Applying for a job often requires you to complete a lot of paperwork. Most positions will ask for a resume and cover letter as a bare minimum. Many others will also have complex application forms where you can provide additional information about your expertise and experience. When there is a lot of documentation to submit for a role, consider using an employment letterhead to properly organize your files and make it easier for the hiring manager to reach you.
A letterhead is a formatted heading that appears at the top of every page of documentation you're working on. It helps to standardize the look of the paperwork while providing all of the important information your reader requires.
For example, your employment letterhead can include: Advertisement Article continues below this adAccording to Productivity Portfolio, you can also include a personal logo or personal branding within the letterhead.
One of the key advantages of using a job letterhead for your employment documentation is that you offer all of the critical information about who you are on every page. This way, if an employer is going through your resume or application, they will always know who it is from just by looking up at the letterhead.
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Using a page number on the job letterhead also helps employers to understand where the page is within the sequence of information. This is particularly important if you're submitting a lengthy application or if your resume spans several pages. Stating "Page 1 of 8," for example, makes it easy to identify what element they are reading, and how many pages there are in total. If a page gets lost, this system helps the employer figure out which page is missing.
When designing your own employment letterhead, consider your audience first. Who will most likely be looking at the job application, resume and cover letter, and what details are pertinent for them? For example, if you're applying to an internal position within your company, having your name and phone number may be all you need as your employer will be familiar with who you are.
Also consider the look of the letterhead. Use a font that is easy to read and choose a color that stands on the page. If your font is overly cursive and the print is too light to read, it will negate the effectiveness of the letterhead. According to Kestrel Print, you can use letterhead to showcase your brand personality. This can be a priority for creative positions such as graphic designers or illustrators. In this case, you may also want to create a logo for your personal brand.
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Word processing programs like Microsoft Word include letterhead examples and templates that you can insert into your documents. This makes it easy to have a professional look without having to spend hours creating a design. In Microsoft Word, you can find header templates under the Insert tab. Just click on Header and scroll down to a template you like.
If you want to exercise your creativity and create your own employment letterhead without a template, simply select the Blank Header option. This way, you will have a dedicated space at the top of your document to insert in the employment letterhead of your choosing. In Microsoft Word, you can also save your own custom letterhead as a template. This will enable you to use it again in different documents with ease, without having to recreate it.