Correspondence

Effective letters are an essential part of the job search process.  They create an impression of you as a professional and communicate your value to an employer.  Staff welcomes the opportunity to review your letters to employers; please call for an appointment.

Types of correspondence include:

Cover Letters

Thank you letters

This important job search tool can establish goodwill, express appreciation and strengthen your candidacy.  After an interview, send the letter to the main contact person or the individual who will make the hiring decision.

Send your thank you letter within 24 hours.
Reemphasize your strongest qualifications & the match w/the job requirements.
Offer to provide additional information.
Restate your appreciation.

You may wish to send thank you letters to those individuals that assisted you in any way during your job search (references, information interviews/networking, etc.)

Other letters

Acceptance – after receiving a job offer, confirm receipt of the offer and reiterate the details (start date, salary and any items negotiated)

Withdrawal – having accepted a job offer, show the courtesy of withdrawing from consideration for those organizations where you have been interviewed.

Rejection – acknowledge the job offer, decline and show your appreciation.

Email – Some employers will prefer that you use email as the means of communication including cover letters and thank you letters.

When using email

• Be sure to use an email address that sounds professional.
• Use a meaningful subject header.
• Avoid using caps, bold or italics; do NOT use symbols.
• Do not use strange fonts, wallpapers or multicolored backgrounds.
• Use a standard business format; be business-like, not casual.
• Be brief.  Re-read for spelling and grammatical errors.
• Include your full name and contact information including phone number.

Federal and state applications often refer to KSA’s:  knowledge, skills and abilities.  You may be asked to provide additional information on your strengths and expand upon the specific factors the position requires.  Here are some pointers:

• Select from your experiences the items that best illustrate a link between your experience and each KSA as you compose your response.
• Add information relevant to each KSA even if not on your resume.  Make sure you take credit for your entire range of experiences including volunteer work, internships, school projects and extracurricular activities.
• Link these examples explicitly to the KSA questions. 
• Write KSA’s in the first person and use concrete examples to illustrate your skills.  Use the active tense, don’t ramble and be sure answer the question.
• Focus on any outcomes to which you directly contributed, citing quantitative data where possible. 
• Make sure your answers reflect your level of responsibility and identify who you interacted with and how.
• Tailor each KSA answer to read between half a page and a page in length.  Follow any directions given as to page length.
• Review your answers to ensure they are succinct and easy to read.  Always use plain language and don’t use acronyms.  Focus on content; don’t forget to proofread.