Writing Effective Statement of Interest
Writing an Effective Statement of Interest
As part of the application process for certain positions, you may be asked to write a statement of interest. Before proceeding, please take a few minutes to review this information on how to write an effective statement.
Effective statements of interest:
1. Answer the question or address the issues to which you are asked to respond. (E.g., “Of the three projects stated, identify the one which is of greatest interest to you and detail the skills that prepare you to contribute to the organization’s efforts in this area.)
2. Demonstrate the skills and strengths that you would bring to the organization if you were hired.
3. Demonstrate your clear understanding of and specific interest in the organization. Before preparing your statement of interest, ask yourself…
1. Why am I interested in this position?? What is it about the organization’s mission or the duties entailed in the job that are drawing me to the position?
Is it (for example) the opportunity to make an impact on poverty alleviation in Eastern Europe? Or the strong reputation that the organization has within your policy area of interest?
2. What skills, expertise and other qualities is the employer seeking?
In many cases, this is spelled out pretty clearly in the position description. In other cases, you will need to give some thought to what skills you think would be important to the employer. What kinds of tasks would the job entail? What kinds of skills would you need in order to effectively complete those tasks?
3. Which of the above skills, etc, do I have?
4. What examples can I give to support my assertion that I have those skills?
Perhaps your presentation skills can best be portrayed by an example of a talk that you did for a student organization. Or maybe your commitment to social policy issues is most evident through the volunteer work that you did with a community organization while you were working full-time at another type
As part of the application process for certain positions, you may be asked to write a statement of interest. Before proceeding, please take a few minutes to review this information on how to write an effective statement.
Effective statements of interest:
1. Answer the question or address the issues to which you are asked to respond. (E.g., “Of the three projects stated, identify the one which is of greatest interest to you and detail the skills that prepare you to contribute to the organization’s efforts in this area.)
2. Demonstrate the skills and strengths that you would bring to the organization if you were hired.
3. Demonstrate your clear understanding of and specific interest in the organization. Before preparing your statement of interest, ask yourself…
1. Why am I interested in this position?? What is it about the organization’s mission or the duties entailed in the job that are drawing me to the position?
Is it (for example) the opportunity to make an impact on poverty alleviation in Eastern Europe? Or the strong reputation that the organization has within your policy area of interest?
2. What skills, expertise and other qualities is the employer seeking?
In many cases, this is spelled out pretty clearly in the position description. In other cases, you will need to give some thought to what skills you think would be important to the employer. What kinds of tasks would the job entail? What kinds of skills would you need in order to effectively complete those tasks?
3. Which of the above skills, etc, do I have?
4. What examples can I give to support my assertion that I have those skills?
Perhaps your presentation skills can best be portrayed by an example of a talk that you did for a student organization. Or maybe your commitment to social policy issues is most evident through the volunteer work that you did with a community organization while you were working full-time at another type