9 FEBRUARY 2011
SGS TESTING AND CONTROL SERVICES SINGAPORE PTE LTD
26 AYER RAJAH CRESCENT, #03-07
SINGAPORE 139944
To whom it may concern:
QA Chemist – Oil, Gas & Chemical Lab, Job Reference APAC00187
I am enclosing my CV in response to the job opening for a QA Chemist in the oil, gas & chemical laboratory. As a QA chemist I am seeking to support and maintain the quality systems and instruments in the laboratory with diligence, to conduct detailed inter-department quality audits with and to offer non-comprising quality assurance to clients.
I have recently graduated from the National University of Singapore with an Honours degree in Chemistry. I have in-depth knowledge in chemistry and have experience using chemical machines. I have proper knowledge of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as well as of laboratory safety regulations. These are specific skills and specialized expertise that meet the requirements you are looking for.
As the demands of the chemical market are ever-changing, I understand the need to formulate new quality assurance strategies for clients. I believe that my research studies in my Honours year have thoroughly equipped me with the skills required to innovate new ideas and implement new strategies. Being able to complete my degree with Honours has trained me to be determined and resilient through the course of my academic studies and I am sure these attributes will help me to overcome the new challenges of working with SGS.
Having supported myself through my tertiary studies with part-time jobs while handling the high workload of NUS, I have learnt to manage my priorities as well as to excel under stress. I have also learnt to be able to work favourably with my peers and professors to achieve and complete the tasks on hand. I believe that these qualities that follow me to the workplace will help me adapt quickly and to be able to tie up amiable working relations with both clients and colleagues alike.
SGS is an established international organization with offices in several different countries. I would find working with SGS to be very rewarding and challenging. I do hope that you will look favourably at my application and I look forward to hearing from you.
Respectfully Yours,
Liew Yong Qiang
Your letter shows a thorough understanding of the requirements of the post you are applying for, but you need to better substantiate your letter with evidence of what you have done and link it to the skills and qualities the employer is looking for. I feel this letter does not adequately demonstrate what you have to offer, as my impression of you from this is that "Okay, so you graduated with a Chemistry degree with Honours and you did a few part-time jobs here and there", which hardly makes you stand out as a strong candidate for this posting.
ReplyDeleteSpecific suggestions
- Formatting: Better not to capitalise the date and address of the company?
- Phrasing: "As a QA chemist I am seeking" - this sounds like you got the job already; "tie up amiable working relations" - I find "tie up" a bit strange, but can't think of a good alternative right now; heavy workload, not high workload; "innovate new ideas" - a bit of a tautology here!; "specific skills and specialized expertise" - again, tautology!
- Ordering: In your last paragraph you mention why you want to work with the company. I think it would be better to put this in the first paragraph.
- Specificity: Elaborate and provide more details. Eg. "research studies in Honours year" - What kind of research? Was it QA-related? (okay I know you haven't done Honours yet, but you could make up something for the purposes of this letter? Haha.) How did that help you acquire innovation skills? Perhaps you faced some limitations when carrying out your research, and was hence forced to think of creative alternatives to achieve your end instead. Another example: Any research/coursework/modules you completed that were related to QA? I think every Chemistry student should be aware of PPE and lab safety regulations, so rather than these, the employer should be looking for QA-related knowledge and skills.
- Other comments: You wrote that "Being able to complete my degree with Honours has trained me to be determined and resilient". I think it would be better if you talk about how something else have trained your determination and resilience. Many other people applying for this job would also have Honours too, so this does not help you stand out. Maybe your part-time jobs or extracurricular activities?
Hope you don't mind me being anal with your letter, as I would appreciate the same for mine. All the best with the final submission!
Some comments:
ReplyDelete-Yes, adding on to Jin Rou, try not to bold the date and title and address of the company.
-Spell out CV and QA.
-You have understood the job requirements well enough.
-You can try to use transitional tools like 'Also' or 'In addition' to link up your second and third sentences in the second paragraph.
-It is good that you have shown how you can work amiably with your clients and colleagues.
-"I have in depth knowledge in Chemistry" is a bit redundant since you are a Chemistry Major. Perhaps you can try to specify the various fields that you have learnt which will be useful for the job or any other seminars or workshops you have attended.
Thanks for your comments! It has certainly helped!
ReplyDeleteHey Yong Qiang,
ReplyDeleteLike what Jin Rou has mentioned, it is better not to write " as a QA chemist...". For 2nd paragraph, what kind of chemical machines have you used before? Perhaps you can state a few examples that are relevant to QA? This will show the employer that you have the experience and expertise in using the relevant machines. For the next sentence, "proper knowledge" and "as well as of" can be replaced by " good knowledge" and "and" respectively.
For the next paragraph, you can give examples to substantiate your point: "I believe that my research studies in my Honours year have thoroughly equipped me with the skills required to innovate new ideas and implement new strategies." What skills have you acquired during the research studies? How did you acquire them?
Good that you have understood the job requirements and the demands of this job.