Saturday, September 4, 2010

My Cover Letter for Shell and the advertisement

Shell Internship

There are countless reasons why you should consider an internship with us.

- opportunity to gain invaluable business experience
- see first-hand what it would be like to work for Shell.

On an internship with us, you can expect to:
• See what the energy industry is really like, from the inside
• Take part in interesting, live projects
• Take on real business challenges
• Get to know current Shell employees and other students
• Find out whether you would enjoy working at Shell
• Track the long-term results of your work
• Build valuable work experience, skills and knowledge.

Product / Process Researcher
It's down to us to make sure that the most innovative technologies are available and applied in the design of new processing routes as well as in the development, improvement and innovation of products. We use in-house expertise as well as acquiring technologies from third parties.

You could be involved in:
Challenging the existing approaches to processing
Researching and developing new catalysts
Creating high-performance fuels and lubricants
Developing sustainable energy technologies
Collaborating with customers on novel product initiatives
Researching new areas of physics in Exploration & Production.



#5-103 Raffles Hall,
19 Kent Ridge Crescent
Singapore 119278
HP: (Hand phone number)
E-mail: (e-mail address)

1 September 2010

Human Resource Manager,
Shell Eastern Petroleum (Pte) Ltd
83 Clemenceau Avenue,
Singapore 239920

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to express my interest in working in Shell on an internship as Product/Process Researcher. I was introduced to this job by the Shell website. Due to my interest in the energy industry, I am very keen to work there.

My name is Thanasak Hoontrakul, currently studying in year 1 Chemical Engineering at National University of Singapore. I have a passion in energy field and qualities which I believe will suit corporate culture the Shell. My passion in improving existing systems led me pursued a Nanyang Research Project in my junior college years in which I worked closely with Nanyang Technological University’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. In this project, I worked with a piezoelectric material which has an interesting property of producing electricity through stress and strain. Through this project, I have learned the skills necessary for engineering research including reading of literature reviews, conducting experiment and writing research paper. All of which will help in the position I applied for.

As my interest lies in energy industry, I have read extensively in this area. I was attracted particularly to the Algae, an easy growing plants as well as a high consumer of carbon dioxide. Both of characteristics are advantageous in being biofuel. To further my scope in energy industry, in my first year, I took a module called “Clean Energy and Storage”. I was also fortunate to personally talk to Professor Klaus Lackner, a leading scientist in Energy Storage, in Columbia University. We discussed about the possibilities of future Energy Storage Systems. I believe that the position I am applying for is working closely with research in sustainable energy in which I am keen to explore. I hope to bring this enthusiasm to the shell community.

Apart from my interests, I am also a very outgoing person. These aspects have earned me various leadership positions such as Golf Captain in secondary school, House Captain in Junior College and House Captain in my hostel. Although I have numerous responsibilities, I was award Service Awards for both house captain positions for outstanding contributions. I believe my ability to work well with people and leadership skills would help me accomplish the assigned tasks.

The experience in Shell would drive me to be more passionate in this industry. The challenging environment in Shell would also stimulate my competitive nature. I believe that if I were to work in Shell I would be able to strive in Shell. I hope I would be given an opportunity to further discuss any possible contribution I could give to the company. I am looking forward to hear from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

Thanasak Hoontrakul

10 comments:

  1. Hi Billet!

    As what we have learnt from writing an effective letter, I feel that your personal particulars(address/contact no.) should have been placed before the start of your letter. This will allow easier identification for the reader.

    You have provided several examples which are related to the jobscope of your internship. Good job!

    However, there are several grammatical errors I would like to point out.

    1) My passion in improving the existing system led me pursued a ..... in which I work closely with ...... ---> led me to pursue a .... in which I worked ....

    2)Algae are an easy growing plants --> Algae are easy growing plants.

    3)I was award Service Awards.... --> I was awarded ....

    Also, I find this sentence of yours rather awkward. "I was introduced to this job by the Shell website." It would be more appropriate to say "I would like to apply for the internship position currently posted on Shell's website."

    Lastly, using more action verbs in describing your skills and accomplishments will make your letter more impactful!

    I'm not trying to be negative alright Billet! Just my 2 cents worth. Feel free to point out mistakes in my posts as well! :)

    Cheers.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey Alvin,

    Thank you very much for your constructive criticism. I won't hold any grudge on you. In fact I appreciate your comment very much. I have modified the post according to your suggestions. I will look through your posts soon.

    Cheers,
    Billet

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Billet!

    Yours is the first blog I'm reading this week, and if I were the HR Manager at Shell, I'd call you in for an interview! (:

    Your interests and experiences really do match the requirements and scope of the job very closely; plus, your leadership ability makes you stand out as a strong condidate for the position.

    The format was good, and language tone was appropirate. 7C's-wise I'd just like to offer these (mostly grammatical) suggestions:

    1.My passion in improving the existing system >>> My passion in improving existing systems OR My passion in improving the existing system

    2.…in my junior college years in which I work closely with department of civil and environmental engineering of Nanyang Technological University. >>> …in my junior college years, in which I worked closely with the department of civil and environmental engineering in (actually ‘of’ is fine too, just that it’s already being used earlier in the sentence) Nanyang Technological University

    3.Through this project, I have learned the skill necessary for engineering research including reading of literature reviews, etc. >>> Through this project, I have learned the skills necessary for….

    4.I hope to bring the enthusiasm to the shell community. >>> I hope to bring the (this?) enthusiasm to the Shell community.

    5.I am looking forward to hear from you soon. >>> I look forward to hearing from you soon.

    Overall, an interesting application letter! (:

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Billet,

    About suggestions on how to improve, what does algae have to do with energy? This should be elaborated, providing that it helps you bring out your point.

    Next, how does talking to Professor Lackner contribute to the internship application? Did you do a project or research with him? These parts don't seem to flow well in your letter.

    Wyhow

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Billet,

    I think you have done a good job in relating your experiences in research to the position that you are going to apply for. These are relevant points that will add value to your resume and thus increase your chance in securing the position.

    7Cs wise, I think your cover letter is concise and you have segregated the body of the content well to well developed paragraphs. I think what is lacking to make your cover letter perfect is just correctness. I believe some of the classmates have already pointed out some mistakes. Nonetheless, I would like to make some suggestions to your letter:

    1) I have a passion in energy field and qualities which I believe will suit the Shell working culture. >>>> I have passion in the area of energy and qualities which I believe will suit the working culture of Shell.

    2) My passion in improving the existing system led me to pursue a Nanyang Research Project in my junior college years in which I work closely with department of civil and environmental engineering of Nanyang Technological University.>>>

    My passion in improving the existing system led me to pursue a Nanyang Research Project in my junior college years in which I worked closely with Nanyang Technological University’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

    3) Through this project, I have learned the skill necessary for engineering research including reading of literature reviews, conducting experiment and writing research paper.>>>>>>>

    Through this project, I have learned the skills necessary for engineering research which included reading literature reviews, conducting experiment and writing research paper.

    4) I was also fortunate to personally talk to Professor Klaus Lackner, a leading scientist in Energy Storage, in Columbia University. >>>>>>> I was also fortunate to be able to speak to Professor Klaus Lackner, a leading scientist in Energy Storage, in Columbia University. (to probably discuss about issues or exchange pointers with regards to the study of Energy Storage.)

    5) These aspects have earned me a various leadership position such as Golf Captain in secondary school, House Captain in Junior College and House Captain in my hostel. >>>> These aspects have earned me various leadership positions such as Golf Captain in secondary school, House Captain in Junior College and House Captain in my hostel.

    6) I also agree with Wy How on the topic of Algae. You could discuss about how you could include the role of Algae in promoting sustainable energy growth. (Probably present a model that actually harnesses the ability of Algae to reduce carbon emission and thus promote clean energy? Or use Algae as an ingredient in producing biofuel thus creating an alternative energy source..???)

    Overall, an interesting application letter indeed. Good Job..! :D
    Sylvester

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi guys,

    Thanks a lot for your comment. I have edited the grammatical mistakes according to your suggestions. One request, when you guys highlights the mistakes, can you zoom in to the mistakes? It's rather hard for me to spot the mistakes when the whole chunk of words is copied. Thanks.

    Billet

    ReplyDelete
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