing opening. What is so interesting to you about this company or position? Why is this vacancy coming up right now?
• In your further motivation, explain specifically why you want exactly this job, in that team and in that organisation, so that you convince the reader that you don't want every job but just this job likes.
• When explaining your experience, always bridge the gap between your experience and how that would then be useful for the organisation / position you are applying (for).
• Show some extra insight and motivation by highlighting something from the ad text and combining it with current news, information from the website or from an annual report or a personal experience or your view on a relevant topic.
• If you blatantly fail to meet certain parts of the profile, it is better to 'address' this yourself and add how you are going to solve or overcome it than to ignore or gloss over it.
• Show something of yourself in your letter and also dare to be self-aware about your qualities and what you get done and how.
• Make sure the content and form of your response match the role and your qualities. (For example, with this, show that you are structured, narrative or creative).
• Double-check your letter and get someone else - with a great sense of language - to check it too.
• Last but not least, try not to have high expectations about the outcome. If you are not invited, it might not be your organisation or your job either, don't get discouraged and 'keep going'!

Good luck!

Want to know more? Feel free to email: sandra@lemongrasscoaching.nl or info@lemongrasscoaching.nl