A letter of interest is a way to highlight your key professional skills, academic qualifications and experiences to a hiring manager, and evince interest in the opportunity.. A Letter of interest should primarily focus on the reasons why you’re seeking employment for a particular position.
In this article we will discuss the ways to structure an ideal letter of interest with examples, and how to improve your chances of being successfully recruited by writing an impressive letter of interest.
Here's what this article will cover:
- Why Should You Write a Letter of Interest?
- When is a Letter of Interest required?
- Letter of Interest vs. Cover Letter
- How to Write a Letter of Interest?
- What to Include in Your Letter
- How to address your letter
- Letter of Interest tips
- Letter of Interest Template
- Common Letter of Interest mistakes to avoid
- What to Do After Sending a Letter of Interest
Why Should You Write a Letter of Interest?
A letter of interest is fundamentally written to showcase your professional and academic qualifications to hiring managers with the intention of reaching out to check if there are any available roles for you. It is an ‘expression of interest’ letter that shows how much you’re interested in being a part of the organization.. The letter gives the Human Resource team and its recruiters an idea about the skillsets you have, so that you can be considered for upcoming positions.
This article also shares templates that offer ideas to draft the perfect letter of interest. Let’s get with it.
When is a Letter of Interest required?
Big IT firms frequently hire professionals based on their project needs. Hence, it makes sense to approach their hiring team with a well drafted letter of interest even when there is no job-specific announcement or advertisement. This interest letter is for job/s which are not out there on a job portal feed. It is to express your interest in joining a big company, or a brand or a team.
Letter of Interest vs. Cover Letter
The letter of interest is an expression of your passion and desire to work for a particular brand or organization. It is different from a cover letter that is usually attached to a resume when you apply for an open position in a company. Note that the letter of interest and the cover letter have different formats, although both are used to express your eagerness to work in the specific organization.
How to Write a Letter of Interest?
Key components of a perfect Letter of Interest
- Your name - The letter of interest should contain your name so that the HR members know who the sender of the letter is
- Your contact information – Your contact details are extremely crucial; which must include your email id as well as your contact number. In every letter of interest, there should be a section where you have mentioned details of how the organization can reach out to you
- Employer name: The employer name is also important while writing a letter of interest
- Employer contact information: At the beginning of the letter, address the employer with the contact details
- Greeting: Every simple letter of interest should start with a formal greeting addressed to the person reading it
- Introduction paragraph: The introduction paragraph should be a gist of the key pointers why you are writing a letter of interest for a position in the specified organization
- Two to three body paragraphs: Elucidate in the body about the organization and how your skill sets and experience can play an important role in the organization
- Closing paragraph: The closing paragraph should highlight your gratitude. You can offer thanks in advance for their time and consideration, and end it with a professional closing salutation such as, “Sincerely,” “Best regards”
- Signature: You must write your name on print and add a signature
What to Include in Your Letter
- Greeting: There should be a formal greeting at the beginning.
- First Paragraph: The first paragraph should be more about why you are keen on sending this letter of interest to the organization.
- Middle Paragraphs: The middle paragraphs should highlight your academic and professional qualifications. They should highlight how your experience can add value to the organization.
- Final Paragraph: This paragraph should be an expression of gratitude in advance to the organization for considering your application for future roles; if any.
How to address your letter
- Begin with an introduction
A letter of interest should be a keen expression of interest. It should highlight your interest in the company itself. The letter should also showcase how you identify with the organization theme, mission, values and goals. Letters of interest can also be more current and specific, highlighting any events or incidents from the news.
- Impress the reader with your work experience
In the letter of interest, you can highlight all the experience and qualifications that can add value to your application. It should not be very specific but should touch the key chords where you’ve displayed exemplary performance and how your skill sets helped you to achieve professional deliverables.
- Encourage the reader to reach out to you
You can provide your professional networking credentials along with your mail address so that the organization can reach out to you. It is advisable to share your LinkedIn profile url as well.
- Add recent skills you’ve developed
Always list all the skills you have acquired over the years including your certifications and project management skills.
- Describe your employment background
Give your employer an idea about your entire career path, briefly mentioning how you started and where you are currently placed in your career.
- Explain why this job is the right fit
In a letter of interest, apart from showing interest in the organization, also show how you can excel in certain roles in the organization, and why it is worth every bit to select your application.
Letter of Interest tips
Before drafting a letter of interest do your homework on an organization. Especially for IT companies, check if it is a solutions space or a product space and accordingly draft your letter of interest.
Highlight how your skills will benefit the employer. For example, in a solution driven space, mention about your client-negotiation skills and how you can bring more business to the organization.
- Share Your Successes & Present a Vision
Highlight how you can be a key player in this space by sharing your important professional achievements in previous organizations.
The letter of interest must showcase why you’re interested in this role and the passion you can bring to the table. showcase how you are interested in this role
Do hint at the probable next steps in your letter of interest i.e.; how the organization would like to proceed further. You could suggest that you look forward to a quick telephonic conversation to present your ideas. You can also request to be notified whenever there is an upcoming interview for a relevant open position.
- Keep It Polished & Professional
Avoid any informal greetings and keep it professional. Avoid typos and grammatical errors.
Letter of Interest Template
- Sample Letter of Interest (Text Version)
September 1, 2018
Lee Smith
Head Human Resources
Acme Solutions Space
123 Business Rd.
Business City, NY 54321
Dear Mr. Smith:
I am writing to express my strong interest in the position of IT administration professional aide at Acme Solutions Space. I have a college degree with extensive knowledge in hardware and software support, and would love to be a part of Acme.
I am skilled at communicating effectively with teams and key people across various platforms. In my position as administrative assistant at CIS Infotech, I resolved several networking and hardware related issues, and received recognition and commendation from the circulation department head.
I am passionate about the latest best practices. I have two years of experience working with some of the most widely used administrative software skill sets, including Ex Libris and Koha. I am also familiar with the latest IT accessibility input standardization.
I believe my years of experience, my communication and technical skills, and interpersonal equations with my team would make me a strong fit for this role. I look forward to reaching out to you about this.
Sincerely,
Olive George (signature hard copy letter with contact details)
- When You're Sending an Email
To: Mail address of the HR team of organization/specific contact
Subject: Letter of Interest Application as Senior Manager – Sales & Marketing
Mail Body:
Respected Sir,
My name is Grahm George, and I am writing to you to express my interest for a suitable role in the Sales and Marketing team in Tetratech. With more than 13 years of meeting and exceeding sales goals and working with trans-Atlantic teams to produce great results, I am very interested in being a part of your esteemed organization; Tetratech Solutions.
My years of experience in sales across different roles has helped me develop a customer-oriented approach. Since graduating with a B.A. in Marketing from Cornell University, I’ve built my career in formulating strategic campaigns. Most recently, as a senior Sales Leader in Brightser, my original sales strategies have helped to increase zone wise sales by more than 150% from the year 2018 to 2020. Though I love my journey here so far, I’m ready to move on and grow into a senior manager position which will give me a unique mix of sales, marketing, and strategic innovation. Based on your organization’s evergreen brand image and vision, , I believe my skills and professional background can integrate well.
I look forward to taking this further if relevant opportunities come up in Tetratech Solutions. I am attaching my resume, and my LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/us/graham-johnson-3b6a5223/.
Thank you for your time and consideration!
Thanking you in advance
Grahm George
G.George@emaildomain.com
Ph:1347665566
Common Letter of Interest mistakes to avoid
- Keeping it too generic.
- Being overly confident.
- Using humor to stand out.
- Not proofreading the letter of interest and sending it with typos.
- Not following up after a few weeks.
What to Do After Sending a Letter of Interest
After sending a letter of interest, if you do not hear back, you can follow up in a very polite manner to check if they are interested in your application. If they don’t respond, don’t get disheartened.. Just keep at it and maybe send another letter if you see a relevant position opening up. Follow these important guidelines to make sure you present the best letter of interest to employers.
Also, it is advisable that you always keep a check on the upcoming roles and follow up on job portals if the company comes up with anything. Letters of interest help fine-tuning your writing skills too and give you an edge over the other applicants who are in line for the same role. If you follow the right format and send out letters of interest to a bunch of companies, then someday you’ll get that anticipated call from your dream company. Till then failure should not keep you from trying!
