How To Write An Application Letter For Job Vacancy

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Looking for how to write an application letter for job vacancy? In a world where tons of cover letters and resumes are being trashed daily by Human Resource Managers, writing a classy application or cover letter to tag along with your resume is the least you can do as a job seeker to make your chances of securing a job very fat.

In this article, I’ll be sharing with you some basic ingredients to include in your application letter and how to include them so you can present an outstanding application letter to that HR who usually have a field day ditching hardcopy letters.

How To Write An Application Letter For Job Vacancy in 2019

But First You Need To Know This!

Before rushing to write an application letter after catching a glimpse of a vacant slot, you need to arm yourself with as much information as possible about the company you will be writing to.

Take out the liberty to study extensively, what the company stands for, what they do, what are the qualifications and skills they need, their core values and mission statement.

With the knowledge of this, you can be the judge and know if you are eligible or not.

Also, you can add some of the values they hold to a high esteem in your application letter as part of what you believe in or what you strive to achieve.

Add them naturally, don’t make it seem obvious else the HR will think you are faking it.

When the HR is going through your letter and finds certain core values you believe in which resonates to that of the company, it creates a welcoming atmosphere for you already because you are in concord with the company.

We all tend to develop a spirit of camaraderie with people who share same interests with us and the HR’s are not excluded.

With this in mind, let’s get down to the crux of the matter.

Writing The Application Letter

Your application letter for a job vacancy be written with the professional business or formal letter format which starts with;

  • Your Address
  • Your Addressee’s Address
  • Salutation
  • Body of the letter (Opening paragraph, second paragraph, third paragraph and closing
    paragraph)
  • Complimentary closing
  • Signature

Your Address

If you’ve ever scribbled any formal letter in your life, it’ll be natural to just start off with your address at the top right side of the page.

This is the standard, although some format might have it at the left hand side.

Include your contact information (phone number, email and residential address) here and the date.

Your Addressee’s Address or Employers Contact

This is pretty much easy as your own address.

On the left hand side of the page, add your employer’s contact information or the Human Resource Manager’s contact information depending who you are addressing the letter to.

Most times it’s not always the HR personnel that handles the recruiting.

The managing director might just choose to handle it on a short term basis.

Salutation

As a rule of thumb and as courtesy demands, you must salute your prospective employer or HRM.

So for a salutation, you use your employer’s last name with the prefix “Dear Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms/Prof/Dr. /Eng./Senator.”

As the case maybe. For e.g. “Dear Professor Curtis or Dear Mrs. Anna” However, if you are not sure of the gender, profession or status of your employer, you can make do with a generic salutation like “Dear Sir/Ma”.

Body of the Letter

Opening Paragraph: In this paragraph, you will state the position you are applying for and where you saw the job advert. It’s serves as the introductory section and should be brief.

Second Paragraph: This is like the core of the letter. Here you will state why you are applying for the job and how you fit the description perfectly.

You can add drop some minor details of the information you gathered about the company’s values as part of what you stand for and what you’ll will be doing while you are working.

This will give you an edge.

Third Paragraph: This paragraph is sequel to the second paragraph where you can add a few of the skills you possess which are in line with what the company wants.

With your skills having a potential synergy with what the organization or company does, it makes your HR feel like you are someone to be taken seriously.

The reason for this third paragraph is to ensure you don’t get your letter cluttered and choked up with words which will make readability a major problem.

This is why you have to split it into a third paragraph. The spacing will enhance readability and make it look professional.

Final/Closing Paragraph: In this final paragraph, you can express your gratitude in advance.

Although this is will not guarantee you due consideration, it’s just a formal courtesy to show how appreciative you can always be.

You can also offer a follow-up information; when you can be contacted or interviewed.

Complimentary Closing

You remember the orthodox “yours sincerely” in letters right? This is the part where you use it and add your name after it.

Signature

After the complimentary closing, you can wrap the entire letter up with your signature either handwritten or scanned.

Sample of Application Letter

How To Write An Application Letter
Photo Credit: The Balance Careers
how to write an application letter for any position
Photo Credit: Smartresume.co

Other Things To Note on How To Write An Application Letter in 2019

Make It Brief But Explicit

Don’t try to make an epistle out of your qualifications, your CV has got all that covered already.

Make things as comprehensive as possible. We live in a fast paced world.

Most of these HR’s have issues with patience and so if your application letter is unnecessarily lengthy, they might just pass.

Formatting Is Of Essence

Make use of a readable font style and size. Punctuate properly. After writing your letter, go through it again and again.

View the letter from the lens of a HRM and ask yourself if you can actually hire the person who brought in the letter.

This will make you revert and possibly make some vital changes that will make the difference.

Avoid High-end Vocabularies

Granted! You are a grammarian and your prospects of winning the “the best diction of the year” award is highly likely.

Save it. Nobody has that time to start checking dictionaries for the jargons you are using.

Tone your vocabs down and make your letter as simple as possible.

It’s not a diction competition.

Conclusion

Your application or cover letter is a chance to sell yourself as the right candidate for the job you are applying for in just few words.

So you might want to hit the nail on the head and skip all the things that will pass for a hogwash.

Every day, these companies are encumbered with an army of application letters most of them plague with mediocrity.

It is necessary for yours to stand out of the lot.

You also watch the video below to learn more on how to write an application letter for any position in 2019.

[youtube https://youtu.be/jHg0b7Nai6c?rel=0]

Discussion4 Comments

  1. Ndubuisi chibuzor

    Pls am insearch of work please help me, I am a graduate of mechanical engineering