HOW TO WRITE A STANDARD APPLICATION LETTER FOR THAT JOB

A lot of fresh graduates, irrespective of their course of study have always had difficulty in writing a standard application letter when applying for jobs. Although there are many theories of how a standard application letter should look like, a closer analysis reveals reoccurring basic elements of a quality application letter. It is worthy to note that your application letter is what announces your interest in any job offer. Writing a quality application letter, considered as standard or compelling is what makes your employer or job interviewer to begin assessing your  Standard Curriculum Vitae CV.

A quality application letter opens the door to further considerations towards employing you for that dream job. That is why it is very important to learn how to write a professional job application letter, enough to make you stand out from thousands of other job seekers. The fastest way to get a good job after graduation begins with writing and submitting a quality application letter. Once invited for a job interview, you may now prepare for it by learning what your job interviewer wants from you on that judgement day.

Looking for any kind of job - Government civil service jobs, Private sector jobs, Non-governmental Organisation NGO jobs, Oil and Gas Jobs, Expatriate Jobs, etc would always require a good and quality application letter, backed up by a standard CV. This post reveals the features, contents and arrangements of a quality application letter, such that no employer or interviewer would turn you down for that job offer.

FEATURES OF A STANDARD JOB APPLICATION LETTER

The following are the contents and arrangements of a great job application letter;

• OBSERVE A FULL FORMAL LETTER FORMAT FOR YOUR APPLICATION LETTER:

It is a grave mistake when you write a job application letter in a casual, friendly or anyhow manner. All job application letters must be written in a full official format. Observe a block style address section - not slanted. Your address appears on the top right corner of the job application letter. It ends with the date of entry. This is followed by the address of the officer / organisation you are applying to, written on the left section of the letter, after and underneath the addressee.

• BEGIN WITH "DEAR SIR / MADAM," FOLLOWED BY THE SUBJECT OF THE LETTER

The subject or title of the application letter may be written in block letters but without any underlining....or in title case with an underlining and in bold.

• USE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE - DO NOT USE SLANGS, ABBREVIATED OR SHORT FORMS OF WORDS

Your style of grammar gives away your personality. In writing a standard job application letter, you must present your thoughts in good English language, spellings, paragraphing and punctuation. Be polite, respectful and willing in your tone of voice..

• APPLICATION LETTERS MUST BE HAND-WRITTEN

It is very necessary to hand-write all application letters. That is what makes it very personal aside your closing signature. Although it is always indicated in job application requirements, your handwriting must be easy to read, neat and well formed. An uneasy handwriting could make your employers discard your application letters without even bothering to realize you may have a Masters or Doctorate degree,

• BRIEF, CONCISE, STRAIGHT TO THE POINT

A great application letter should be very brief and straight to the point. It does not have to look bulky to read. A many worded application letter most times, discourages the employers from giving full attention to your job application letter. A scanty worded application letter encourages the employer to read through, knowing that he has but a little effort to make trying to read your application letter. Remember that fuller details about you would be contained in your accompanying standard CV and other requested credentials.. 

• HIGHLIGHT BRIEF BIO-DATA IN THE APPLICATION LETTER

It is necessary that while the employer is reading your job application letter, he would be able to form a mental picture of who you might be. Some little information such as your name, highest academic qualification obtained, etc are necessary to be mentioned, while writing a standard application letter for that job.

• REMEMBER TO STATE THE SOURCE OF PUBLICITY FOR THE JOB VACANCY

Mentioning how and where you heard about the job advertisement or publicity not only presents you as a well meaning job seeker, but also tells your prospective employers how serious you had been in searching for that job. Most times, the legitimacy of a job offer largely depends on its publicity source. It is very common to see fake job adverts from illegitimate or uncensored sources such as websites, billboards, SMS text messages etc. As it presently stands, it is your duty as a job seeker to verify the authenticity of any job vacancy publication before applying for it.

• IN CLOSING, USE "Yours sincerely", THEN YOUR SIGNATURE BEFORE YOUR NAME IN FULL

I guess this is self-explanatory. However, it is very important to write your name in full - begining with your surname, separated by a coma "," from the other names. After the surname, then the first name and maybe other names. This is as also shown in How to write a standard CV for job applications.

• DRAW AN IMAGINARY MARGIN LINE AND DO NOT EXCEED IT WHEN WRITING

This makes your presentation neat and well organised. Draw this imaginary margin line in your mind and ensure you do not overwrite on it or exceed it when handwriting.

• INCLUDE A PHRASE WHICH SHOWS OTHER DOCUMENTS ATTACHED TO THE APPLICATION LETTER

This is very necessary as not every neccesary information about you could be contained in the job application letter. You are required to attache herewith a copy of your Curriculum Vitae CV in the envelop conveying the application letter, or as requested by the job application guidelines.