Guidelines to Write an Application Letter

An application letter is an introductory page that a job applicant sends with his resume to the organization while applying for a job. An application letter is also known as the letter of application or the cover letter. The letter is a snapshot of the applicant’s qualifications, experience, and other credentials. It helps the recruiter to get a fair idea about the suitability of the applicant for the applied post.

This is an official letter. Hence, it has to be written within a format. Using the given application letter format, you can write different application letters by slightly modifying it as per the requirement.

• (Complete address of the job applicant)
• (Phone number)
• (E-mail address, if any)
• (Date)
• Subject of the letter (E.g. for the Management trainee position)
• Salutation (Dear Mr. or Ms. Sir/Madam. However, if you know the name of the recruiter, mention it instead of writing Sir/Madam)
• Content includes introduction, significant keywords, and concluding paragraph
• Closing (E.g. Yours faithfully/sincerely)
• (Name of the job applicant)
• Enclosures (Mention the enclosure number and its title. For e.g. Enc. 1 – Resume, Enc. 2 – A copy of the management degree)
• References (If you have any references, do mention the name, designation, organization name and contact details of the reference. Moreover, if there are many references, mention all the references with their details in a serial-wise order.)

Content of the application letter (it is divided into 3 paragraphs)
• Introductory paragraph – Here, you first introduce yourself to the recruiter. Then, mention the job position for which you have applied. Also, write the source from where you came to know about the job opening. If you have been referred by someone in the organization, mention about the same in this paragraph.
• Second Paragraph – In this paragraph, you need to explain how you can be a useful resource to the organization. For this, you need to mention your educational and technical qualifications, work experience, and other skills that will help the organization achieve its objectives. Be concise while discussing your career achievements because the detailed information will be available to the recruiter from your enclosed resume.
• Concluding paragraph – In this paragraph, you thank the recruiter for considering you as a potential employee and ask him how to contact again for further processing.

A job applicant’s first contact with the recruiter is through his letter. Therefore, it must be drafted carefully as it creates the first impression of the applicant on the recruiter.

Know more about Application Letters.