The job application letter

• Definition, Explanation
• Tips, Checklist

With an application, you offer your performance on the job market. Like a product, you want to present yourself best possible. When you have found a job that you want to get, you apply – be it in response to a job ad or unsolicited for your favourite job. You can apply written on paper, in an email or with a form provided by an employer who looks for applicants. An application comprises a main text referring to the job ad, a curriculum vitae with your photo, and certificates and school reports. After a number of people have applied, candidates are selected and invited to job interviews.

• Provide a nice packaging. The outer appearance is the first criterion to sort out applications
• Spend as much effort in an email application as you would spend in a paper-written one. A form should be filled carefully, and required attachments must be given along
• In the cover letter for your application, refer as detailed as possible to the job ad. Show that you possess the demanded abilities and why you are interested in this job and this employer
• Write concise, not a novel
• Do not give up. Several hundred applications per job ad are rather the rule than an exception. So a refutation does not mean a personal failure
• The „one and only“ application does not exist, even if some consultants imply in their application checks. Have friends and relatives look through your material and inform yourself about the usual requirements on the web or in related literature. Every personnel department have their own preferences and ideals of their favourite candidate
• If you are not responded for more than 3 weeks, ask them
• Thoroughly prepare for your job interview. Mind that this will be your only chance of applying for this job