Format For Writing A Good Application Letter

Most jobs and positions nowadays demand that, you first submit an application letter before you are called for further enquires.

However, not submitting a good application letter can make your dream job or position futile. To avoid this unfortunate thing, we have provided for you in this post a detailed instructions on how to write a good application letter. Samples and templates of a good application letter are provided in this post as well. 

Key Points

  • An Application letter can also be known as: a covering letter or a motivation letter or a motivational letter or a letter of motivation or a cover letter.
  • An Application letter is a letter of introduction that is usually attached to another document such as a résumé/ curriculum vitae (a short document that describes your education, work experience, etc).
  • The primary goal of an application letter is to express one’s interest in an open position or job. The one writing the application letter accentuates why he or she is the best person for that job or position. 
When To Write An Application Letter

Some instances where application letters are written are: 

  • When one wants an employment ( or seeking for a job) in a certain institution. This type of application letter is known as a job application letter. 
  • When one wants to undertake an internship in a particular company or institution.
  • When one needs a loan from a particular financial firm and many more. 
Qualities Of A Good Application Letter

In most cases, your application letter needs to stand out in order to convince the hiring manager or whoever is going to read it. For this reason, you need to know what a good application letter entails before you kick start writing it.

In other words, what are the characteristics of a good application letter?

Have a look at some of the qualities of a good application letter below.

  • A good application letter must be concise. I mean, it should be specific.
  • A good application letter must be up to date.
  • A good application letter must be void of grammatical errors or mistakes. Punctuation marks should be appropriately used and also, there should be no spelling mistakes. More importantly, there should be no typos in a good application letter.
  • Usually, a good application letter is also made up of references.
Format For Writing A Good Application Letter

Writing application letters can be somehow daunting if you are new to it or even if you are not well exposed to the right format in which it is written. 

However, after taking some chill pill and going through the format in which application letters are written, you will finally come into an agreement with me that, writing an application letter is less compelling than one may think. 

Let’s look at the format for writing a good application letter. We will consider the following:

  • Length
  • Format
  • Heading & Address
  • Salutation
  • Body Of The Letter
  • Complementary Closure
Length

Ideally, a page is enough to contain your writings. According to experts, a letter of application should be about 3 – 4 paragraphs. 

Format

Here, we will consider a professional format. This includes: line spacing, alignment, page margins, fonts and fonts sizes.

The alignment of a letter of application should entail single spacing, 1″ (one-inch) margins and left alignment. Again, opt for a traditional font such as: Arial, Calibri or Times New Roman. Then also, use a font size of about 10 – 12 points. 

Heading And Address

You will need two addresses here. One for the writer of the letter and the other for the hiring manager or the supervisor. For instance:

[Your name]

[Your city & ZIP code or Postal Address]

[Your telephone number]

[Your email address]

[Date (usually, use the date on which you will submit your application)]

 

[Name of the employer or manager]

[Title of the employer or manager]

[Company or Institution name]

[Company or Institution physical address]

Never add date to the employer’s or hiring manager’s address.

Salutation

The most well known salutation is “Dear Mr./Ms.” followed by the person’s last name. If you have no idea about the hiring manager’s name, then you can use: Dear Sir or Madam. 

Have it in mind that, the salutation is followed by a “comma”. For instance: Dear Mr. Nelson, 

Body Of The Letter

The body of the letter is the place where the purpose of the application letter is been stated.

You will begin the body of the letter by describing your interest in the job or the position. Take care of this in the first paragraph. For instance: talk about the job or position title for which you are applying and how you got to know about it.

Moving on from the first paragraph to the next, elaborate on your experiences and qualifications. 

In another paragraph, express appreciation to the hiring manager or the supervisor for considering your letter.

Complimentary Closure.

This is the last section of the application letter. 

Many people close a letter of application by using: “Sincerely” or “Best”. The last line should be the full name of the writer however, it is advisable to place a signature above the full name of the writer.

Template Of A Job Application Letter

{Name of the writer}

{Writer’s address}

{Writer’s email address}

{Writer’s phone number}

{Date}

{Hiring manager’s or supervisor’s name}

{Title of hiring manager}

{Company or Institution name}

{Company or Institution address}

Salutation {Dear Mr./Ms.},

1st Paragraph: {Outline how or where you got to know about the job posting and voice your interest in working in this company or role.}

2nd Paragraph: {Elaborate on some of your qualifications that would make you the best option for the job.}

3rd Paragraph: {Discuss about your past experiences in a way that throws more lights on your personality and skills, at the same time also portraying how you align with the goals of the company.}

4th Paragraph: {Express your appreciation to the supervisor or hiring manager for considering your letter.}

Closure {Sincerely, Best}

{Writer’s signature}

{Full name of the writer (printed)}

Thanks. All the best but, don’t forget that, your feedbacks are warmly welcomed. 

 

 

 


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