How to apply for a job Don’t telephone – write to three or four agencies, and enclose your curriculum vitae. Be sure to type your letter, and take a lot of trouble 2 with it. In their book Writing that Works, my partners Kenneth Roman and Joel Raphaelson offer this golden advice: 1 Spell all names right It’s astonishing how often job applicants misspell the names of the agencies they want to work for. The message that gets through, right off the bat, is: ‘This applicant can’t be seriously interested in working here; he didn’t even take the trouble to find out how to spell our name.’ 2 Identify the sort of job you’re applying for State it clearly and at once. Say what led you to apply – a want ad, a recommendation from a friend, whatever. A letter applying for a job as a research analyst started in this mysterious way: Dear Ms. Smith: It’s spring already – a time to think about planting seeds. Some seeds are small, like apple seeds. Others are bigger. Coconuts, for example. But big or little, a seed can grow and flourish if it’s planted in proper soil. The applicant would have done better to start like this: Dear Ms. Smith: I understand that you are looking for a research analyst. Ms. Smith doesn’t have time to play guessing games with her mail. 3 Be specific and factual Once you’ve made clear what job you want, then touch on your chief qualifications. Avoid egotistical abstractions like: ‘Ambition mixed with a striving for excellence is one of my strongest assets’ 4 Be personal, direct and natural You are a human being writing to another human being. Neither of you