A motivational letter is a crucial part of the application for the voluntary position. It decides whether a recruiter is going to consider you as a potential project participant. Not everyone knows, but even a short letter of self-presentation tells more about you than you might have intended to tell.
In this manual I talk about the European Solidarity Corps youth mobility initiative (further ESC), which gives young people aged 18-30 volunteering and traveling opportunities abroad, and more. Of course, the same rules apply to any other kind of voluntary project.
From 2016 until 2022 I have been a coordinator of a European Voluntary Service project in Finland. One of my tasks was to complete teams of volunteers for each project. I have received plenty of applications by e-mail, through social media, on the European Youth Portal, and by post.
The project coordinator or a person recruiting volunteers feels the bond with an applicant if the motivational letter includes these main aspects:
- It demonstrates that you are genuine, or perhaps even passionate, about your interest in the project
How to achieve it? The project call and information packet provide details about the ESC voluntary project – refer to this information. Show you have done the reading by mentioning the tasks they offer and why you wish to do all that stuff!
- it convinces you are a pleasant person to work with
Describe why this project draws your attention. What are your dreams and goals that are possibly connected to some of the aspects of the project?
- it states how this project is going to change your life
Share your vision of the future of how your life would be after you have participated in this project!
Once an applicant wrote to me that she wants to participate in a project to learn to run her own Community-supported agriculture garden once she is back in her home country. I booked a call with her immediately, and eventually accepted her participation because 1) she was genuinely interested in the voluntary activity we offered; 2) she wanted to learn the practice to be able to bring it to her own community; 3) I knew this was a perfect project for her and she was a match for us.
- it tells how you are going to contribute to the project
A motivational letter that lists only your gains from participation is not enough. Describe what can you bring to the project! It can be a meal you cook the best, some digital skill, useful phrases in your mother tongue, or whatever is relevant or fun. One of our participants taught us dancing salsa!
Examples of real motivational letters
I am going to show you several motivational letters I have received as an ESC voluntary project coordinator (with original writing and no personal data) with my comments in bold on why they are to be improved or why they are very good.
A bit of context: the applicants have sent their motivational notes to the project that offered to live and volunteer in an eco-community in Finland, working in an organic garden, building houses from natural materials, rural life-related activities, and life in a community.
Example #1:
“Dear Sir or Madame: First of all, the cultural and international features passionates me, which means that I will make demanded tasks with motivation. Studying and working abroad have helped me to face different situations where organization and effectiveness were needed. Secondly, the attitude, the enthusiasm for learning and the constant perseverance have allowed me to work in different organizations and businesses. I’ve seen myself driven to use creativity to create content and work with people from different nationalities. Being active and flexible will give me the chance to take multiple tasks. The experience in teamwork has given me the confidence to face different projects. This volunteering will be an incredible opportunity to learn how an organisation like yours works and to contribute to Europe. Your faithfully, Name Surname.”
An applicant uses unnecessarily complicated language to apply for voluntary work. There are literally zero words about this certain project, and that’s why as a recruiter I wouldn’t feel like devoting my time to schedule a call with this applicant. I clearly see here a copy-paste message written to every project out there.
Example #2:
“Hello! My name is Name, I am turning 30 this year. I always dreamt of experiencing the Finnish environement and lifestyle. I am pasionate about organic gardening, self-development and alternative lifestyle that truely nourish the community and individuals as well as respect nature. I worked and traveled in South america, Asia and New Zealand. Since I came back to Europe end of 2018 I have lived in my hometown in Place but I now wish to get involved with a meaningful project. I love nature and I am used to live in remote areas. I am willing to have more “hands-on” experience of gardening and sustainable living. Please get back if my profile could be of interest. Kind regards, Name.“
An applicant expresses interest in the location of the project, the concept and the tasks, and the appreciation for the existence of such a place. There is a bit of personal experience and interests that allow us to imagine that we are going to deal with a person who matches the lifestyle the project offers. It is good to mention being 30 soon, which adds a slight pressure on the recruiter to give an applicant a chance.
This applicant was invited for an interview.
Example #3:
“I have studied the bachelor’s degree in ______ at the Name University and the master’s degree in _______ at the Name University. Although I am from Place, I have been living in Place and Place, which makes me a person with international experience, good command of the English language and with an open mind to new professional challenges. Day after day I try to focus my professional career on people and businesses. I intend to contribute all my knowledge and experience to improve working environments, and thus, to be able to help people develop professionally to achieve full happiness both in the professional and personal spheres. I dedicate to Profession in a general way within the services, engineering, and telecommunications sector. I love working with people, knowing their past, their present and their future, inside and outside organizations.“
Sounds like a perfect motivational letter, but not for a rural eco-village project. The applicant has emphasised the devotion to a chosen profession and hasn’t explained why participation in a project, that has nothing in common with the mentioned education and profession, would be beneficial for both sides. I would have invited this applicant for an interview if there were no other strong candidates.
Example #4:
“Hello! I am Name, I am a psychologist that wants to volunteer in your organization, as I am highly interested in contributing to the land’s care. I want to find a way to promote the practice of ecology as a mental health habit, it also could be promoted as a way of physical expression. I am experienced in photography and I really love taking pictures and documenting projects, as it’s a very important mission of awareness. I have a professional camera and some video-editing skills. I am currently working online and would love to get to know in detail your project. Kind regards!“
Interesting background and reason to apply. This is an example of an applicant, whose career might seem to have nothing in common with the project, but the argumentation of why the applicant wants to benefit from the participation is amazing! There is a mission behind and it makes a recruiter very curious about the potential cooperation.
Let’s summarise the mistakes you want to avoid making:
- The motivational letter and the project topic have nothing in common. You are talking about your education, work experience, and interests that have nothing in common with the project you are applying to. You keep listing your academic achievements and professional aspirations while applying to a project that will not contribute to your profession.
In addition, you don’t mention anything about the project you’re applying to.
Though ESC project staff is often aware that applicants are willing to get any international experience possible or move abroad, it will give an impression that they will have to deal with a volunteer, who doesn’t fit in, is unmotivated, and can be a potential trouble. - When invited for an interview, you ask it to be skipped, because of your bad English. No matter how good your application is, you won’t be accepted without getting to know you in advance. I believe there are big hosting organizations, that accept participants without interviews, but if you are applying for a project where the project staff will be in close contact with you on daily basis, they need to evaluate you by having a conversation.
- Mentioning in the application process that your intention is to stay in the country of the project. Again, it gives the impression that you are applying for one reason only – to move away from your country of residence. Even if it’s true – don’t make it obvious.
- You write your application by hand and send it by post. It might sound like an innocent and insignificant thing, but it might not arrive! Even more, it requires a recruiter to read your handwriting, copy your data manually to a digital storage, and store your letter for eventual reference.
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