Ask yourself why you want the job. Try to avoid standard reasons. Rather make the necessary research to figure out why the specific position is interesting for you.

1. Directly:

As marketing director for Blabla, I had the responsibility for administration of social media. By introducing new marketing strategies, I doubled the number of followers at Instagram and Twitter. This experience will be useful in Digiwords current focus on social media.

2. Express enthusiasm:

I was pleased to see that you want a new co-worker! I have been interested in development of new web solutions for quite some time. This was also the objective of my master’s thesis. Silba AS has reputation for being an excellent company to learn about customisations of IT-solutions. Therefore, I want to apply for the position as a developer at your company.

3. Name-dropping:

It was with pleasure I heard that you are looking for an editorial secretary at Better publishers! Last week I talked to your Director of communications, Berit Olsen who informed me about this position.

4. Updated:

Lately, I have read about Valziv AS new cooperation with Fjordbeit AS in Economist News. After reading the articles, I was inspired to ask for job opportunities at your company.

1. I have previous experience with developing web applications in Linux and Apache through my summer job at the company IT-Flow.
2. From my master’s thesis, I have experience working structured by handling a large amount of collected data.
3. I thrive in a team environment, as I did working as responsible for arrangements in the student organisation at my study programme. I worked in a team of four people responsible to contact employers and arrange career fairs.
4. From my experience at the restaurant Good Food, I have learned that I handle stressful situations well.

• What you can contribute to in the position, your experience that is useful for the company.
• That you consider the company the best place to learn about the work tasks or your area of interest.

• Do your research! Consider which position is correct for you in this business and how can you contribute to the company.
• Find out if the company accepts open applications. Look at their website or contact the company directly. To whom can you talk to or send the open application?
• Try to talk to someone who has knowledge about your discipline or can make decisions in a relevant department. Ask what skills they are especially interested in: These are tips for your customised cover letter! If the conversation goes well, why not ask if you can refer to it in the cover letter.
• Express your motivation for that particular job, why do you want to work in that specific company. What skills do you have that would benefit the company?
• Follow up after a couple of weeks. Check if they have received your application. Appear polite, interested and not fussy.
• Consider social media for job searching.

Include in the cover letter:

1. Focus on the motivation and interest in conducting research and elaborate on current research topics. Demonstrate why you want to go into research in this field, be specific.
2. State areas of expertise and indicate briefly specific aims of your future research program. Often, you have to include an additional 2-10 pages about own research ideas based on the project description in the listing.
3. Establish the foundation on which you will base your research and define novel aspects of your research. Describe how your aims align with current research initiatives in the department.
4. Address requirements and desired skills outlined in the job posting. Demonstrate your productivity, as well as key scientific or technical strengths, with supporting details.
5. Give concrete examples to support your assertions about your strengths.
6. If the position includes teaching, emphasize interest, commitment, and experience in teaching.

Check if your current supervisor can give you some tips for the field of research. The cover letter should normally be one page long. Some institutions accept two pages.