Professor : Dr. Mark Rajai
Application Letters
 Resume is a focal point in searching a job and it needs
support from employment messages like Application
letter , Job – inquiry letter , Application forms and
Follow-up notes.
 Through Application letter readers will know :
1)What are you sending?
2)Why you are sending?
3)How they can benefit from reading it?
Steps involved in Application Letter
Planning: In this process, you need to do a
research of a company your are applying too.
Writing:
• Be Specific: You need to be clear and express them
that you understand about company and position
you are applying.
• Never volunteer salary information unless an
interviewer asks for it: At this point , you don’t
want to say a specific number.
• Keep it Short: Within 2-3 paragraphs you need to
express your strengths and character .
Steps involved in Application
Letter
Writing( Contd ):
 Show some personality: Along with
Communication skills express them about your
personality.
 Aim for High Quality: Precisely you should
concentrate on Spellings , Mechanics and
Grammar.
Completion: By this step , Readers can know about
your details.
Types of application letters
 Solicited application letter:
• It is a letter to a company for which you are invited to apply.
• This letter should be specific because you will face a huge
competition
 Unsolicited application letter:
 It is a letter to a company for which position for a job is not
announced.
 In this letter you can embrace reader’s attention and interest
by writing your name , Title of the position you are applying
to and Department or a person you are writing to.
AIDA(Attention-Interest-DesireAction)Approach:
 Getting attention :
• In the opening paragraph you should explain clearly
about your reason for writing and giving the recipient
to keep reading your letter.
• Tips to get attention:
1)Present your skills in understanding the
requirements and your qualifications.
2)Use a question to explain your understanding of
company’s Benefits.
3)Explain what you have to offer
AIDA(contd):
 Building Interest and Desire: This shows how you will
meet the job requirements and make sure to refer your
employer to your resume.
 Motivating Action: The final paragraph of your
application letter has two important functions:
1) Politely ask the reader for a specific action
(Don’t Demand the reader).
2) Make it easy for the reader to respond by
providing all necessary information.
Typical Sequence of interviews:
 Interviews has two prospective :
 Company prospective: To find the best candidate
suitable for the Job.
• Candidate Prospective: To find Best Job Suited for him.
 Preliminary screening stage: Usually held at college
campus.
• Best approach: Keep Your responses short and to the
point .
The Typical sequence of interviews
 Selection Stage: You are interviewed with several
people at a time
• Best approach: Show your interest skills and
experience
 Final stage: You are almost selected for the job is and
only if you pass the above stages. At this stage ,
interviewer try to sell you to work for a company.
Common types of Interviews:
 Structured Interview : Usually held in screening stage
and it is controlled by interviewer to gather facts.
 Open-end Interview: Interviewer can know about your
personality and how professional you are.
 Group Interview: Interviewer can know how
interactive you are with other candidates.
 Stress Interview: Interviewer can know how can you
handle stress.
• Best approach: Keep calm and recollect all your
thoughts.
Preparing for successful Job Interview:
 What Employers look for in a Interview:
• Will the candidate be best fit for
organization?
• Can Candidate handle the
responsibilities of the position?
Pre employment tests:
 Common types of tests:
 Integrity test: Tests used to access Logical thinking
abilities of a candidate.
 Personality tests: Tests used to access General
character of a candidate.
 Job skills tests: Tests used to access skills that are
needed for the job of a candidate.
 Substance tests: Drug and alcohol checks are done.
It is a controversial test.
Preparing For Job Interview:
 Learn about organization: Before going to interview ,
you need to learn about Current Market Status of a
particular organization.
 Think Ahead about Questions:
 Planning for the Employer’s Questions: Usually
Interviewer ask question about your skills , goals ,
Achievements , Hobbies and Interests.
 Best approach: You should relate your answers with
Qualifications of organization needs.
Sample Employer’s Questions:
 What was the hardest decision you ever had to make?
 What are your greatest Weaknesses?
 What didn’t you liked about previous
job you have held?
 Where do you want to be five years
from now?
 Tell me something about yourself?
Planning Questions of your own:
 Plan a list of questions that will help you to decide that
the job will fulfill your goals and needs.
 Sample questions:
• Are these my kind of people?
• Can I do this work?
• Will I enjoy the work?
• Is the job what I want?
• Does the job pay what I’m worth?
• What sort of future can I expect with this
organization?
Pre-Interview stages:

Bolster your confidence:
Polish your Interview style:
Plan to Look Good:
Be ready when you arrive:
Focus on your strengths
Better to have Mock Interview
Appearance should be
Professional
Punctuality is the key factor
to success . So be in time
Three stages of successful employment
Interview:
 The Warm-up: This stage held for small fracion of time
and Body language is important at this stage.
 Question and Answer stage: This is main stage of an
interview where interviewer ask about your qualification
and discuss about the points mentioned in resume.
Best approach:
• Dealing with Questions?
• Listening to the Interviewer?
• Fielding Discriminatory Questions?
Three stages of successful
employment Interview:
 The close:
• This stage held in small
fraction of time
• You need to conclude the
interview gracefully
• If possible Discuss about
salary.
Following up After the Interview:
 The most common Follow-up messages are:
• Thank-you message.
• Message of Inquiry
Conclusion :
 Effective application letter encourages employer to
read your resume.
 A typical interview has three phases; screening,
selection, and final stage.
 Employers are looking for employees who are well-
matched with others and have qualifications needed
for the position.
 Job interview has three main components Warm up
stage, question and answer stage, and closing stage.