How to Write a Letter of Interest
Letters of interest are written to express your interest in working for a
particular company in a specific field. Your letter may be written
either in response to a job opening or just to investigate possible
employment.
Human resource departments receive dozens of letters of interest each
week. However, make your letter stand out from the crowd using the
following tips:
- Before you write, do your homework. Research the background of the
company and familiarize yourself with their products and/or services.
- Be sure to find out the name of the individual who does the hiring.
Address your letter to his/her attention and use her/his name in the
salutation. Simply writing “To Whom It May Concern” and “Dear Sir or
Madam” could be considered be lazy or rude.
- Start your introductory paragraph with the reason you are interested
in pursuing employment with this company. Try not to start the first
sentence with “I”. (See sample letter of interest.) Also, explain what
prompted your inquiry, such as a classified advertisement, a media
article or interview, or a referral from an employee.
- In the next paragraph(s), give specific examples of your
qualifications. Don’t hesitate to indicate the reasons why you would be
an asset to the company. Illustrate your skills, strengths, and
achievements in a professional, yet personable way. Stay away from
strings of abbreviated credentials. These, if you have them, should be
on the resume you’ll enclose with the letter. Direct the reader to your
resume and any other enclosures.
- In your final paragraph, thank the individual for his/her time in
considering you as a new employee. Indicate a precise time when you will
contact him/her by phone to follow up on your letter. Also, be sure to
let the individual know how to contact you.
A hard-copy interest letter should be written in the
business letter format, while an email should be sent in the same format but without the heading (your return address, their address, and the date).
Keep your letter short, no more than a single page. Remember to check
it thoroughly for errors in spelling, grammar and to be sure it
addresses each point you wanted to make
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