Chapter 16: Applying and Interviewing for Employment
LECTURE NOTES
Section 1: Submitting Your Résumé
Learning Objective 1: Explain the purposes of application letters, and describe how to apply the AIDA organizational approach to them.
Your résumé will usually be the centerpiece of your job-search package. It needs support from several other employment messages before, during, and after the interview process. These messages can include application letters, job-inquiry letters, application forms, and follow-up notes.
Writing Application Letters
Whenever you mail, email, hand-deliver, or upload your résumé, you should include an application letter, also known as a cover letter, to let readers know what you’re sending, why you’re sending it, and how they can benefit from reading it.
Take the same care with your application letter that you took with your résumé. A poorly written application letter can prompt employers to skip over your résumé, even if you are a good fit for a job.
The best approach for an application letter depends on whether you are sending one of two types:
A solicited application letter to apply for an identified job opening, when the writer knows exactly what qualifications the organization is seeking
An unsolicited application letter —taking the initiative to write to companies even though they haven’t announced a job opening that is right for you
Search for news items that involve the company, its customers, the profession, or the individual manager to whom you are writing. Using this information in your application letter helps you establish common ground with your reader.
For either type of letter, follow these tips to be more effective:
Resist the temptation to stand out with gimmicky application letters.
Impress with knowledge and professionalism instead.
If the name of an individual manager is at all findable, address your letter to that person.
If another applicant finds a name and you don’t, you’re at a disadvantage....