WHAT’S A LETTER OF INTEREST? A letter of interest is sent to companies that may be hiring, but haven't listed a specific job opening to apply for. You can use a letter of interest to see if the company has any job openings that would be a good fit for you. You might also use a letter of interest to arrange an informational interview with someone at the company. A letter of interest is a great way to get your foot in the door with a company you are interested in.
WHAT’S IN A LETTER OF INTEREST? Your letter of interest should contain information on why the company interests you and why your skills and experience would be an asset to the company. Use the letter to sell yourself, explaining how you would add value to the company. Conclude your letter by explaining that you would like to meet with the employer to explore possible career opportunities. In the conclusion, also provide information on how you can be contacted if the company is interested in following up with you.
SAMPLE LETTER You always keep your letter short and to the point because you want to get it across quickly and clearly, without taking up too much of the employer’s time. Have a look at this sample letter: Joseph Q. Applicant 123 Main Street Anytown, CA 12345 Francisco Muñoz 2018 PR, Human Resources Popular Party Headquarters Genova Street Madrid Dear Mr. Muñoz, I recently read an article about your party’s new approach to digital advertising campaigns in Perfect Politics Magazine Online, and I am writing to inquire whether you have any marketing positions open. The PP has been highly recognized as one of the best parties to work for in the country. You have deliberately set out to create this image. I have five years of experience working as a Marketing Strategist for one of our local parties in the Andalusia province. During my time in this role, I increased the number of website page views by 120 percent and reduced the cost of voters’ acquisition by 20 percent. In addition, our popularity increased by 50 percent during that time. This is so because of my IT experience. It gives me a unique ability to apply technology, in all its forms, to political advertising campaigns. My resume is enclosed with this letter so you can review my education, work experience, and achievements. I would appreciate an opportunity to talk with you or a member of the marketing team to see how my experience and skills could benefit your party. Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to speaking with you in the near future. Yours sincerely, Joseph Q. Applicant (signature for a hard copy letter)
USEFUL EXPRESSIONS Opening: I recently had the opportunity to interact with a few members of your customer support team…/ It is clear that … is an integral part of your company’s core values / It is for this reason that I am writing to you / I feel my own personal values and talents might benefit you / While reading through one of my professional trade publications last week I came across an article outlining why your company has been recognized as one of the best places to work in the country for tech professionals / For this reason, I am sending you my resume in the hopes that I might be able to join your team / I read about Company X's … program and I would like to inquire about the possibility of openings / I am very interested in a career in … and think your program is a perfect match for both my skills and my experiences / I am a recent graduate from the University of … with a degree in …. I have over five years of experience as both a … as well as a… Main body: I believe very strongly in … / I have always made sure to represent both my employer and myself in a professional and ethical manner / I strive to ensure that I am always paying close attention to detail /. If I were to be hired by your company, I would be dedicated to … / I am a hard-working, driven individual and am both a motivated self-starter as well as an enthusiastic team player / I have worked exclusively within the … field for the past five years, and in that time, have worked in a wide variety of positions that I feel might benefit your company / I am experienced in accounting including finance and budgeting / I was also responsible for / I am actively looking for opportunities with companies that would allow me to continue that practice / I firmly believe in the integrity and professionalism of my work and strive to ensure that every aspect of what I do also upholds the company core values. Closing: In the hopes of scheduling an interview with you or answering any questions you might have about me, this letter or my resume, I will call you October 3rd / Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions at any time at (555) 555-5555 or e-mail, Iamawesome@hireme.com / I will call you on April 16th to answer any questions about this letter or my resume in the hope of scheduling an interview / If you prefer, please contact me by phone (555) 555-5555 or e-mail, Iamawesome@hireme.com / Thank you for your time in considering my qualifications /I have included my resume which contains additional information on my experience and skills / I would appreciate the opportunity to discuss the training program with you and to provide further information on my candidacy / I can be reached anytime via my cell phone, 555-555-5555 or by email at Iamawesome@hireme.co / I look forward to speaking with you about this exciting opportunity.
UNIT 3 WRITING ASSIGNMENT Local Election Day is coming up in your city very soon and you come across this online ad by your local council. It raises your concern about changes that need to be made in your community. Make a difference! Get involved in our political campaign and contribute to a better city!
Do not overlook the massive changes that need to be carried out! Avoid disaster! Time to get involved in local politics and make an impact on our day-to-day lives. Here are some of the things you can do for us: - Join us and contact voters door-to-door or phone calling - Attend our campaign events to learn more about our cause - Get a fair and accurate view on what is at stake in the next election
Write an e-mail at localcampaignprogramme@council.org if you are interested in volunteering In 170-200 words, write a letter of interest to your local council showing that you would love to volunteer for the “Get involved in our political campaign” programme. You must include the following aspects in the most appropriate order:
• show your interest • describe a volunteering experience you have already had • ask for information about the programme
Dear Sir/ Madam, I am writing to show my interest in volunteering for your “Get-involved-in-ourpolitical-campaign� programme. I am really keen on local issues that need to be solved and I consider that citizens must be implied in them, since we know our community problems first-hand. I have already collaborated with another local campaign to promote different aspects related to the environment, particularly implementing measures to increase our recycling habits. We tried to make people aware of their role protecting the earth, and all the small actions we can take to contribute to a global purpose. As a result of this experience, I have highly developed my skills of working in teams or communicating and interacting with people. I would like to receive more information about your programme, so I would appreciate it if you could let me know when the campaign events will take place. I am really motivated and enthusiastic about your cause and I think I would be a valuable member of your organisation. Due to my previous experience, I have a great knowledge of the area and the members of the community, which would be a positive aspect to consider. I am available for an interview at any time. I am looking forward to hearing from you. Yours faithfully,
123 Main Street Pontevedra CA 112333 m@gmail.com 123-456-789 4561 PR, Human Resources Natural Party Headquarters London Street Pontevedra
Dear Mr. Muñoz, I recently read your party advertisement for the local council campaign called “Get involved in our political campaign”. I feel my own personal values and talents might benefit you, because they are coincident with those of your party. It is for these reasons that I am writing to you, since I feel I can contribute to it, joining your campaign and helping with many things you would provide. I haven’t got any experience in political campaigns, but in my job I usually deal with many people, so I can help to contact votes door-to-door or phone calling. In the same line, meanwhile I can assist your campaign events. I can learn more about your cause and, consequently, I can better defend your programme, which I would like to know more of. As a result, getting a fair and accurate view on what is at stake in the next election, I will be a mainstay in subsequent campaigns. I enclose my CV, so you can revise my work experience and education. I would appreciate the opportunity to discuss the proposition, to know a few more details about your programme and to provide further information of my candidacy.
Yours sincerely, M.
From: patricia@gmail.com To: localcampaignprogramme@council.org Subject: My interest. Dear Sir or Madam, I recently came across an article outlining the different problems most local councils are facing. I strongly believe that getting involved in politics is a good way to improve our society. For this reason, I am writing to show my interest to support your community and I am sending you my resume in the hopes that I might be able to join your team. I believe in the possibility of a better society if citizens work together hand in hand and I have become aware of the fact that being part of the local government is a healthy start to change the world. I have over seven years of experience as a social assistant and during my time in this role, I have participated in the development of several projects. Besides, I have a lot of ideas that can contribute to your party enormously. I have included my CV, which contains my qualifications, skills and some information of my experience. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions at any time. I look forward to speaking with you in the near future. Yours faithfully, Patricia Penela
Dear Sir or Madam, My name is Cheli Silva and I recently came across an online ad by your local council. It outlined that the local government is going through a political situation which involves a vital need to make imminent changes in your community to contribute to an improvement in your city. For this reason, I feel my own personal values and talents might benefit you, thanks to my degree in political science. In fact, I am fully qualified since I volunteered for my local council in the last election campaign. During that time, I worked in a wide variety of positions, which was a great opportunity to show my strong management skills. In addition, I consider myself an enthusiastic and dedicated professional with excellent communication skills, which would be useful to contact voters door to door. Therefore, I would be very grateful if I could get more information about your manifesto, I firmly believe that I could be of great help. My resume is included with this email so you would be able to value my education, work experience and achievements. Please, do not hesitate to contact me with any questions at any time. I would be pleased to give you further information. I look forward to speaking with you in the future. Yours faithfully, Cheli
Dear Sir or Madam, I recently had the opportunity to interact with a few members of your party and they talked to me about the importance of citizenship contribution to the creation of a better city. It is clear that we need changes so that our dayto-day lives improve. We must bring people all together. That is why I am sending this email, so that I can get to be part of your team. I am a recent graduate from the University of Nebraska with a degree in Politics. Furthermore, I have over two-year experience volunteering for Greenpeace. Back then, I worked with diplomatic affairs and, the way I see it, this could be very useful for the campaign. I am hard-working, observant, committed and always willing to learn. As you can see, I have experience in the field. Nonetheless, I want to get more and improve my skills. I just have a few questions about the campaign. I would like to know the time and the duration, but I am sure we can discuss that in the meeting. I look forward to speaking with you about this exciting opportunity. Yours faithfully, Laura
Dear Major, After reading about the campaign launched by our Town Hall to achieve a better quality of life in our city, I would like to express my total interest and share my knowledge on that issue. Considering that the political campaign is underway, let me tell you about my experience. For some years I have worked for a project to improve personal and labor relations, as well as for the protection and improvement of the environment in urban areas. This experience has given me extensive knowledge in teamwork, which has helped to enhance the quality of people’s lives. Although I do not have all the information about the programme developed by your team, I am convinced that it represents a big challenge for the community. An important aspect of political campaigns is to influence people’s thoughts and routines and this is achieved with the participation of volunteers, whose goal is no other than to change the mentality of their inhabitants to avoid future disasters with their collaboration. For all this, and as I faithfully believe that I can contribute to leading this group of volunteers, I would like to participate in meetings and conferences to learn more about the real intentions of the project. Thank you very much for your time and consideration. Yours sincerely, Pablo Lorenzo
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am interested in an opportunity in getting involved in your political campaign as well as contributing to building a better city. I have some relevant experience on marketing strategies and would like to do so in a volunteer capacity. I volunteered for The Women´s Education Project in Kenia last year. I enjoyed being immersed in the culture and getting in touch with the locals. In this position, I worked closely with local community centers, providing support to women and their families. My role was focused on providing mentoring support around management, financing and educational development to increase independence among the women. As a result, I believe my combined ability to succesfully deal with people from different cultures while also effectively having experienced with marketing strategies makes me the perfect candidate for this role. I would be thrilled to have the opportunity to assist your campaign. It would be an excellent opportunity not only to develop my interest in getting involved in my community but also to contribute to make a better city. My schedule is flexible, and I would be available to volunteer at your convenience. I would be grateful for the opportunity to meet you at a convenient time and if you could provide me with information about the campaign programme. Thank you for your consideration. Yours faithfully, Puri
