Sample Job Application Letter

John Donaldson
8 Sue Circle
Smithtown, CA 08067
909-555-5555
john.donaldson@emailexample.com

Date

George Gilhooley
XYZ Company
87 Delaware Road
Hatfield, CA 08065

Dear Mr. Gilhooley,

I am writing to apply for the programmer position advertised in the Times Union. As requested, I
am enclosing a completed job application, my certification, my resume, and three references.

The opportunity presented in this listing is very interesting, and I believe that my strong technical
experience and education will make me a very competitive candidate for this position. The key
strengths that I possess for success in this position include:

I have successfully designed, developed, and supported live use applications

I strive for continued excellence

I provide exceptional contributions to customer service for all customers

With a BS degree in Computer Programming, I have a full understanding of the full lifecycle of a
software development project. I also have experience in learning and excelling at new
technologies as needed.

Please see my resume for additional information on my experience.

I can be reached anytime via email at john.donaldson@emailexample.com or my cell phone,

909-555-5555.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to speaking with you about this
employment opportunity.

Sincerely,

Signature (for hard copy letter)

John Donaldson
Job Application Letter Format

Use this formatting information as a guideline when writing your customized application letters,
so you know what information goes where.

Contact Information
Name
Address
City, State, Zip Code
Phone Number
Email Address

Date

Employer Contact Information (if you have it)

Name
Title
Company
Address
City, State, Zip Code

Salutation

Dear Mr./Ms. Last Name, (leave out if you don't have a contact)

Body of Application Letter

The body of your application letter lets the employer know what position you are applying for,
why the employer should select you for an interview, and how you will follow up. See below for
a paragraph-by-paragraph breakdown of the body of the letter.

First Paragraph
The first paragraph of your letter should include information on why you are writing. Mention
the job you are applying for and where you found the job listing. Include the name of a mutual
contact, if you have one. You might conclude by briefly and concisely saying why you think you
are an ideal candidate for the job.

Middle Paragraph(s)
The next section of your application letter should describe what you have to offer the employer.
It can be a single paragraph, or you can break it up into a couple of paragraphs. If the section gets
lengthy, you may use bullet points to break up the text. Remember, you are interpreting your
resume, not repeating it.

Mention specifically how your qualifications match the job you are applying for. In this portion
of the letter, make your case for your candidacy. It can be helpful to spend some
time researching the company when you know a lot about the company, it helps you make an
informed and persuasive argument for your candidacy.
Use specific examples whenever possible. For example, if you say that you have lots of
experience working successfully on team projects, provide an example of a time you worked in a
group and achieved success.

Final Paragraph
Conclude your application letter by thanking the employer for considering you for the position.
Include information on how you will follow up.

Complimentary Close

Sincerely,

Signature (for a mailed letter)

Typed Signature

Project Proposal: A Beginners Guide

Oct 12, 2017 | By Jason Westland in Project Management 101

Lets get started and manage a project! Wait, before you can even plan for a project, you must
propose one. Then get that proposal approved. You can be the most skillful project manager on
the planet, but if you cant sell the idea, then youre nowhere.

What you need is a project proposal. This document is the seed from which a successful project
will eventually grow. It is full of useful information outlining the projects goals and
deliverables, the timeline in which youll have it completed, with the resources and estimated
budget youll require to do all that.

Why Is a Project Proposal Important?

The most obvious answer is that a project doesnt exist until it has been proposed and given the
go-ahead. A proposal wont be accepted until you do the research and show why the project is
viable. In a real sense, this is the great work of any project. Once youve started, then youre
mostly implementing what youve already proposed and responded to issues as they arise.

Therefore, the project proposal is of paramount importance in that it is presented to your

stakeholders as a means of explaining exactly what you are going to do, how youre going to do
it, and what the results of that process will be. Youre showing them the benefits, the funding and
resources required, and then, if youve done your job right, youll get the okay to start.
Not only does it get you buy-in and allows you to kick-off the project, but it begins the formal
communications between yourself and your stakeholder, a dialogue that will continue for the
length of the project. The project proposal is an in-depth documentation of everything you can
imagine youll be needing to complete a project, so its your blueprint from which you build
success.

The proposal is also your first step at coordinating all the elements of your potential project. This
is your first step in managing all the tasks, equipment and other materials youll need and align
them with a feasible schedule to achieve the business objective that will sway your stakeholders.
In other words, youve beginning to structure what the project will look like when its up and
running. Your early focus on goals and objectives is what creates success later.

The Project Proposal Format

While its likely you will be the one who writes the project proposal, there is also the possibility
that the project manager will be hired once the project has already been approved. Either way,
youre going to work closely with this document, so you need to know its components.

Executive Summary

This is the introduction to your proposal, the elevator pitch, so to speak. Youll want details, but
not minutia. So, youre going to outline the history, vision, goals and timeframe for the project.
You want to be engaging, really hook the stakeholders, to fully sell them on the idea at this point.

History
After you wowed them, you want to anchor your project and put it in context. That means
writing about the organization and how your project fits into its overall strategic objectives. Note
other projects in the works that might conflict or complement the one youre proposing. Here
you want to be as through as possible. If you leave anything thing out that will spark a question
from the stakeholders, then youre going to have to respond to that, which means the actual
projects start date will get pushed further out.

Requirements

Here youre going to address the business problem your project is addressing and resolving.
Maybe its an opportunity you see that you want to exploit. Whatever the reason, identify it
clearly and detail the reasoning behind your decision. What is the problem or opportunity, how
long will it take to resolve or exploit this matter? Get the details, which should support your case
for the project.

Solution

Okay, youve got the reason, the why, now you must explain the how. Write out your solution
clearly, explain the scope and how youll deliver it. Keep it narrowly focused on the solution to
better communicate your idea and avoid getting sidetracked in work not leading to the reason for
your project. Before you start the project, youll also want to figure out the risks inherent in it.
Even as early as the proposal, youre going to need to identify what risks are likely, what youll
do if they show up in your project and who will lead that initiative. Some of the last things youll
need to address when you propose a project is the prospect of a stakeholder turning it down. Yes,
you should create a sort of rebuttal, where you address the questions and concerns that they
might have before they do. That gives you an opportunity to prove youre aware of the risks and
how youre going to avoid them.

Writing the Project Proposal

Weve outlined the format of a typical project proposal, and our free template link above will
make this so much easier, but lets talk through some of the specifics of what youll want to
address as you write the proposal. Remember, you are going to need metrics to chart the progress
of your project, so while youre drafting your proposal, be thinking about what success looks like
once the project is completed. This is more than just a paperwork trail for stakeholders. It can be
your guide to a successful project, so be exacting in listing what youre going to achieve.

Deliverables. The deliverables are the good or service that will be completed and
produced over the life cycle of the project. They can be anything, really, from a document
to software. But whatever they are must be detailed in the project proposal.
Timeline. The project has a beginning and an end. Those two points make up the
timeframe of your project. In-between are the various project phases, made up of
milestones, which are then broken down into smaller tasks. The time it takes you to go
from start to finish is your timeline.
Resources. To get from one point to the next on your timeline you need to have
resources. Resources are anything you need to get the project done, from team members
 to equipment. Youll want to have a detailed list of the resources that are needed for your
project, which will play into the next part of your new project.
Budget. This is where you calculate the amount of money needed to pay for all those
resources. Make sure that you show the return on this investment, which is the whole
reason for the project in the stakeholders minds. Also, define whos responsible for
what. That must include everyone in the project, from the top on down, including the
stakeholders. They have a role to play, and a cost, too.

Some other areas youll want to tackle are reporting. Youll have to generate reports to show that
progress to your stakeholders. How are you going to deliver that crucial data? That decision
needs to be made here. Speaking of progress, how do you measure it? Youve already developed
a metric to measure the progress of the project, now you must have an instrument in place to note
when you have achieved whatever goals you set out for the project.

When your project proposal has been approved, youll want to have a point person to authorize
the project as it moves through its various phases. Also, you should have an appendix to your
proposal to attach all your supporting documents. This provides the backup when youre making
the proposal, showing that youve done the due diligence, but it also gives you historic data that
can be tapped if you are proposing a similar project in the future.

Thats how you write a project management proposal. Its a lot of work, yes, but if you put the
effort into the front-end of the project, youll find that things run a lot smoother once youre
executing it. There are different struggles once youre working out your plan in real-time, of
course, but you can rest assured whatever is thrown at you, youve prepared for it.

All the moving parts that youve outlined in your project proposal are going to have to be
planned, tracked and reported on. With ProjectManager.com, a cloud-based project
management software, you have the tools to manage each phase of the project in real-time,
giving you the most accurate picture of your projects progress possible. Try it for yourself by
taking this free 30-day trial.
 Get Your Project Proposal Noticed
written by: SusieBrown edited by: Ronda Bowen updated: 10/24/2014

New or inexperienced project managers can use this generic example of a project proposal to
help create and develop their own proposals.

The following project proposal outline is in a generic format so it can be

applied to several kinds of circumstances and projects.
As you sit down to write your own document keep in mind that although some details will
necessarily change to accommodate your particular project type, scope, and industry, the general
structure is more or less the same for any kind of project proposal.
Included in each section are also a few tips and examples to help you produce a proposal that is
clear, accurate, and focused.

Project Information
This section is meant to provide a overall picture of the project that can be seen at a glance as
well as convey important project details.
Name of the Organization: XYZ, Inc
Project Title: New Widget Development
Project Summary: Write a 2-4 sentence summary of the project scope
Project Time-frame: January,1 2010 - September, 30 2010
Prepared by:
Attached Documentation:
Project Contacts:
List those individuals who are involved with the project and can be contacted. Be sure to include
their name, title, role in the project, as well as phone numbers and email addresses

Project Summary
The goal of this section is to present the reasons for doing this project as well as stating all of the
project's objectives. In this section in particular it is very important to write concisely and
clearly. Some project professionals even suggest writing the project summary last. Before you
begin writing you should be able to answer the following questions:
o Why are you doing this project?
o What will you be doing?
o How will you be doing it?
o Who will be doing it?
o Where will it be done?
o How long will it take?
 o How much will it cost?
1.) Project Background
Explain what needs/problems you are trying to solve, and why these needs/problems are worth
solving. You should also provide a brief setting and history behind the project. This section
should be no more than a page. Include references to supporting documentation, such as research
papers and articles. This information can be placed in the index at the end.
2.) Project Objectives
State explicity what goals the project is aiming to achieve.
o Objective 1
o Objective 2
o Objective 3

Project Methodology
This sections details the plan for how the project objectives will be achieved. It usually starts
with a description of the overall approach. Then it provides details on methodology, the
population being addressed, and how anticipated problems will be managed.
1.) The Project Approach Summary
Write a few short paragraphs or bullet points on your overall approach to the project. Include
how the project team will be organized, what development and collaboration tools will be used,
and how the plan will be updated along the way.
2.) Work Breakdown and Task Time Estimates
In this section you should create a detailed project schedule. Make a list of tasks that will be
performed for this project, make sure the list is detailed enough and the tasks broken down
enough to expose risks and make reasonable estimates in man hours required. You may want to
include a milestone chart in this section.
For a great example of a project schedule, go here.
3.) Project Deliverables
Make a list of project "deliverables." (These are the products, information, reports, etc that will
be delivered to the client at the end and throughout the duration of the project). Make sure to
include a description of the deliverable and an estimated delivery date.

Project Risk Management

This section details the major project risks and delineates the plans to alleviate or control them.
Make sure to address each risk's likelihood of occurring as well as its impact on the project and
the organization.
1.) Risk Management Plan
This is the detailed plan of action to minimize and contain any risk factors that may come up as
the project progresses.
2.) Risk Register
Be sure to include this line-item list of risks and counter efforts.

Project Costs
 In this section you will need to estimate the overall cost of the project.
1.) Project Budget
A detailed, line-item budget should be divided into categories such as salaries, fringe benefits,
travel, supplies, and equipment. Make sure to also include any overhead costs (called "indirect
costs") that will be associated with the project.
2.) Budget Narrative
The budget narrative is basically a list of commentary needed to clarify and justify the figures on
your budget.
3.) Additional Financial Statements
Some project proposals may require additional financial statements, such as a profit and loss
statement, a recent tax return, an annual report, or a list of funding sources.

Conclusion
In this section you should try to tie up all the above information in a short summary that explains
the potential value of the project and emphasizes its feasibility.

Appendix
This is where you should put additional charts, graphs, reports, etc. that were cited in the
proposal, but were not appropriate to place in the main body of the document.
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