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-Desire- Action)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:  Focus on your strengths Better to have Mock Interview Appearance should be Professional Punctuality is the key factor to success. So be in time Bolster your confidence: Polish your Interview style: Plan to Look Good: Be ready when you arrive:

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.