The Case for a Good Motivation Letter

In my 30 odd years of running Action Appointments, the concept of motivation letters and what constitutes a good one has been a source of much frustration to me. No matter how often we ask our candidates to write a good motivation letter, no matter how much guidance we give them, still we are faced with generic letters consisting of a brief description of the person which is already clearly reflected in their CVs.

Many of the letters we receive have obviously been used time and time again. How do we know? They make no reference to the organization they are applying for, why they are interested in the post, they are often written in the third person and worst of all they often contain mentions of a different post at a different organization which the writer has forgotten to edit out.

Recruiter reaction to bad letters of motivation

I have often thought of doing a TED talk about the art of writing a good motivation letter. Let me get some of my frustration out in this post in the hope that at least someone will understand what I am trying to say and change how they write their motivation letters!

Let’s start with the Why. Why is it important to write a good motivation letter?

The very name of this document speaks for itself. Motivation. What does that mean? It means you are trying to motivate the potential employer to recognize that you are a great candidate for this particular position that you are applying for. The letter is there to make this potential employer see at a glance, without having to plough through your CV, that you are an outstanding possibility. You are saving them time and you are more-or-less saying, “Look no further, I am the one for this job.”

Let’s move on to How. How do you make sure that your motivation letter catches the eye of the person reading it and entices them into looking a bit more deeply into your letter and into your application as a whole?

Think of it as inviting someone on a date. If you were to phone someone and invite them to go out, what do you think would be a good way of persuading them to take a chance? In my experience some initial flattery is a very helpful opening. “When I met you the other evening at Mike’s party I was impressed by your wit and humour. I found your jokes very hilarious and a good sense of humour is one of the most important qualities that I seek in my friends. Would you like to go out to dinner with me?” Okay, now let’s apply this to our motivation letter.

“When I saw on LinkedIn that the Obama Foundation was looking for a new programme manager I was very interested. I have followed the work of the Obama Foundation since it was first set up and I really admire your approach to grant making and your focus on and dedication to supporting Early Childhood initiatives, as this is an area of development very close to my heart.”

Good letters of motivation captivate the person reading them

That is a very good start. You have shown them that you know about them and why they exist and most importantly you have told them why you are interested in working with them. You have shown that your values are aligned to their values and now they are very likely going to read the rest of your letter. You got their attention! And you did this by researching their organization.

Now that you have the reader’s attention you have to do some more work for them. You have to show them why you are the right person for the job. This is where you have to take some time working out what key attributes they are looking for and you have to prove that you have these.

“I see you are looking for a seasoned programme manager with extensive experience working in Early Childhood initiatives. I believe that my 5 years as a senior programme manager at the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund as well as the 3 years I spent previously to that at Small Beginnings gives me the required experience.”

Then you look for the other more specific attributes they are seeking. “I have extensive experience managing budgets, screening funding proposals, liaising with grantees on a regular basis and giving strategic advice where required.”

In this section you match what they need to your relevant experience. You are doing the matchmaking for them and by this stage they have probably already marked you as suitable for an interview without even scrutinizing your CV.

You can continue in this way for a couple more paragraphs. Be sure to only include information about yourself that is relevant to the job. Do not be tempted to write reams about yourself, your hobbies, your extensive career etc. Keep to the point and when you have proved in your own mind that you are a worthy candidate who meets the requirements of the post, stop writing. We recommend sticking to no more than one page in length.

Now you can end with a good closing line.

“Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. I really hope you can see that I am a good fit for this crucial position at the Obama Foundation and that I would be a worthy addition to your team. I look forward to telling you more about myself and finding out more about the position if I am granted an interview.”

In working closely with many candidates over the years I have found that people who take the time and make the effort to write a fresh motivation letter for each job are far more likely to get an interview than those who rehash an old generic letter with no mention of why they are interested in the post or why the organization should hire them.

Focused, relevant letters of motivation secure interviews

Lastly, don’t forget to pay attention to style, spelling and grammar. These things may seem small, but making sure your font and font size is consistent, and your grammar is correct improves the reading experience for the potential employer. This is all in your favour.

Thank you for reading this post. I hope what I have written is clear and that it will help you to put your best foot forward when writing your next motivation letter.

Good luck!