How to Write a Letter of Interest in 2018

How to Write a Letter of Interest in 2018How to Write a Letter of Interest in 2018 Its one of the worst feelings in the world.Youve spent weeks perfecting your resume and crafting the perfect cover letter , and youre finally ready to submit your application for your dream job.But when you scan the companys careers page, panic starts pouring over you. The job you wanted to apply for is no longer open. Its gone. And as you stare at your laptop screen in shock, you cant help but think youll never be able to join your dream company.What should you do in this situation? You cant just put your job search on pause until the company opens the ort again. How do you express interest in joining a company when the position you want isnt currently available?One of the most effective ways to grab a hiring managers attention and get your foot in the door is by writing a letter of interest to the company.A letter of interest lets a company know that you want to work for them in a ro le that theyre currently not hiring for. In hopes that the company will contact you when they do open this position or another relevant position, your letter of interest focuses on how your skill set and culture fit can benefit the company, not how the company can benefit you. You can send a letter of interest at any time, regardless of whether or not the company is actively hiring.Sending a letter of interest is a great way to introduce yourself to a company, and it shows them youre willing to take the manahme to proactively reach out. This can keep you top of mind when the company starts recruiting for the job you inquired about or if they have any upcoming job opportunities that could be a good fit. If youre really impressive, some companies might even create a position just for you.Other times, sending a letter of interest can lead to a coffee chat or an informational interview with the hiring manager of the gruppe you want to work for.Writing a letter of interest sounds lik e an easy way to get your foot in the door at any company, but itll only pique a hiring managers interest and elicit a response if it actually resonates with them.To do so, we recommend following a formula called problem-agitate-solve. Its modeled after an old copywriting framework and has helped one job seeker skyrocket her cover letter response rate from zero percent to 55 percent . Well flesh it out below.To compel a hiring manager to read your letter, respond to it, and consider you for a job, there are four crucial elements you need to include in your letter of interestHiring managers dont hire people just to be nice. They hire people to help them run their team better. To immediately grab a hiring managers attention, you should show how you understand the problems theyre trying to solve, like the hook belowAs a two-year blogging veteran in the marketing technology industry at companies like Return Path and SlideBatch, I know how hard it is to write well. I also know how challe nging it is to get found on Google.By describing a similar experience youve had at your current or prior job, you can relate to them on a deep level, which will engage and prompt them to read the rest of the letter.The hardest part of this step is discovering the hiring managers problems. One way to figure it out is by listing off the jobs responsibilities and asking yourself why these tasks are important to their team. If you keep analyzing until you reach a dead end, youll usually find their needs there.How do you make a hiring manager realize how valuable a solution could be? You remind them just how painful them problems are. And to make them visualize their dreaded problem as vividly as possible, you need to be specific, just like the example belowAccording to HubSpots careers page, youre not currently hiring, but, in the future, if youre looking for someone who can not only engage an audience with clear, concise and compelling blog posts, but also optimize them for search en gines, while hitting every deadline, you can count on me.When they realize how much pain theyre actually in, theyll have more of a sense of urgency to resolve it. And thisll push them to respond to you because you might be their fastest route to a solution.If youre really the solution to their problems, you must prove to the hiring manager how youve used your skills to solve similar paint points in previous experiences. Then, you should describe how youll be able to use those learnings to help solve their current problems. Check out the example belowLast year, at Return Path, I was the top performing blogger, writing weekly posts that averaged 7,500 views, 1,000 social shares and 35 new blog subscribers gained. The year before, at SlideBatch, I devised and implemented a new keyword strategy that increased organic page views for our Visual Marketing 101 blog series by 15 percent.Ive read HubSpots blog every day since I started my content marketing career, and Im inbound, content and email marketing certified, so I strongly believe Ill be able to hit the ground running if I were to work on HubSpots blog team one day.Whether Id be uncovering high opportunity keywords or crafting blog posts to support and develop your teams new pillar cluster model, Im confident my skills and experience can help your team crush their goals.By quantifying your accomplishments and researching the companys pain points, youre proving your worth. But if you just list your skills and work experience, youre only proving to the hiring manager that youve failed to make an impact.At the end of your letter, you should express your interest in exploring upcoming opportunities or ask them to keep you top of mind when an opportunity opens up, like the call-to-action belowId love to learn about any upcoming roles on your team or be considered for a position later down the road. My resume is attached, and my contact details are listed in my email signature below. Thank you for your time It wa s a pleasure connecting.These call-to-actions are crucial because they tell them how to get the ball rolling. If you dont tell the hiring manager what to do next, then nothing will happen.All together, a successful letter of interest looks like thisAs a two-year blogging veteran in the marketing technology industry at Return Path and SlideBatch, I know how hard it is to write well. I also know how hard it is to find get found on Google.According to HubSpots careers page, youre currently not hiring, but, in the future, if youre looking for someone who can not only engage an audience with clear, concise, and compelling blog posts , but also optimize them for search engines, while hitting every deadline, you can count on me.Last year, at Return Path, I was the top performing blogger, writing weekly posts that averaged 7,500 views, 1,000 social shares and 35 new blog subscribers gained. The year before, at SlideBatch, I devised and implemented a new keyword strategy that increased orga nic page views for our Visual Marketing 101 blog series by 15 percent.Ive read HubSpots blog every day since I started my content marketing career, and Im inbound , content and email marketing certified, so I strongly believe Ill be able to hit the ground running if I were to work on HubSpots blog team one day.Whether Id be uncovering high opportunity keywords or crafting blog posts to support and develop your teams new pillar cluster model, Im confident my skills and experience can help your team crush their goals.Id love to learn about any upcoming roles on your team or be considered for a role later down the road. My resume is attached, and my contact details are listed in my email signature below. Thank you for your time. It was a pleasure connectingAs a X-year Your Profession veteran in the Space You Work In industry at Most Prominent Companies Youve Worked For, I know how hard it is to Pain Point 1. I also know how challenging it is to Pain Point 2.According to Company career s page, youre currently not hiring, but, in the future, if youre looking for someone who can not only Solution for Pain Point 1, but also Solution for Pain Point 2, you can count on me.Last Specific Timeframe, at Current or Old Company, I was the best performing Your Profession, List Your Responsibilities and Describe the Impact You Made. The Specific Timeframe before, at Current or Old Company, I List Your Responsibilities and Describe the Impact You Made.Show Hiring Manager that Youre a Voracious Learner and You Regularly Keep Up with Company News, so I strongly believe Ill be able to hit the ground running if I were to work on Company team one day.Whether Id be What the Team is Working on Now, Im confident my skills and experience can help your team crush their goals.Id love to learn about any upcoming roles on your team or be considered for a role later down the road. My resume is attached, and my contact details are listed in my email signature below. Thank you for your time. I t was a pleasure connectingAfter you finish writing your letter of interest, you need to make sure the company will actually open it. So before you send your letter, itd be ideal if someone on the team personally knows who you are.To do so, ask your connections or alumni that work at the company to introduce you to the teams hiring manager. If you cant do that, you could add the hiring manager on LinkedIn, tell them why you want to connect and send them your letter of interest.Getting your foot in the door will ultimately help you stand out from the crowd of job seekers who are all sending the same hire me pitch to them.This article was originally published on HubSpot . It is reprinted with permission.