The covering letter and the application
A medical-writing application demonstrates writing ability before an employer assigns a test. The covering letter explains the interest in the role and presents relevant experience, while the accompanying CV needs to stand on its own.
Evidence of suitability
The CV and covering letter are an initial assessment of written communication and should be tailored to the role and company, engaging, succinct and intuitively presented. Relevant examples include authored academic papers, scientific-blog contributions and communication of science to different audiences, alongside an explanation of the desire and skills to train as a medical writer. A speculative CV and covering letter can be sent to companies that interest the applicant.
Three strengths to demonstrate in application materials are:
- Writing ability.
- Project management experience, highlighted explicitly.
- Customer service experience, including retail or hospitality work.
Customer service includes talking with clients, obtaining the information needed and understanding what they want. An application should convey a focused commitment to becoming a medical writer.
A letter that may be separated from the CV
A recruiter cautions against sending a generic CV and relying on a tailored letter: a third party may not forward the letter to the employer. In that recruiter’s practice, requested details such as remuneration expectations were extracted and passed to the client without the covering letter.
The CV should therefore stand on its own, with essential information available there rather than only in the letter. The letter can explain why the applicant is interested, why the CV is being sent, and relevant skills and examples of work; repeating information already in the CV is acceptable.
The letter as a writing sample
A hiring manager takes a different view of the letter’s importance: it can establish confidence in an applicant’s writing before other assessments, and she recommends about thirty lines rather than a three-line email, describing previous writing, enthusiasm for writing and reasons for wanting the job. The letter should highlight writing experience and skills.
Application letters, emails and CVs should be free of errors because employers treat them as writing samples. Even an application email should use a formal style. Another person should check the materials, whether or not English is the applicant’s first language; for an English-language role, a native English-speaking friend can review and correct a non-native speaker’s CV and letter. A practising medical writer can review the résumé and especially the covering letter.
The application form also needs careful completion and an independent English check: one employer reads it closely before deciding whether to offer a writing test. The documents should be checked again after another person’s review.