OMO - advice on a job application for my daughter.

[garynortheast]

Anyone here able to give good advice about an application my daughter would like to make for a paid gardening apprenticeship? The position is at a former stately home turned 4* hotel with extensive grounds. Sioned is keen to get some horticultural training and could do with some advice on the covering letter to go with the application.

[Craig380]

I've no idea how she should structure the letter as it's SO long since I've done anything like that, but she must emphasise her love for / interest in gardening & horticulture, highlight anything practical that she's done in that area, and say how she would love the opportunity to further develop these interests / skills through the apprenticeship.

[Ruffy]

I'm also a bit out of date with current expectations, but my thoughts are similar to Craig's - point to enthusiasm, passion, what Sioned may be able to offer straight away, plus willingness to learn.

The specific extras I would advise are
(i) try to keep a covering letter quite short, definitely no more than one side of paper - it needs to be an easy, fairly brief read with the aim of hooking a busy recruiting manager's interest enough to review CV and get invite for interview. Don't be afraid to use bullet point formatting and even be bold enough to ask directly for the chance to talk further at interview.

(ii) try to draw out how Sioned's work efforts would lead to benefit for their business, e.g. something like "I'd love to be contributing to making guest experiences most enjoyable by creating and maintaining neat and attractive gardens in an appealing wider natural environment".

(iii) highlighting any previous customer-facing experience is possibly also helpful (since it shows appreciation of context that in a hotel environment there's always the chance of guest interaction with any staff member, and they'll presumably want ad-hoc touch points like those to be well-handled.)


Hope this helps, and best of luck to Sioned with the application.

[keny676]

She should lead with her motivation: why gardening, and why now. Then a short paragraph on any experience, even if it’s volunteering or personal projects.

End with a polite, confident line saying she’s keen to contribute and learn from experienced professionals. Keep it under a page, tailored to that hotel’s grounds and history

[admin]

Originally Posted by keny676

She should lead with her motivation: why gardening, and why now. Then a short paragraph on any experience, even if it’s volunteering or personal projects.

End with a polite, confident line saying she’s keen to contribute and learn from experienced professionals. Keep it under a page, tailored to that hotel’s grounds and history

I agree. Lengthy CV's trend to get pushed to one side in a paper sift when you've got dozens to go through.

[garynortheast]

Thanks all for your contributions. These are exactly what I was looking for.

[keny676]

For the covering letter, she’ll want to focus on three main things: her passion for gardening, any relevant experience (even if it’s just helping out at home or school), and why this specific location appeals to her. Emphasizing her eagerness to learn and contribute to maintaining historic grounds can also show she’s thoughtful about the role.