Cover Letter
My name is Adrian Andrei, and I am writing this cover letter in response to the vacancy you advertised for the position of administrative assistant. Having read the job description, I found that my educational and professional background make me an ideal candidate for the position. I am presently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Business Management at the University of Roehampton, London, having graduated with a baccalaureate degree from Emil Botta High School, Romania. I am certain and competencies that I have attained from education and previous work experience suit me perfectly for this role.
Since your company is a competitive industry player with an outstanding record of accomplishment, I found this vacancy as an opportunity to immerse myself in an international-based work environment. I believe that working with Arcadia Merchandise will help me to further my development goal of networking with people from across the globe. Getting this position will also enable me to bring my experience from previous jobs to develop networks that will drive the company to the next scale internationally.
I will bring to your company a range of skills necessary for competitiveness in the fast-changing business landscape. I have excellent communication skills necessary for fitting in a dynamic work environment with a diverse team. Moreover, I possess managerial skills such as multi-tasking, analyzing capability, decision-making, and the ability to work with other people. I also have digital and computing skills (excel spreadsheets, Microsoft Office Package, and Windows XP/7/10), both of which are necessary for the effective performance of my role as an administrative assistant. I am convinced that my leadership qualities and problem-solving capabilities will assist me in building excellent working relationships with brand merchandising, distribution, and the buyers’ administration assistant in my department, and international suppliers.
The various modules I have studied at the University of Roehampton (including Consumer Behaviour, Operations and Logistics, Global and International Business Strategy, Introduction to Management, and the Principles of Marketing and Communication) have equipped me with valuable skills needed to excel in this job. My previous job as a sales assistant also offered me valuable experience and knowledge of building teams, networking, adaptability, and self-motivation. I have been part of the market development team concerned with developing relationships with distributors, sales personnel, and customers to ensure the success of the business while working as a sales assistant at Inditex – Pull & Bear, Bacau. This position honed my analytical research skills. With this background, I am confident getting at an opportunity to be part of Arcadia Merchandise will not only allow me to further my career and professional development goals but also help the company gain a competitive positioning in the international context.
I have enclosed my CV, which gives detailed information about my qualifications, education, and work experience. I welcome any opportunity to discuss further this position with you. For any further inquiries or need to schedule an interview, you can contact me on 07392830519 or email at adrian.andrei1991@yahoo.com.
Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this cover letter and also accepting to peruse through my CV and the testimonials. I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
APPLICATION FORM (maximum 200 words per answer)
- Why do you want to work for us?
Arcadia Merchandise is a widely celebrated fashion retailer offering consumers eight brands at a very competitive price. This enterprise has a splendid repute as a great place to work. Your philosophy that commercial success starts with people promotes teamwork and commitment to a shared vision. You mix fun with business, allowing people to be themselves while upholding professionalism. You value your employees and provide them opportunities to grow, learn, and innovate to exceed customers’ expectations. Moreover, your customer reviews reflect high employee satisfaction, a clear indication that everyone is happy to work here.
You do not only enjoy a robust financial and competitive business model, but I have noted that you maintain a robust online presence. Your followers on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ are highly enthusiastic about your services. I am a user of your products and would be delighted to be part of that team that develops and distributes these products to a broader market. One of the reasons I find your company interesting is its commitment to customer satisfaction. I believe in innovation and optimistic about the significant growth potential for this industrious organization. I know the company is focusing on expanding its international market and would like someone with vast experience in international marketing to steer this vision.
- Tell us about a time you worked in a group to achieve an objective (what did you do and what was the outcome?)
Working as a logistics supervisor positioned me as an active team player. Part of my responsibility was to arrange meetings, allocate tasks, and supervise various teams, including contractors and staff. I worked with diverse teams to ensure onsite safety and adherence to operational guidelines. One of the most successful projects that I accomplished through effective teamwork was to organize a workplace safety training for the employees. I was playing a leading role in this project. I demonstrated competency in the delegation of duties, conducting follow-up meetings, and communicating the progress to the management. I implemented effective systems to help organize communication among my co-workers. We created a common social media group to share ideas on the progress, challenges, and collectively decide on the way forward. I am a motivator who strives to ensure a united workforce. I was flexible to situations, respecting the ideas of the other members. Whenever the group encountered a challenge, we would arrange to meet physically or shared the challenge on our social media group to deliberate the viable solutions. We embraced collective decision-making, which enhanced cohesion and commitment to the vision. The team conducted the training successfully and met the group objectives.
Tell us about a time when you identified a new approach to solve a problem. (what did you do and what was the outcome?)
My role as a sales assistant, as outlined in the resume, shaped my problem-solving skills. I was handling multiple tasks, including processing cash and card payments, ensuring security in the store, assisting shoppers to find goods, and identifying and reporting discrepancies to the supervisor, among other roles. I found it challenging to balance between being friendly to customers at all times and handling other stressing issues, whether personal or work-related. Coincidentally, a dissatisfied client confronted me while I was under pressure finding out the source of a discrepancy in the records. The customer was seeking a refund for a product that fell below her expectations. At the same time, the supervisor wanted to know the cause of a discrepancy in the sales records. The situation was somehow confusing and stressful. However, I understood the demands of the job and remained composed. I decided to be professional and gave the customer a priority. I wanted to protect the image of the organization in the eyes of the customers. I excused myself to the supervisor to serve the customer first. Once the customer was satisfied, I asked the supervisor to give me time to scrutinize all the records keenly. I later discovered a missing entry in the sales record as the cause of the discrepancy. This experience taught me the significance of prioritization when faced with situations of conflicting interests.
- Tell us about a time when you had to manage a number of different priorities and complete a number of tasks in a short amount of time (what did you do and what was the outcome?)
My job as a traffic marshal at S.C Vrancart had multiple conflicting tasks with varying priorities. I was responsible for planning access routes, housekeeping, controlling hazardous materials, conducting safety checks, staff fire induction, and assisting in with risk assessment. It would be challenging to know the most urgent tasks to perform first. At times, I would be required to conduct fire induction, perform safety checks, and plan route scheduling within the same day. I developed a task rating scale against which I listed all the assignments. I assigned numbers within the range of one to five to determine the level of priority. While prioritizing the tasks, I considered the level of urgency, the amount of time required to complete it, and the energy needed. I met my boss to discuss the deadline for each task to avoid rushing. After knowing the expectations of my supervisor, I maintained a positive outlook and utilized my organizational skills to develop an execution strategy. Starting with the most challenging and more demanding tasks gave me the energy and motivation to complete the other smaller and manageable ones.
Moreover, I value teamwork, which allows me to delegate some tasks. Therefore, I divided complicated ones into simpler units for easy delegation. These measures enabled me to accomplish all the assignments before deadlines.
- Tell us about a project you worked on that required you to persuade others to your point of view (what did you do and what was the outcome?)
In my job as a sales assistant, I was involved in stock control and management. My organization was considering inventory management software and control technology to improve its bottom line. Though everyone understood how the technology would transform operations and enhance efficiency, were undecided on the most suitable choice for our company. More than half of the employees were advocating well-known vendors in the market. They assumed that famous brands would offer more useful benefits than less-known ones. Before sharing my viewpoint, I used my research skills to conduct online research about competing varieties in the market. I looked at the customer feedbacks, taking a screenshot of both positive and negative reviews. I discovered that consumers who purchased the lesser-popular brands were more satisfied with their products that those who purchased the popular ones. I created a graphical representation of the performance ratings based on consumer satisfaction. I also sampled twenty reviews for each company and the associated customer comments to back my findings. The following day, I shared my findings with my colleagues. Although they initially had formed opinions about the famous brands, they slowly realized that not to judge a book by its cover. Finally, the company adopted my view and purchased a lesser-known brand at a lower price. Other than the financial saving for the company, the product surpassed the users’ expectations.
Interview Assessment Practice
Below is a reflection of my experience from the interview:
- My grooming for the interview was superb. I wore professionally acceptable attire for a formal interview, and my colleagues commended me for the same.
- I effectively applied the STAR –response approach to questions, following the order from a situation – task – action – result.
- I could back my answers with relevant examples from a range of experience, both from academic and previous work background.
- I maintained professional vocabulary and avoided jargon to ensure that my message is clear to the interviewers.
- While answering questions, I occasionally deviated but maintained my composure and confidence.
- ASSESSMENT CENTRE PRACTICE
We did the assessment simulation in groups and I must admit that we had an enjoyable experience. From a review of the event, I can figure out some reflective points bulleted hereunder:
- Communication within the group. We remained focused on the task and would effectively mix fun and business to keep ourselves enthusiastic about the project.
- We demonstrated tolerance to ensure that everyone freely shared his/her viewpoint. Whenever we disagreed on a point, we would invoke research skills to obtain background information.
- Throughout the exercise, I was attentive to detail, making sure I understood every point suggested.
- In my opinion, the participation of every member of the group mirrored personality differences. Some members appeared more active than others because the group comprised both extroverts and introverts.
- The simulation gave me a chance to engage in collective decision-making, which is an essential attribute for fitting in today’s dynamic work environment.