Expression of Interest

Lydia is applying for a job that requires an “Expression of Interest”. What is it? According to my research, an “Expression of Interest” is a term used when an employer is casting a wide net to find a certain type of candidate.

Typically, the employer might have a number of jobs to fill and so is using this type of job ad to pull in skills sets rather than people answering to a specific job title.

It appears the term is used to fill recruitment projects as diverse as call centre roles to technicians needed to fulfil a big building contract such as a defence force contract. The advice is to use a heading on the cover letter such as “Expression of Interest: Call Centre Consultants”.

The opening sentence of the cover letter would start with the words “I am writing to express my interest in …”. Bradley Feller of recruitment firm Hudson said the candidate should then briefly outline his/her skills and the type of role that he/she would be looking for. Mr Feller said a well-written ad should list the skills an applicant would need to be successful.

“It may be a generic advert however, it should point to specific skill sets needed to do the jobs,” he said.

Lydia was the first person to write to me on this topic but there have been three others in close succession. I’m now receiving up to 800 emails a month so a few emails on one topic is not necessarily a trend. If anyone has any thoughts on this, I’d like to hear them.

By Kate Southam, Editor of careerone.com.au

For more useful tips read the other stories in the Job Hunting Strategy section.