Applying for jobs is just like full-time work, isn’t it?
Some of those processes seem like they can take forever, and when you’re
looking for work, taking the additional time muddle through writing a cover
letter can be just another time consuming effort.
The 5-paragraph writing technique can help you to quickly
and easily organize your thoughts so that you can pump out a relevant,
tailored, and well organized cover letter in very little time.
In any cover letter, your goal is to explain why you think
you are the best person for the job. Here’s what you need to do to organize
your cover letter:
STEP 1: The first thing you have to do is to come up with
three reasons why you think you’d be a good candidate for the job. Usually,
these should reflect qualities that the company wants and are listed in the job
post.
STEP 2: Write an introduction that introduces yourself and
previews the three reasons why you think you’d be good for the job.
STEP 3: Further develop the reasons why you’d like to get
the job. For each of the reasons you’ve listed in Step 1, write one paragraph
that states your skill and gives a brief example of how you’ve demonstrated
that skill in the past.
STEP 4: Write a brief conclusion, restating that you’re
interested in the job and reviewing the three reasons why you’d be great at it.
To have a little fun, let’s say that you found a particularly
interesting job posting to be a traveling circus clown.
Step 1: Now you think about what qualities and
qualifications you have that would make you great for the position. Let’s say:
(1) you’re energetic, (2) you like performing, and (3) you know you’re
completely comfortable living out of a suitcase—important for any job that
requires a lot of travel.
Step 2-4: You put your three highlighted points from step 1
into an actual letter, like the one below:
Dear Sir or Madam:
My name is Happy-Go-Lucky, and I am contacting you to apply for the Traveling Circus Clown position describes on CircusJobs.com. I think I would make a great clown because I’m known for being a high energy person who enjoys performing in front of an audience, and I think I’d adapt well to being on the road because I’m comfortable living out of a suitcase for months at a time.
I am a high-energy person. My friends all call me Energy Drink, even though I never touch the stuff. I’m a trained dancer and gymnast and just have a lot of physical energy that I think would be perfect for a clown who needs to use physical humor to engage a crowd.
I also enjoy performing. As I mentioned, I am a trained dancer and gymnast, and I have performed in arenas and competitions to crowds of more than 2,000. I’m very comfortable in these situations, and have even placed in the top three in my four most recent competitions.
While competing, I would sometimes live out of a suitcase for long periods of time. Last year, I traveled for two months going from competition to competition. I was very comfortable living on the road, and I actually found the amount of travel exciting!
I would love to be your next Traveling Circus Clown. I believe I would be successful because I have a lot of energy, I enjoy performing, and I’m comfortable with extended travel. If you have any questions or would like to further discuss my candidacy, please don’t hesitate to contact me at any time.
Sincerely,
Happy-Go-Lucky
Now, as you can see in the letter above, a well-organized letter
is only your starting point. You still need to be qualified, and you still need
to describe your qualifications in a way that will show how great you are the right person for the position.
But if you follow the 5-paragraph writing technique, you’ll
have the structure you need to organize your thoughts and take those first
steps to selling yourself for that perfect job.
Want to learn more about how the 5-paragraph writing technique could help you organize your writing. I’ll be adding posts on these topics in the near future, so stay tuned!:
Subscribe to this blog’s RSS feed to make sure that you stay
informed when these posts go live, and if you have any questions while you’re
waiting for the examples, don’t hesitate to leave a comment!
No comments:
Post a Comment