Motivational Letter Example & Writing Guide for 2024

Applying for a job is stressful enough and it’s even worse when you come across a requirement you’re completely unfamiliar with. Lots of candidates are completely thrown off balance when asked to write a motivational letter for a job. After all, most people couldn’t even tell you what it is let alone write one.

In this guide, you’ll learn everything about a motivational letter, so you’ll be able to write yours with confidence. Futhermore, you'll get a ready-made motivation letter sample for inspiration.

Use the LiveCareer cover letter builder and your cover letter will write itself. Choose a professional template, answer a few easy questions and the creator will generate a professional cover letter for you with just one click.

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Looking for advice on cover letter writing instead? Check these guides:

• Best Cover Letter Layouts to Apply in 2024
• Cover Letter Structure & Guidelines
• Email Cover Letter (+ Plenty of Examples)
• How to Best Use ChatGPT to Make a Cover Letter
• How to Format a Cover Letter for a Job in 2024
• Perfect Cover Letter: How Does It Look Like?
• What is a Generic Cover Letter & How to Write One
• What Is the Right Cover Letter Length?
• Writing an Application Letter in 2024

Motivational letter for a job example

1. What is a motivational letter?

A motivation letter is a one-page formal letter that supports and expands on your application for a volunteering job or an educational programme. It explains your fit to a certain position and helps paint a more detailed picture of your professional accomplishments and skills. 

It's structured into three paragraphs: introduction where you present your intent, body with the best bits from your experience, and conclusion to thank the reader.

A motivational letter can be used for academic purposes, such as applying for a PhD, a Master’s degree, or a scholarship. In this guide, we’ll examine its use for recruitment purposes.

You’ve just seen a perfect motivation letter sample and learned what it is, so now it’s time to learn how to write your own. Here's how to create winning motivation letters for jobs:

2. How to write a motivational letter?

Let’s take a look at how to write a convincing motivation letter for a job:                               

1. Start with the correct motivation letter format

You should treat any document you submit with a job application with due care and attention. View it as a formal business document and a measure of your professionalism and written communication skills. Here’s how to do it perfectly.

Write your motivation letter address the same as you would a cover letter address. Set right alignment for your own personal details, leave a space and write the date, then change over to left alignment and write the hiring manager’s contact information.

Then choose an easily readable font. A good CV font is also perfect for your cover letter. Some sources say sans serif fonts like Arial are easier to read on a screen, but classic serif fonts like Times New Roman are fine too.

Set your line spacing to single or 1.15 and have page margins of one inch on all four sides. That sets up a frame of white space, which is a key element of clear writing and design.

And finally, how long should a motivation be? That’s easy, one page is your limit.

Application letter for a job example: header

You can adjust every cover letter created in the builder to meet the job requirements. Choose the name of your profession and the company to which you’re applying, and the LiveCareer cover letter builder will automatically adapt the content for you. Create a cover letter faster than you ever thought possible and apply for the job in record time.

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2. Begin your motivational letter with a personal greeting and a persuasive first paragraph

When planning how to start a motivation letter, remember that your aim is to be attention-grabbing. If you don’t have a good strong start the hiring manager could be tempted to give up and move on to the next applicant. Here’s how to stop that happening.

Begin with the correct formal greeting, ‘Dear [hiring manager’s name]’ and not ‘To Whom It May Concern’. That personalisation is very important because when the hiring manager reads their name it instantly activates their brain, making sure you’ve got their full attention.

Then write your first paragraph. Start by mentioning the job role you’re applying for. It’s a good way of making your intentions clear and it shows you’ve written a letter specifically targetting that job, not just a generic copy and paste.

And finish off your cover letter opening with a ‘hook’, an impressive professional accomplishment that makes the hiring manager take notice and shows what a great candidate you are.

Motivation letter for a job example: opening

3. Add more proof of your capabilities to your motivation letter

Use the second paragraph of your letter of motivation to build up the momentum you set with the first. Add in more details of your skills and experience to show the contribution you could make as an employee. Here’s how to do it with maximum impact.

Start by reading the job advert again. It’s your best guide to what the hiring manager wants in a candidate. Then prove that your own skills and experience match up with those mentioned in the job description. You can do this by adding in even more professional achievements and quantifying them with numbers. E.g. ‘I increased my sales pipeline by 50%’.

And add even more strength to your achievements by structuring them as accomplishment statements. That way you don’t just list what you did in a particular job, you prove how well you did it.

Motivation letter for a job sample: second paragraph

4. Show commitment and passion for the job in your letter of motivation

The third paragraph is the place to show a bit of positive energy and passion for the role. This is especially important when you’re writing a motivation letter for a job and you have no experience. Here’s how to get it right.

Show your energy and enthusiasm for the employer by pointing out a positive fact about them that makes you want to work for them. Find this out by doing some research about the company’s recent news and achievements. The company website and Google’s news aggregator are great sources of information.

You can also do some research on any challenges or changes the company is facing. Then mention this and show how you can contribute to solving those challenges and helping to adapt to those changes.

Motivation letter example: third paragraph

5. Finish your motivational letter with a thank you and a call to action

Use the final paragraph of your motivation letter to leave a lasting impression. It’s the place to seal the deal and land yourself an interview. Here’s what you need to do.

Always say thank you. It’s good manners and gratitude is a proven method of motivating people. In this case, motivating the hiring manager to view your application positively and invite you in for an interview.

Include a call to action. Ask the hiring manager to get in touch with you so you can discuss the role in more detail. And you can also add one more professional achievement or mention your career goals for an extra-strong finish.

Motivational letter for a job application: closing

6. Use the correct sign-off in your motivation letter for a job

Just as with your motivation letter address, this section is where you need to show your knowledge of formal letter writing and add further proof of your writing skills. Here’s how to do it properly.

Sign off using your full name, using ‘Yours sincerely’ if your letter of motivation was sent to a named person and ‘Yours faithfully’ if it was sent anonymously. 

Add a professional flourish with a digital copy of your handwritten signature. And if you’re sending your motivation letter as the body of an email, your contact details should be incorporated into your email signature. Finally, don’t forget that no matter how good your motivation letter is, it still needs a well-written CV to go with it.

The great news, though, is that you can effortlessly craft both your CV and cover letter with LiveCareer's intuitive tools. Our CV and cover letter builders offer user-friendly navigation and invaluable tips on formatting and content. This way you can maintain not only consistency but also a polished and professional presentation of your documents.

You don’t have to create any content yourself. The LiveCareer cover letter generator will automatically suggest the best content for your cover letter with ready-made examples and expert tips.

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Thanks for reading, I hope you found our motivation letter template useful. If there’s anything else you’d like to know about how to write a motivation letter then please let me know in the comments section and I’ll be happy to help you.

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Our editorial team has reviewed this article for compliance with Livecareer’s editorial guidelines. It’s to ensure that our expert advice and recommendations are consistent across all our career guides and align with current CV and cover letter writing standards and trends. We’re trusted by over 10 million job seekers, supporting them on their way to finding their dream job. Each article is preceded by research and scrutiny to ensure our content responds to current market trends and demand.