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  • Job Application Documents

How to Write a Job Application Essay

Last Updated: April 9, 2024 References

This article was co-authored by Shannon O'Brien, MA, EdM and by wikiHow staff writer, Jennifer Mueller, JD . Shannon O'Brien is the Founder and Principal Advisor of Whole U. (a career and life strategy consultancy based in Boston, MA). Through advising, workshops and e-learning Whole U. empowers people to pursue their life's work and live a balanced, purposeful life. Shannon has been ranked as the #1 Career Coach and #1 Life Coach in Boston, MA by Yelp reviewers. She has been featured on Boston.com, Boldfacers, and the UR Business Network. She received a Master's of Technology, Innovation, & Education from Harvard University. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 205,190 times.

Many employers now require a writing sample, or job application essay , to accompany all applications or résumés — even if writing is not a significant part of the position. The goal of the job application essay is to ensure that applicants have the right communication skills for the position offered. Sometimes, potential employers will provide a specific topic or series of questions for your essay to respond to. However, you may also be asked to provide an essay with no guidance whatsoever. Either way, approach the essay seriously so that it highlights the skills and assets you could bring to the company. [1] X Research source

Outlining Your Essay

Step 1 Read the job listing and essay description carefully.

  • If you don't know much about the company, do a little research on it before you start writing. You might look at their website or do a general internet search with the name of the company to see if any news articles or other reports come up. Go beyond the four corners of the job listing so that you understand who will likely be reading your essay.
  • If there's anything in the job listing or essay requirements that you don't understand, contact the employer and ask about them. Employers are often impressed by applicants who clarify the employer's intent rather than making assumptions.

Step 2 State your theme or thesis statement upfront.

  • For example, if you're applying for a position in sales, you might want to write an essay about your ability to tailor your pitch to specific clients and close the deal. If you have the ability to be more creative, you might tailor your essay to "sell" yourself directly to the employer.

Step 3 Brainstorm 3 or 4 points that support your thesis statement.

  • For each of your points, think of a specific example you can relate briefly that illustrates the point. For example, if you've described yourself as a "team player," you might include an example of how you came in on your day off to complete some of the more monotonous tasks that no one else wanted to do so a project could be completed ahead of schedule.
  • It's a good idea to have more than one example in your outline for each point, even if you only end up using one. That way, if you start writing something and it ends up not working as well as you thought it would, you'll have a back-up handy.
  • Brainstorming can be difficult. If you find yourself churning over the same thoughts, stand up and take a break for a few minutes. Step outside or go for a walk to clear your head, then come back to it.

Step 4 Gather documents and information to fill out your points.

  • For example, if you want to describe how you increased sales in a specific quarter, you would want to state specifically how much you increased sales. Your former employer may have sales figures that you could ask them for. You might also have that information in your records.
  • Wherever possible, use specific numbers and dates rather than making general statements. It's okay to estimate, but make sure your estimate is conservative. Saying you led your sales team to the highest sales in a quarter is impressive — but only if it's true.

Completing Your Rough Draft

Step 1 Start with an introductory paragraph that describes you and your essay.

  • Think of this paragraph as telling the hiring manager what you're going to tell them in the essay. Outline the points you're going to elaborate on in the essay that back up your theme or thesis statement.
  • Sometimes it's best to go back and write your introduction after you've written the body of your essay. That way, you can make sure the introduction provides an outline that matches the body.

Step 2 Organize your essay logically.

  • If the employer listed specifically what should be included in your essay, follow their order, since that's what they'll be looking for when they read the essay.
  • Write in the first person and make yourself the star of any anecdote you include as an example. Use action verbs to focus on what you did rather than focusing on what happened and how you reacted to it. [7] X Trustworthy Source University of North Carolina Writing Center UNC's on-campus and online instructional service that provides assistance to students, faculty, and others during the writing process Go to source

Step 3 Create transitions between each paragraph of your essay.

  • For example, if you're writing about your skills as a team player, you might note that you discuss doing routine work that others found monotonous so they had time to work on other parts of a project. You could use that detail to move on to a section describing how you're detail-oriented.

Step 4 Use your closing to summarize your essay.

  • For example, you might write "My business school education, skills as a team player, and focus on detail make me the best candidate to lead your sales team."

Finalizing Your Essay

Step 1 Proofread your essay for spelling, grammar, and typographical errors.

  • For example, you might start by looking solely at punctuation, then read through again focusing on spelling.
  • If you find that you tend to repeat a particular error, go through your essay looking for that error specifically.
  • If your grammar isn't particularly strong or you're writing in a language other than your native language, have someone else read over your essay as well.

Step 2 Read your essay out loud.

  • If you find that you stumble over a sentence while reading aloud, that's a sign that your writing could be clearer. Work with your text until you have something that you can read aloud with ease.

Step 3 Edit

  • If the prospective employer did not specify a length, try to keep your essay under 2 double-spaced pages. Remember that hiring managers are busy and don't have a lot of time to read a long, rambling essay.
  • Eliminate all unnecessary words or sentences that aren't relevant to the subject of your essay. The majority of your sentences should be short, declarative sentences with action verbs.
  • Apps such as Hemingway ( http://www.hemingwayapp.com/ ) or Grammarly ( https://app.grammarly.com/ ) can help you identify portions of your essay that are more difficult to read. Both of these apps have a free version that you can use to edit your text.

Step 4 Work backward through your essay to proofread a second time.

  • Working backward is particularly helpful for noticing spelling mistakes, especially hard-to-catch homophone errors, because you're seeing the word out of context.

Step 5 Print your essay and read through it a final time.

  • It may also help to print your essay in a different font or font size than what you used to type it. This breaks your brain's familiarity with the text, which can make typos and other errors more noticeable. Just remember to change the font back after you print it.

Job Application Essay

job search essay

Expert Q&A

Shannon O'Brien, MA, EdM

  • Give yourself plenty of time to work on your essay. Ideally, you should plan to work on it over the course of at least two days, so you have the time to set it aside after writing before you move to the editing and proofreading stage. [15] X Research source Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

job search essay

  • Unless you're applying for a position in a political or religious organization, avoid including anything in your essay that identifies your political or religious preferences or beliefs. [16] X Research source Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
  • Avoid using humor, especially sarcasm or ironic humor, as it can be misconstrued in text. Additionally, humor may lead the hiring manager to believe that you aren't serious about the position. [17] X Research source Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

Write a Letter of Application for a Job

  • ↑ https://www.monster.com/career-advice/article/writing-sample-job-application
  • ↑ https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2012/04/30/essay-how-write-good-applications-jobs-or-grants
  • ↑ Shannon O'Brien, MA, EdM. Life & Career Coach. Expert Interview. 25 May 2021.
  • ↑ https://www.govloop.com/community/blog/government-job-application-essays-made-easy/
  • ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/application-essays/
  • ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/editing-and-proofreading/
  • ↑ https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/proofreading-tips
  • ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/career-transitions/200906/the-dreaded-writing-sample

About This Article

Shannon O'Brien, MA, EdM

Job application essays can seem scary, but they’re really just an opportunity for you to highlight your skills and explain why you’re suitable for the role. Read the job listing to find out what traits and skills the company is looking for, like time management, working under pressure, and leadership. If you don’t know much about the company, read through its website and do an online search to find articles about its work. In your introduction, you’ll want to to describe yourself and introduce the main points you’ll be making. Then, write a paragraph for each trait or skill. Use real life examples from previous jobs, your recent studies, or extracurricular activities to support your points. For example, you could highlight your leadership skills by talking about a time you led a group project that exceeded your targets. For more tips, including how to write a compelling conclusion for your job application essay, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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job search essay

Home — Essay Samples — Life — Job — Job Hunting: Ways to Success

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Finding a Job: Ways to Success

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Words: 874 |

Published: May 7, 2019

Words: 874 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

Table of contents

Looking for a job: essay, part 1: career development, part 2: job search, part 3: strategy, applying skills, director of marketing.

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job search essay

The Process of Getting a Job

Introduction, searching for a job, writing a targeted resume, writing an effective cover letter, acing the interview, works cited.

The process of getting a job remains one of the most challenging tasks for many job seekers in the United States. There are cases where qualified candidates fail to secure a job because they make mistakes in one or more of the stages involved in searching for a job. It is important for these job seekers to understand how to approach each of the steps involved in job hunting. In this essay, the focus is to give clear instruction on how a qualified candidate can get a job that deserves one’s qualifications. The target audiences are job seekers aged over 18 years. There are four major steps that one must take great care of when trying to get a job (Kay 82). The four stages include searching for a job, writing a targeted resume, writing an effective cover letter, and finally acing the interview.

The process of searching for the right job can be very challenging, especially for those who are doing it for the first time. Different jobs can be found using different strategies based on a number of factors. However, there are some common steps to be followed by any job seeker who is interested in getting a good job. Following the steps below is a good starting point.

  • Visit the website of the desired company and look for any career opportunities they have on offer. In most of the cases, large companies would post vacancies they have at their company through their website. This offers a perfect opportunity for a job seeker to know of the job availability.
  • Visit other websites that specialize in advertising vacancies at various companies. According to Myers (56), some websites have specialized in collecting a pool of job vacancies in various companies and posting them to the general public. Some of them are very reliable.

Avoid websites that demand payments before they can direct one to the employing company. Most of them are run by fraudsters.

  • Talk to friends and determine if they are aware of any possible vacancies at their workplaces. Sometimes a network of friends and family members may offer one a perfect opportunity to get a job.
  • Go through the dailies to determine vacancies at various companies that have been advertised through them. Sometimes companies would make the advertisements through the dailies, especially if they need urgent candidates to fill vacant posts.

One of the common mistakes that job seekers make is that they use a common resume when applying for different jobs. Observe the following issues.

  • Determine what one employer is looking for may not be exactly the same thing that another employer will be interested in.
  • Although there may be a soft copy of the resume with all the major achievements and experience, it may be necessary to adjust resume to suit a specific job that one is looking for at a particular time (Taylor 45).
  • Identify specific job requirements, and adjust the resume as per the requirements of the position of interest. Make sure that the resume responds to the requirements of the job.

Writing an effective cover letter is another important step for a job seeker. When writing the letter, the following should be observed.

  • Ensure that the message directly responds to the information posted by the employer.
  • Use simple, straightforward sentences, clearly stating why one merits the position, and how one’s presence in the company will be beneficial to the firm.

Avoid flowery words, especially poetic sentences, because the employer may make a wrong conclusion that the applicant is an activist who may champion for unionization of employees.

This is one of the most important stages in securing a job. Observe the following steps.

  • Conduct a simple research about the company and the industry, and find answers to some of the possible questions that the interviewers may pose during the interview.
  • When going to the interview, wear a suit because most of the interviewers may use the physical appearance to make their judgment (Caan 29).
  • In the interview room, do not panic because this may give a wrong impression to one’s self-image. Also, try avoiding the temptation to be overconfident. Be specific when answering the questions posed by the interviewers, and always try to maintain eye contact with the person who asked the question. Be polite and courageous because these are desirable attributes.
  • Remember to thank the interviewing panel for offering you the opportunity before leaving the interview room.

The processes described above are very important for one to secure a good job that meets one’s qualifications. Every stage has specific steps that the job seeker must follow in order to succeed in going into the next level. As stated above, one must try to remain official in the mode of dressing and communication, especially during the interview in order to make the process a success.

Caan, James. Get the Job You Really Want . London: The Portfolio Publishers Limited, 2012. Print.

Kay, Andrea. This Is How to Get Your Next Job: An Inside Look at What Employers Really Want . , 2013. Print.

Myers, Ford. Get the Job You Want, Even When No One’s Hiring: Take Charge of Your Career, Find a Job You Love, and Earn What You Deserve. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2009. Print.

Taylor, Denise. How to Get a Job in a Recession . London: Brook House, 2009. Print.

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COMMENTS

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