Just because a job is not advertised doesn’t mean that there is no perfect job for you. You can conjure up a fantastic opportunity for yourself out of nothing. With a letter of interest, you can demonstrate your potential. It can open doors to opportunities that would otherwise be closed.
If you believe in yourself that you’re a perfect fit for the role and have plenty of reasons that a job could be created for someone with your skills, then a letter of interest is a valuable weapon in a job seeker’s repertoire.
According to an article from Rasmussen University, showing professionalism in drafting your letter is the way you conduct yourself at work.
More so, let’s take a step further into the specifics and different formats of letters of interest.
What is a Letter of Interest?
A letter of interest is a one-page formal business letter in which you express your desire to work for a company in a specific role. It introduces potential applicants to a company that has not publicized a job open position. It contains all about your personality and experience to know whether you are a fit candidate for the position.
Moreover, job seekers send a letter of interest to express their desire to discover more about the company they want to work for and any currently offered work opportunities.
Furthermore, a letter of interest needs to be short and persuasive so you will be able to showcase why you will be an excellent fit for the company.
Once you’ve got the hiring manager’s attention and piqued their interest, they can look over if any current or upcoming open job positions perfectly suit your skills and work experience.
When Should You Write A Letter of Interest?
A letter of interest can be sent at any time. But considering these instances will most likely make your letter of interest immediately catch the hiring manager’s attention and check for the available positions for you.
Here are the following occasions that will put your mind on the right track to compose a letter of interest:
- When you find a company with better workplace culture, management, and project goals since you want to be the first one to hear about their job opportunities there.
- When you see an announcement for a new job opening that you are interested in working at.
- When you encounter an article about a fascinating company that is a perfect fit for your skills and experiences.
- When someone informs you regarding a job opening that has not been advertised or publicly announced yet.
- When you want to work in a more specialized field.
Tips To Write An Engaging Letter of Interest
A letter of interest is a letter that will be your one shot to impress your target company to work for, thus, it needs to be engaging. There are four essential components you must include in your letter of interest to persuade a hiring manager to read it, respond to it, and consider you for a job.
- Catch the hiring manager with proof that you understand her worries or problems.
Hiring managers don’t hire people just to impress and be nice to them. Hence, they hire potential applicants to build and run their team better.
To immediately hook the hiring manager’s attention, you should indicate in your letter of interest that you understand her problems she’s really trying to solve.
- Point out the problem to remind the hiring manager that she requires a solution.
To make a hiring manager realize how valuable a solution could be, you should remind her just like how stressing her problems are.
Moreover, in order to make her visualize her problems as much as possible, you need to be specific. When she realizes all her painful situations, she will have more of a sense of necessity to resolve it.
- Prove that you are the solution through your skills and experiences.
If you are really the solution to the hiring manager’s problem, you should prove to her how you have used your skills to solve similar situations in your previous experiences.
After that, you should indicate how you will be able to use those learnings to help solve her problems. By gauging your accomplishments and researching the company’s pain points, you are proving your worth and why they should hire you.
- Request to proceed to the next step with confidence.
At the end of the letter, you should express your interest in discussing upcoming opportunities or ask her to keep you top of mind when there’s an open job opportunity for you.
In addition, one of the important things to do is to leave a call-to-action so they can tell her how to get the ball rolling. Nothing will happen if you don’t tell the hiring manager about what will happen next.
More so, always keep in mind that the reader is not looking forward to hearing from you, so you must keep it brief, direct and concise.
Sample and Template
Here is an example of a Letter of Interest. You can gather ideas for the proper format of this letter by doing so.
Sample of Letter of Interest
Gabrielle T. Swift
152 Main Street
Smalltown, CA 4321
gabswift@email.com
312- 468- 902
December 07, 2022
Leo Schwann
Director, Human Resources
Best GD
234 Business Rd.
Business City, CA 1234
Dear Mr. Schwann,
I read an article about Best GD’s fresh approach to graphic design in Goldhand Media’s art department. I’m writing to see if you have any open positions that would be a good fit for my skills and experience.
Your diverse development process and successful mass marketing campaigns impressed me. More specifically, I want to pursue my passion and career in graphic design, and it will be my pleasure to learn more about opportunities at your company.
I received a Master of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design from the University of Sydney. During my studies, I worked as an intern in McHigh Productions’ design department. Since then, I’ve gained experience by helping to produce Nevertheless magazine.
Please let me know when we can discuss this graphic design further at your convenient time. My resume is attached to this letter so you can review my educational background, work experience, and accomplishments at your leisure. I would appreciate the opportunity to speak with you or any member of your company to discuss how my skills and experiences could benefit your organization. Thanks and God Bless!
Sincerely yours,
Gabrielle T. Swift
(Signature in hard copy letter)
Emailing the Letter of Interest to a Prospective Company
In today’s world, a common way to apply for a job is by email. Furthermore, some employers prefer that applicants send a letter of interest rather than a typical resume or cover letter.
In fact, sending emails a letter of interest presents a unique set of challenges when compared to traditional methods of application. You must introduce yourself and summarize your skills in a single document in order to persuade the reader to interview you for the open job position.
It is critical that your first email leaves a strong impression of you, which is why we have provided some tips on drafting your email:
- Use a Professional Account
When applying for a job, use a professional email address so you can keep track of all your applications since they will not be mixed in with your personal email account.
- Be Professional
Just because you are sending your letter of interest via email does not mean that you can be casual in composing your message. Take your time crafting your letter of interest with care and desire, because the primary objective here is to get an interview.
- Attach Your Documents
Before clicking the ‘send’ button after you’ve finished writing your message, make sure you’ve attached all of your documents to the email message.
- Review and Proofread Your Message
It is also crucial to write your correspondence with the same precision as you would a published letter. You should proofread your message to ensure that the formatting of your attachments is accurate.
- Start with the Salutation
When writing a letter of interest, you immediately start with the salutation and leave out the date or address paragraphs.
- Write an Appealing Subject Line
Make sure that you choose an appealing subject line so you will be able to get the reader’s attention.
- Brief and Direct
Your message should be brief and to the point. Attention spans are short when viewing messages from email, so a few paragraphs should be enough.
- Email Signature
Use your email signature to include your contact information, references to your LinkedIn profile, and website so that the contact person can easily look more deeply into your skills and experience,and overall qualifications.
Letter of Interest for Different Scenarios
A letter of interest is not only used when applying for a job at the company where you want to work.These are the different scenarios where you are required to write a Letter of Interest:
A Residency Letter of Interest is a brief letter in which you explain your first program choice and the reasons for your decision.
In this letter, you must discuss your accomplishments, career goals, and how they contribute to you becoming an important part of the specified organization.
A Letter of Interest After an Interview is a necessary step in proving yourself during the interview process. Sending this letter demonstrates courtesy and professionalism.
It will allow you to add anything you did not mention during your interview and reaffirm why you are the best candidate for the job. Moreover, this clearly shows your interest in the open position and allows you to track the status of your job application.
Letter of Interest for a Loan will enable you in expressing your intention to request a loan, the loan amount proposed, and the reasons why the creditor should consider the applicant’s loan request. Moreover, this will also help you to catch the lender’s pleasure if they are willing for a loan.
This letter is absolutely essential for people with whom you have some level of involvement in their business dealings. Furthermore, the Letter of Interest for Business should be written in a professional tone.
Make certain that you state the entire purpose of the letter and include all necessary details in the letters. This letter is commonly used in major business transactions and resembles term sheets.
Many universities and graduate or professional programs require a Letter of Interest for University Admission as part of the admission process. This will let them decide on which program perfectly suits your accomplishments and personalities.
Related Types of Letter of Interest
Many people are completely baffled by Letters of Interest, believing that they are simply similar to other letters used in job applications. However, this letter differs from the others, which are as follows:
- Letter of Introduction
A Letter of Introduction is a document written to introduce yourself to someone in your company in order to establish a business relationship with them or to confirm if they can assist you in obtaining a job opportunity.
In fact, this letter is intended to connect you with others in your industry in relationships that may be mutually advantageous to both parties.
- Letter of Intent
A Letter of Intent is a document declaring the preliminary commitment of one part to do business with another. Provisions like confidentiality and exclusivity make the letter binding to concerning individuals and entities.
Moreover, It first goes through drafting so that the parties can start negotiating and make changes if necessary. After they have agreed to the terms, the final Letter of Interest draft is prepared and signed.
- Letter of Recommendation
A Letter of Recommendation is a letter in which the author describes and vouches for the character traits, skills, and overall quality of the person being recommended.
- Referral Letter
A referral letter is not the same as a letter of recommendation. It is a document that you may be required to submit when applying for a job, internship, or volunteer opportunity.
It is a letter written about you by someone else that explains why you would be a good fit for the position you are applying for.
- Cover Letter
When applying for a job, a Cover Letter is an official letter that expresses interest in a position at a company. It introduces the applicant and explains why he is the best candidate for the job. It is also an essential component of the job application process.
Key Takeaways
- Having the guts to send a letter of interest when you’re not sure if there’s a role is not for the faint hearted.
- If you believe in yourself and are enthusiastic about the hiring manager, your letter of interest will less likely be ignored.
- You should understand first your qualifications for the role and be appealing as much as possible in explaining your worth. In this manner, you can precisely capture the hiring manager’s attention.
- Being professional plays an essential role when sending an email to a prospective company.
- A letter of interest is not only used to express your desire for a job; it can also be used for residency, after an interview, for a loan, business, or university admission.