Today you will begin writing a letter of application in response to the following ad from a job website.

Live-in housekeeper needed

We are a respectable and kind family with two children (a girl aged 12 and a boy aged 6) seeking a Monday-Friday housekeeper. Good salary; private bedroom provided.

Responsibilities:

  • Rise early to help get the children ready for school
  • Walk the 6-year-old to and from school
  • Tidy and clean the house
  • Wash and iron clothes
  • Walk the dog
  • Prepare healthy snacks for the children after-school
  • Assist with preparing dinner and cleaning up afterwards

Requirements:

  • Cheerful
  • Hard-working
  • Flexible
  • Past experience with children necessary

To apply, submit letter of application to Ms Jones using the link provided.

Now that you have read through the ad, visualise someone who would be a perfect candidate for the job (it could be you, a friend or family member, a TV or film character, or a person you have simply imagined).

Using the on-screen tools provided, annotate the ad. Beside the responsibilities and requirements, jot down examples of evidence that could be included in a letter of application to show that the applicant possesses the experience and qualities necessary to perform the job (e.g. ‘walked neighbour’s dog twice every day while he recuperated from surgery,’ ‘babysit for several families in neighbourhood,’ etc.).

Live-in housekeeper needed

We are a respectable and kind family with two children (a girl aged 12 and a boy aged 6) seeking a Monday-Friday housekeeper. Good salary; private bedroom provided.

Responsibilities:

  • Rise early to help get the children ready for school
  • Walk the 6-year-old to and from school
  • Tidy and clean the house
  • Wash and iron clothes
  • Walk the dog
  • Prepare healthy snacks for the children after-school
  • Assist with preparing dinner and cleaning up afterwards

Requirements:

  • Cheerful
  • Hard-working
  • Flexible
  • Past experience with children necessary

You have pictured an ideal applicant for the job and generated a list of specific experiences, habits, awards, etc. that illustrate why the applicant is so well-suited to the role. It’s now time to move from planning to drafting.

Imagine that you are the applicant. Draft the letter of application you would write to secure the position. Write in first person (using ‘I’) and organise your letter into paragraphs:


Introduce yourself

Give your name and age along with any biographical background you wish to include (e.g. where you grew up, where you’re living and what you’re doing at the moment, why you’re interested in a job as a live-in housekeeper, etc.).

Demonstrate that you possess the qualities the family desires

Provide specific examples of habits, achievements, things that others have said about you, etc. that prove you are cheerful, hard-working and flexible.

Demonstrate that you possess the sort of experience needed to perform the job well