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Exploratory Letters

Serious job seekers realize that job hunting is more than reading and responding to advertised openings. Initiative must be taken to alert would-be employers of the one's interests and qualifications as they align with the employer's needs. This positioning for future openings lets an employer know you without having spent money to find you (something they will avoid if they can!)

Once employer targets are identified and researched, the marketing phase of the process yields to the selling phase and a contact campaign must begin. In conjunction with networking, personal visits, telephone calls, and job fairs, a job seeker may choose to contact prospective employers by mail or perhaps, email.

Before reading a model of an exploratory letter and a few examples, read the following pieces of advice and keep them in mind as you formulate your exploratory letters.

Keys to Effective Exploratory Letters | Exploratory Letter Model | Example

+ Use proper letter formats (as shown in examples).

+ Type or wordprocess all letters; print them on the same kind of paper as your resume.

+ Keep letters to one page.

+ Address all letters to someone by name, ideally a manager of the area to which you wish to contribute. Use directories and contacts to obtain names and the telephone to ensure their accuracy.

+ Realize that the reader is not expecting to hear from you, will be interrupting a busy day to read your letter and will be impressed by you only if you write concisely and focus on where and how he or she will benefit by employing you!

+ Build paragraphs with the points you wish to make in mind. Write a first paragraph that grabs the reader's attention and states your goal, middle paragraphs that demonstrate your knowledge of the expectations of your goal and match qualifications with likely needs of the reader, and a last paragraph that spells out what could happen next -- an interview, of course -- and how it could come about.

+ Don't forget to have someone critique and proofread your letters for errors. Your letters must be perfect!