English 101: College Writing

Sample: Effective Job Application Letter

Dr. Gian Pagnucci

Letter Strengths
As you read the effective job application cover letter below, note these traits you will want to emulate:

The letter comes across as strong and invites an interview.

The writer uses Safety Director (another good option is "Ms.") to address
avoids assuming that the female employer is married.

The writer explains specifically why she is interested in CUNA Mutual Insurance.

The writer discusses a great work experience, her internship, in a fully detailed paragraph.

The writer offers proof that she is an effective worker who has the specific knowledge the company
is seeking.

The writer mentions that her boss found her to be a good worker and therefore gave her additional
responsibilities.

The writer claims to be hard working and dedicated AFTER offering proof that she has those traits.

The writer mentions she is making a trip to the Madison area. If she gets an interview, she can
then book a plane ticket!

The writer includes a cell phone number so that no calls will be missed and also includes an email.

The letter is free of grammar and spelling errors. This is the one time grammar really counts!

Effective Job Application Cover Letter

50 North 2nd St.

Indiana, PA 15701
email: wiba@iup.edu
Ororo Munroe, Safety Director
CUNA Mutual Insurance
225 N. Mills St.
Madison, WI 53076
November 29th, 2006

Ororo Munroe. This

Dear Safety Director Munroe,

I am writing this letter to apply for your programs Assistant Safety Supervisor position.
I feel my educational training and professional background make me well suited for the
demands of this position. Currently I am senior finishing a Safety Science degree at
Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) and could begin work on June 1st as your ad
specifies. I also work part time in IUP's Office of International Affairs. I am especially
interested in your company because I see that you are the leading insurance company in
the midwest region and also earned a Worker Safety Zone award from the Wisconsin
Safety Commission. I'd love to contribute to a company as interested in worker safety as
yours seems to be. I believe the rest of this letter will illustrate what a great addition I
would be to your work force.
In looking over the job description, I see that your chief need is for someone with a
strong working knowledge of OSHA regulations. As youll note on my resume, along
with a full complement of safety courses, my familiarity with government safety
regulations has been developed through an internship at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. I
worked with the plant safety inspector who supervised operator safety for a paper which
had a daily press run of 500,000 copies. During the internship, my most important
training came when the paper purchased two new printing presses. I was given the
responsibility of reviewing all instructional materials that came with the presses, and
designing a simplified operators guide sheet to be posted at each press. This guide
sheet had to meet all OSHA standards and be easily accessible by 30 press operators of
varying skill levels. The plant inspector not only approved my design, but then placed
me in charge of updating all the older press safety signs in the building. It is this type of
innovative thinking, hard work, and dedication which I would bring to your department
as an Assistant Safety Supervisor.
Your ad also mentions a need for a worker with strong organizational skills. As you'll note on my resume, I
have been an Office Assistant for two years in the Office of International Affairs. In that position, I

performed variety of tasks including filing applications from international students. I

modified the office's filing system and added a computer record keeping component that
helped speed up application processing time. The office director was so pleased with my
work that I was given the 2005 Student Worker Award.
I look forward to discussing my qualifications with you. In fact I will be making a trip to
Madison within the next month which might present an ideal opportunity for an
interview. In the meantime, if there is any other information I can provide you, please
contact me at (412) 555-1234. If I dont hear from you within the next two weeks, Ill
make a follow up call to see how your candidate search is progressing.
Thank you for taking the time to review my application.
Sincerely,

Kiana Johnson
Kiana Johnson