SAMPLE COVER LETTER

Joy Wendo Oluoch
P.O BOX 1644257-00610, Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: +2547244983160
Email: ojwendo@gmail.com

Dear Sir / Madam,

RE: POSITION OF PROGRAM MANAGER

I am submitting my application to join your organization as a Program Manager. I am currently working as an Emergency Project Officer with CARE-Kenya. Prior to this I was Drought Monitoring Officer in Karamoja region, Uganda.

These two positions have prepared me well for a variety of development and administrative duties. These include conflict management, coordinate programme activities, facilitating and maintaining community relations and overseeing nutrition surveys. I am competent in peacebuilding, monitoring the distribution of supplies and development of plans for emergency response.

Furthermore, my degree in Chemistry equipped me with attention to detail, problem solving, written and communication skills. These competencies would greatly add to my effectiveness as a member of your team.

I have a strong working experience with communities and implementing projects in peacebuilding and capacity building. I am highly proficient in modern research methods, report writing and computer and internet applications. My long experince in collaborating with local administration is also useful in successful implementaion of programs.

Given my monitoring and report writing skills and ability to develop and maintain community relations, I believe that I will be an asset to your organization. I have also undergone numerous and vigorous courses that have strengthened my profile. These include Peacebuilding and Conflict Management Facilitation Skills and Approaches to Participatory Integrated Community Development.

I am drawn to your organization as I am keen to work in a field that promotes community development and sustainability of projects. I would be honored to be a part of the change facilitated by your organization.

Sincerely,

Joy W. Oluoch

HOW TO WRITE A CV

Joy Nekesa

P.O. BOX 2745 - 00800 Nairobi, Kenya

Mobile: 0702 – 0311 446 

E-mail: nekesajoy@gmail.com 

Career Profile

As a seasoned professional with demonstrable track record in a fast paced corporate setting and seeking a challenging position to contribute my competencies to grow sales volumes

Employment

Foremost Financial Services Ltd

 2009 to Current                                 

Sales Manager                                                                                                 

March – November 2009                 

Trainee Sales Manager                                                                 

2004 - 2008                        

Sales Agent  

Professional Experience

Strategic Management

• Monitoring demand trends for company products and designing positioning strategies
• Participating in product development and aiding in product promotion to attract buyers
• Gauging competition and designing strategies to win market share
• Responsible for initiating, developing and maintaining a portfolio of insurance programs for high net worth clients

Marketing

• Evaluating customer research, market conditions and competitor data
• Marketing to meet a variety of specific objectives, including optimizing short-term unit margins, revenue growth, market share and long-term profitability
• Implementing the marketing strategy designed to maximize the revenues and profits

Sales

• Selling various types of insurance policies to businesses and individuals on behalf of company
• Selling mutual funds, annuities, and securities and offering comprehensive financial planning services
• Providing risk management to prospective and existing clients - clients developed through prospecting directly and through referrals by other high net worth clients    

Training

• Training and mentoring agents to achieve better synergy and to fulfill their full potential
• Training agents to interview prospective clients to determine their needs and advise them appropriately
• Training agents to enable them grasp the technical aspects of insurance policies as well as the industry fundamentals and operational procedures of selling insurance

Education & Training

Currently        Pursuing MBA (Strategic Management)      University of Nairobi

2004                Certificate of Proficiency in Insurance             QAT Insurance Institute

                                                                                                      

2003                Bachelor of Arts (Economics & Sociology)       Kenyatta University

Professional Courses

§         AIDS Awareness and Information Dissemination

§         Executive Certificate in Insurance

§         Insurance Claims Management

§         Understanding Risk Management

                                                       

References

Available

CAN YOU WRITE BETTER?

In my more than ten years as a professional writer, I have often been asked how one can  become a better writer. This demonstrates that there are people who recognise that sound writing skills advance their careers.

Good writing skills aids you in boosting memory and retaining material. It also facilitates analytical thinking which is useful in many careers. 
How then can you become a better writer? Writing is ten per cent inspiration and ninety per cent perspiration.” If there are “tips” to good writing, here are some:

Practice: There is no short-cut to good writing, you have to practice and practice more.

Read: The other way is to read widely what other good writers, authors, journalists have written. Note well what they have written and how. Of course, you cannot be a good writer if you don’t write just as you become an athlete without training.

Think: Many writers jump into writing just because they have a good idea. They then run out of material midway and the mind goes blank. The very first step is to think about your topic. This is the hardest part in writing because it requires focus and discipline.  But a good idea must be supported by good and strong thoughts.

Plan: How are you going to write your work? Will you follow the traditional approach of introduction, explanation and conclusion? Will you compare and contrast two subjects? A plan is the map that helps you to know where you are going. You can also list your points and make a rough outline. 

Dig: The next step is to research for material on your writing topic. You can research online or in normal libraries. Before you start writing, gather your material just like a good cook gathers the ingredients before starting to cook.

Make a Draft: Make a rough draft – writing your ideas down as they come without bothering to edit or correct them. Then revise to make your writing better. If necessary rearrange your thoughts on what you want to say. This works better when you have lots of time to invest in the writing.

Edit:The last step is to edit.  If possible, no writer should edit their work. Ask a competent person to edit your work. If not, do it yourself carefully lest you gloss over the same mistakes. If you have the time, edit the piece after a few days or a week. This will give you a fresh insight.

You are on your to writing better if you follow these tips and back them up with loads of practice.

MASSACRE OF LANGUAGE GOES ON

In the hustle and bustle of today's extra busy, ultra charged life, language is being massacred at the altar of convenience. If the purpose of language is to communicate, then I am afraid we are doing very little communication.


What has made matters worse is the availability of SMS - the short message service - that has created a lingo of its own that deserves a dictionary. Otherwise how are you expected to understand a message like: tx 4 cmg hm?


Another arena for bad writing is face book. I do not see why people feel they should use a language that only they can understand on face book. One feature of such language is words with no vowels at all. I hardly read some peoples messages on face book because they are so poorly written. I fail to understand why I should read invest time reading something that the writer cannot write well.


I blame our education for this linguistic mess. In school, your composition or essay was given a high grade because you used big words or idioms and proverbs that no else understood! We came to believe that using big words and phrases showed that you were clever and smart. Poh!

Organizations are actually competing to show who can use big words in their mission statements and documents. There is no end to this hideous uniformity of words. If its an NGO, their communication  must have mobilization and sensitization, if it is the media it must say there was a crisis or a row, if it is a company, it must use value addition and solutions provider. Who approves this writing before it gets out there?


As for government, do not even think about it. You almost suspect that government offices use words and phrases to hide what people want know. This reminds me of the saying that a bureaucrat is someone who turns every solution into a problem?

Honestly lets put some effort in using plain language that says  what we mean...