CEMS Magazine Supplement Interview with Magdalena Adamczyk (Finance FFwd Programme Financial Analyst) and Edward Godwin (GPT Finance Manager - Oncology) of AstraZeneca Plc
Q. Whilst completing your CEMS MIM
Motivation letters: WHY DO THEY MATTER SO MUCH?
qualification and applying for graduate positions yourself, what was your view on motivation letters? MA. The motivation letter was a very
important document together with my CV. Whilst the CV was short, the motivation letter allowed me to elaborate on my experience/ skills. You can actually present your enthusiasm in a motivation letter, which you cannot do in a CV. I saw this as my chance to differentiate from other candidates.
Q. How important can the motivation
Magdalena Adamczyk
letter be when a Corporate Partner is considering aN applicant? EG. In a word, critical. The motivation letter
Edward GODWIN
Q. What qualifies you to comment
on motivation letters? EG. I have responsibility at AstraZeneca for
recruitment into our Finance Graduate Programme, including recruiting CEMS students and alumni. Therefore, I’ve read many motivation letters and know what attributes make a good one.
MA. I’m a CEMS Alumna (CEMS 06) so have had experience writing motivational letters and presenting myself to Corporate Partners at the Career Forum. I have worked for AstraZeneca now for four years (after joining on the Finance Graduate Programme) and have had involvement in several annual graduate recruitment processes in that time.
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gives you an opportunity to explain why the employer interests you and to demonstrate that you have researched the company before arriving at that conclusion. Candidates need to use the letter to differentiate themselves from other candidates. Assuming there are more applicants than available positions this is a competitive situation. The motivation letter is one of the main ways that you can gain a competitive advantage over other applicants.
MA. It is very important your motivation letter is not a generic one. You should not use one letter for all companies.
EG: Other no-nos are poor spelling and
grammar, particularly misspelling the company name. I have had examples of motivation letters from CEMS students with this error before.
Q. What advice would you both give
“correct”. People chose to work for their employers for a range of reasons. A motivation letter gives you an opportunity to demonstrate that you have considered it and can explain your motivations. Good candidates will seize this opportunity. Be careful not to oversell and remember whatever you say, you must be able to back up if questioned upon it.
MA. Your motivation letter should be well structured and not too long. Begin your letter by stating what position you are after and in which company. Then discuss the skills/ experience you have, for example from internships and university project teams you have worked in. Show that you have been an active individual that can work both in a team and independently. Finally, discuss your motivations and why you want to get this job and demonstrate knowledge about the company in question.
““The motivation question is one of the most important parts of our application foRm, as candidates can use it to really show us passion, focus and understanding of the industry, the company and the programme they’re applying to. A generic statement of skills or industry interest will not portray this, so thorough research is important in order to articulate where this passion stems from, but also to understand how skills can be applied into the requirements for the role. A company wants to feel that you really want to be a part of their business, so your answer must be written with them in mind, and fully answering the specific questions they ask.
EG. These last two points from Magda are critical
Q. Can you give any examples of
in my opinion. Show that you have researched the employer and present a reasoned argument based on this research as to why you want to work for them and why you are a suitable candidate.
MA. It’s a sell letter so you need to stand out from others. Whilst you are not aware who you are up against, CEMS students have similar experience and it is important to differentiate yourself. Get across elements of CEMS (semester abroad, internship, Block and Skill seminars, Business Projects) but also your own personality. You want to get interviewers thinking they want to know more about you so that they put you through to an interview.
turn off is a generic letter where one company name can be (and probably has been) substituted for another. This type of letter tells me nothing about why the candidate wants to work for my company.
to current CEMS students, when writing a motivational letter for employment?
occasions when a motivational letter has put recruiters off proceeding any further with a graduate? EG. From personal experience, the biggest
EG. There is no one motivation that is
“If you dig deep on a company’s website, you will often find hints and tips on the application process. These are given by the graduate recruitment departments themselves, so take advantage of this and listen to their advice”.
Author: Madeline Waller Graduate Recruitment Manager (Fidelity Investment Managers)
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