Advice: Writing a Letter of Motivation

Oh-là-là.  The letter of motivation, one of the most important letters that we write in France and pretty much obligatory for entrance to University as well as for jobs.  The worse?  If you don't follow the specific structure of the letter, than often the professors or hiring managers will toss the letter without a second thought.  A letter should be precise and not more than 2 pages (recto-verso).

Here's how to form the letter, it's important to know that the location of the information does matter, thus, for example, Number 1 is located in the left hand upper corner, etc.:

1: Information of the sender, aka, YOU.

(ex: Sasha STEINER, Address, Phone number, Email address)

2: Name/Status of Destination

(ex. M. Zoo, Title, Address)
*NOTE:  Look up the name of who you are writing to.

3: Place and Date

(ex. Lyon, le 19 avril 2011)

4: Subjet or Object

(ex. objet: demande d'inscription pour...)

        5: Madame/Monsieur,

6: The content, focus on:  previous experiences, future aspirations, travels and other pertinent information.  This will usually be around 8-9 paragraphs, please DOUBLE CHECK your French and avoid using slang or familiar French.  Use, of course, the 'nous' form instead of the 'on' form, and check for simple errors such as COD or what type of auxiliary verb was used for the passé.  If you can find a French french to edit, do it, it will be the best decision you've made.

7: Polite exit... MOST IMPORTANT.. Write as following:  "Je vous remercie de l’attention que vous porterez à ma candidature, et dans l’attente de votre réponse, je vous prie d’agréer, Monsieur, l’expression de mes salutations distinguées."  The parts in bold can be replaced by the appropriate term.

8: Signature

9:  (In TINY print) P.J. (pièce joint), and then a listing of any documents you are including with the letter.

Any questions, feel free to email.

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