How to Write a Motivation Letter

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How to Write a Motivation Letter
The Cover Letter (CL) is the document that accompanies your CV when youare applying for a job. For academic purposes, the document used istypically called statement of purpose, and is laid out after somewhatdifferent rules. The CL is short (200-250 words), with a quite rigidstructure and has the layout of a letter. Its goal is to introduce theCV, to bring to attention aspects of your activity that can help yourapplication and are not listed or not presented in the proper light inthe CV. In short, its goal is to answer the recruiter’s question: “Whyshould I hire this person?”.

Layout. The layout is that of a formal business letter: your addressand contact details come under your name, in the upper right corner ofthe page. Underneath, aligned left, write the name, function,organisation and address of the person you are writing to. It is a lotbetter to know the name of the person who is going to read your letter.You should address the letter directly to him or her. In the case youdo not know the name, an email, a little digging in the net or a phonecall should help you get that name, in case it is not mentioned in theofficial announcement. Under the receiver’s address, but aligned right,write the date of the day when you are writing the letter. You shouldspell the name of the month and use four digits for the year. You canput in front of the date the location, like Sofia, 2nd December 2000.

If you do know the name of the addressee, start with Dear Mr (Mister),Ms (Miss), Mrs (Mistress), Dr (Doctor), without the full stop that youmight expect to follow the abbreviation, and the surname of theaddressee, followed by comma (Dear Dr Smith,). In this case, you shouldend the letter with the salutation Yours sincerely. If you do not knowthe name, start with Dear Sirs, or Dear Sir or Madam and close withYours faithfully. In American business correspondence, Yours truly isacceptable in both cases. Do not start the body of the mail with acapital letter, since it follows a comma.

Structure. Ideally, a cover letter has no more than four paragraphs.The goal of the first is to specify what you are applying for and howdid you find out about that opportunity. The last one outlines youravailability for an interview, suggesting in this way a concretefollow-up for your application.

The second paragraph should list your skills and qualifications thatmake you the right person for the position you are applying for. Readcarefully the announcement, identify the requirements and see how yourskills match those required. Do not simply state you have them, proveit. Ideally, you should start from your experience and show how youhave developed those qualifications by doing what you have beendoing/learning. Same as in the case of your CV, the result shouldportrait you as an independent, creative person that can takeinitiative and deal with responsibilities, apart from the specificskills needed for the job. In short, the second paragraph should showwhy you are good for the job.

The third should point out why you want it. You should outline yourinterest for the skills you are going to learn if you get the job. Theimpression left should be that you can make a genuine contribution tothe company’s operations, while simultaneously deriving satisfactionfrom your work.

After the fourth paragraph leave a blank space, same as you should doin the beginning, after the salutation (Dear). Write the properclosing, as described above and your name. Do not forget to leave ablank space between the closing and your name and to sign the letter inthat space.

Enclosure. It is customary for formal letters to mention whether youhave enclosed any documents accompanying the letter. Simply mentionenclosure, or write curriculum vitae under the heading enclosure at theend of the letter.

Print the letter on A4 white paper same as that on which your CV wasprinted, and put both documents in an A4 envelope of matching color. Ifyou are emailing it request a notification that your documents havebeen received. Wait at least two weeks since the day you sent yourapplication or after the deadline before writing again in the case youdid not get any answer.

Source: http://www.eastchance.com/howto/mot_let.asp

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Getting a scholarship for an overseas study is a competitive process. This is because many people like you want the scholarship, but not all can be awarded. The cholarship money is simply not enough to fund all at once. Also, the scholarship providers want to ensure that only the best, well prepared applicants are selected and so the money is spent rightly and efficiently to what it is intended for. So, you have to be a winner!

Lots of people have won scholarship. You hear this every time. But how have they done this good job? Are they luckier or more superior or intelligent than others? No, they are not! If you ask them about the winning secrets are, they may simply give you the following lists: things to prepare or consider before applying a scholarship.

Soon after graduation, do not wait. Obtain your original academic certificate and transcript, and make some copies of them. You need to certify them and, remember, that people at university are some times going somewhere when you need their signatures. More importantly, you need to translate both your academic certificate and transcript. Check around, there maybe some people have done the same. This will ease the task. If not, they are yours anyway. When you are done, it is wise to get other people to see them. They may give you valuable inputs, even correcting misspelled course names. Again, you need signatures of dean and rector on the translated version of your academic certificate and record.

You need to decide earlier which study route you are going to undertake – course or research or both. If you prefer a course-based study, you do not need a proposal. But if you are going to do a research, you definitely need a research proposal.

Good research proposal require time and energy to construct. So it is always better to prepare it earlier. Basically, the proposal will not be much different to the one you have done previously in your research as part of your undergraduate study. This will include background, objective, problems or questions to answer, hypothesis, methodology, and references. These are the essences of a proposal. For more on research proposal, read here and here

When you are done with those basic requirements, ask suggestions from others. When the application is open, check if the scholarship provider requires a bit more to what you have prepared.

Download application form from the university website and fill it before send it back to the university. The university will respond you and issue you with a letter of acceptance. You may indicate in the form that you will begin your study next year, waiting for a scholarship which you are now struggling for. Most likely they will issue you with a conditional acceptance. They will keep reissuing this until you succeed with your scholarship application.

While your are in the website, go to your targeted department or school to find your potential supervisor. Even, this needs to be done first before filling in a admission form. The reason you will not studying in this university unless you have got an academic staff willing to supervise you. So get their email address, and make contacts with them. In the first time, you just need to introduce yourself, mention your academic background and your research proposal, and ask if he/she is available to supervise you. If they are busy because there are many students already under their responsibilities, don’t panic. Ask him/her if they know people around there who are still able to take additional students.

The good with the letter from university and supervisor when you have them at hand is that you can attach them to your application form and present them to the interviewers. These letters will increase your chances of winning the scholarship because the interviewers will so impressed that you are better prepared and have taken more advanced steps compared to other candidates. Read more..

Try and have your application arrive EARLY as possible, absolutely not after the deadline date! I like to send applications with a “return receipt requested” or “registered” to make sure they get there. I think that this also conveys a positive characteristic about the sender.

This letter is an introduction of myself, (your name), and my desire to participate in the (whatever it is called) Scholarship Program. I have been accepted to (Name of your College) for the 1999 fall term.

I would like to thank you and the (whatever) Scholarship Committee for supporting college bound students with an opportunity for financial assistance through your scholarship program. Enclosed you will find my application form, high school transcript, ACT results, letters of recommendation, and other pertinent information. Again, thank you for your interest on my behalf and for the youth of our state.

While this seems obvious, you must construct your application to make it EASY for the committee to see that you have provided every thing that was required. I like to provide items in the order that they are listed in the application. If possible, do not mix items on the same page. In another tip I am going to tell you to add extra items that were not requested to give your application that something extra. However, DO NOT add extra items if you are specifically told not to add anything extra. This means that you can not follow directions if you add items when your are forbidden to do so.

This is where you get to be creative to find ways and things that present you in a positive light to the selection committee. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

1. Write a short essay on MY EDUCATION/CAREER GOALS. Try to keep to one page but no more than two.

2. Write a paragraph or two on how this scholarship award will help you reach your education/career goals.

3. My son’s guidance counselor gave him a paper that congratulated him on being in the top 10% of his class and acknowledged his hard work to get there. We included this because it put him in a “positive light” and his hard work at his academics was recognized.

4. Before my son reached his 18th birthday, he registered for the Military Draft as required for all males when they reach the age of 18. He received a letter from the draft board congratulating him for doing his civic duty prior to his 18th birthday. You guessed it, this was also one of our “extra items”. A lot of scholarship committee members have military backgrounds or see this as good citizenship for this applicant.

5. One of the best extra items is a letter of acceptance for admission to “any” college. If the scholarship application is not for a specific college, you will be able to use the award at “any” college. You do not have to use it at the college you used in your application. Later you can get more college acceptance letters and when your make your selection you can notify the scholarship award committee of where to send the award. Therefore, any letter of acceptance shows that your are serious but it does not “lock” you into using the award at that college.

These are just a few examples to get you thinking. I would limit my extras to three or four at the most. Too many and you “sour” your application. Again, MAKE SURE you are not forbidden to add extra items before you do so.

Be creative to find things that make you look good and share them with the committee.

SUB TIP #5a Offer to do the work for the writer of your letter of recommendation. For example, you want to apply to twenty scholarship programs. When you ask someone to write you “1″ letter of recommendation they say sure. When you say you need twenty letters they say “sorry” I don’t have the time. Once they write you one letter, ask if you can put it on the computer so the TO ADDRESSEE can be personalized for each application and your writer only has to “sign their name twenty times”. Now your writer is happy to help you because you have done the work and make it easy for them to help you. If they have nice letter head, ask for blank copies to be used in this process.

SUB TIP #5b This is an “ADD EXTRA ITEM/s” when the application does not require a letter of recommendation.

SUB TIP #5c Try and get three to five letters of recommendation in your files. This will let you pick and choose which one or ones to send in for a specific application. I would never send more than three for an application unless the directions ask for more. I will cover some tips to give your recommendation writer in a later TIP.

TIP #6 – PROOF READ ALL MATERIALS and NEATNESS IS A MUST When you write anything you must use correct grammar and spelling. If you have a problem in this area ask your English teacher to help you with proofreading your essay, cover letter, extra items you have included, and even letters of recommendation prepared by others. When there are hundreds or thousands of applications to review, correctness and neatness become the first screen out factor. Only when the “pile” is smaller does the content of your application start to become a factor in the selection process.

Now that your application is complete, the final “presentation” tip is to place all of your items in a clear plastic folder, with a slide locking binder. I like the cheap clear ones so that your “Thank You Cover Letter” (Tip #2) is on top. For that final “touch” I also like to include a wallet size picture of the student in the lower left side of your packet. The next item/s in you application packet are those required in the application (Tip #3 Answer the mail). Next I add any extra items (if not forbidden) and finally I place any letter(s) of recommendations.

If “extras” are forbidden, you should consider NOT using a plastic folder, however, this can be a judgement call on your part. Read the application carefully again regarding extras. Some judges feel the plastic folders “give them more work” (to remove the applications from the plastic folder) while others have no problem with it, even though they may forbid extras. I know, this can be confusing!

Your application packet is a great looking presentation of YOU, don’t mess it up by folding it to fit a small envelope. Use an 8X10 type envelope so your application arrives looking great. Consider sending it “Return Receipt Requested” so you know it arrived!

How to Write a Motivation Letter

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