Greetings, Nerdify fans! Did you know that a motivation letter is as important as your CV?

What’s that? Well, a job motivation letter is simply like your average cover letter. Like the latter, you have a few seconds to impress (and persuade) your recruiter with your skills, experiences, and achievements. It also requires you to demonstrate your knowledge about the company you are applying. Most importantly, you have to justify why you are the perfect candidate for the job.

• A powerful letter will surely be a ticket to your desired position in the company.
• It is one of the main requirements of the job application process. However, this depends on the company. Some firms require you to submit a motivation letter along with your resume (or C.V.).
• Hence, it is best to read the list of requirements before submitting your documents.

What Should I Include in my Motivation Letter?

• Your full name
• Your contact information (Ex: Phone number or email address)
• Address
• Name and address of the company
• Content
• Salutations (Ex: Dear sir, /Dear ma’am,)
• Complimentary close (Ex: Sincerely)
• Your signature (If needed)

Note: There’s no set number of paragraphs you can write. The ball is in your court as long as you stick to the introduction, body, and conclusion template. Stick to writing a one-page motivation letter.  

How do I Write a Motivation Letter?

1. Introspect!

Excited to apply for a job? Make a list of your skills. It can range from researching, marketing, to graphic design. Since you have no job experience, you can write about:

• Volunteer experience (School or extra-curricular activity )
• Internship

Oh yes! You should also list your core achievements and significant contributions too! As early as now, you have to tailor your motivation letter to your preferred job position. It’s just like writing a resume.

2. Look for a job (obviously)!

Read the job description and requirements carefully. Some companies accept applicants who have no work experience. Don’t apply for a job if you think you don’t have anything to market to the hiring manager. Oh yes, don’t forget to take note of the deadline.

3. Research!

Just like academic essays, you have to research the company first before drafting your motivation letter.

• What does the company do?
• What are its core tenets and values?

You can even look for reviews or company press releases if that helps you gain more knowledge about the company. You can begin drafting your motivation letter once you have an idea. Remember, recruiters, are looking for people who contribute.

4. Introduce yourself!

• Express your interest to apply for the position.
• You may tell the recruiter how you found out about the opportunity.
• State your degree, personal values, or career goals. It is best if the company’s goals align with yours.

Depending on the structure of your letter, the length of the introduction should be at least one to two paragraphs long.

• Avoid saying, “I would like to express my interest to apply for this position because I have siblings to feed.” You are begging!

5. Market!

Make yourself the solution and contributor! Narrate how your experiences and skills will be a huge help to the company. Ask yourself:

• How will my volunteer experience/internship as an events manager (or any position) be a huge advantage?

Don’t forget to mention your major achievements or contributions! There’s no need to mention everything.

6. Close with style!

Be enthusiastic even as you end your motivation letter.

• Thank the recruiter for his or her time.
• You can say that you would contact them in a week (or any day you prefer) for a follow-up.
• If you want, you can even state that you are willing to be interviewed by the recruiter.

How Should I Structure my Motivation Letter?

There are many templates you can choose to mimic or download online. This is the basic format of a motivation letter:

September 20, 2018

Ella Emerson

54 Junior Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia

404-610-0182

ella-emerson@mail.com

Felicia G. Reinoso

Hiring Manager

Company A

143 Kuhl Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia

Dear Ms. Reinoso,

Company A’s dedication to research about women’s rights and gender equality has sparked my interest to apply as a junior researcher.

As a graduate of Women’s Studies in University A, this position would not only advance my career but to also to achieve my goal of assisting marginalized populations.

I have worked as an intern for Company C, wherein I was tasked to conduct surveys, analyze data, write reports, and research solutions for our partner community. My achievements prove that I can be of value to the company:

• Researched and created an effective framework to foster gender-sensitive education and teacher training in the community’s public school.
• Educated the community by conducting a focus group discussion to further raise awareness of gender discrimination and misconceptions about feminism to the community members.
• Produced a monthly research report that demonstrates the effectivity of our framework to create a more gender equal society.

I am also equipped with excellent interpersonal and intercultural skills to reach to with the members of the community. My skills and goals are respectively aligned with Company A’s core values of cultural sensitivity and gender equality.  

I would love to have an opportunity to join Company A to further improve my skills and help people. I will call you next Thursday to follow up on my application. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Ella Emerson

Of course, you should have someone proofread your letter before submitting it to the recruiter. Nerdify wishes you all the best in your career. Good luck!

Academic life is full of challenges. As soon as students get into college they are constantly being bombarded with new information. Quite often folks have to relocate to another city and hence meet lots of new people in a very short timespan. Those are certainly both stressful and exciting times. Our team at Nerdify thought it’s going to be a good idea to share some life hacks with you so that you could make the most out of your time in college.

1. Get to know your college and lecturers.

College is not just a place where you get your degree, it’s more than that. The first thing you should do is get to know the place where you are studying – student unions, special offers you get with your student card, career fairs conducted by the local business and so on. Usually, there are plenty of opportunities lying around, so it’s a good thing to at least know where they are.

Next thing – get to know your teachers. Everyone is different, everyone requires a unique approach and almost everyone is biased (we are human beings after all). So the more you know about your lecturers the more you know how to approach them (during exams, mid-terms, revision time etc). This kind of information is always useful.

2. Create a group-chat with your class

Create a group of your class on either social media site or on some type of messenger app. Post important class updates, copies of lecture notes, schedule updates.

It’s best to have several chats depending on a topic. For example, “important announcements”, “lecture notes” and “homework chat”. That way you won’t flood one chat will lot’s of messages on various topics. Have chat guidelines, so that everyone is on the same level on what they can or cannot post

3. Take written notes during lectures

Taking notes during the lecture is one of the best things you can do if you want to absorb and understand the material. But, it turns out how you take your notes is also important. There have been studies that showed that writing things down on a paper actually makes you remember more than if you would by typing on a laptop for example. If you are dead serious about not using paper though, use stylus apps as an alternative.

4. Revise your notes on regular basis

This is the easiest lifehack out there. (Nerdify’s favorite) Read your lecture notes once a month or so. Our memory works in such a way that if we do not use the information we learn it fades away in time. Not only reading notes will make you remember the academic material better, you will also notice “blind spots” in your knowledge much earlier than you otherwise would (not 2 weeks before the final example, for example 🙂

5. Networking!

College is a perfect time to network like crazy. Many people start their first businesses in college due to extensive networking and later in your professional career – the alumni network you have will be the go-to place if you need to reach out to contacts outside your local network of colleagues and friends.

Here at Nerdify, we think that being in college is one of the most fun time you’ll have in your life. Absorb all the knowledge you can (not necessarily lectures), do sports, travel, party, get to know as many people as possible. But, if you ever get buried with work and need a helping hand – get in touch, we’ll get you sorted 🙂