Letters of Intent

I recently read an article in The Muse ( Alyse Maguire, Updated 5/16/2024) that caught my attention. The article is about writing a letter of intent when applying for a new position and how more companies are asking for one. The article gives a clear and concise explanation of its purpose and how one might benefit when applying for just about any position. Ms. Maguire, author of the article, tops it off with sharing some examples of what a letter of intent might look like.

Before getting deep into the article, I thought a letter of intent was essentially the same thing as a cover letter we write for any position we apply for. It enhances skills and experiences one might have on their resume or, it may include skills and experiences that are not included in one’s resume at all. Both good reasons why we should have a cover letter for every application.

Boy was I wrong about the definition of a letter of intent and what it is used for. The letter of intent as you will find in the article, can be very useful and possibly give you the edge over someone else competing for the same position with similar credentials as yours. I won't go into detail about the structure of the letter (please read the article), but I think you will find it as a valuable tool while assisting others with their application process.

The primary reason the article grabbed my attention was because of a conversation I had with a friend of mine. This friend is in the process of changing locations with the same company he is currently working for. His company has 65 locations across the country and each location is its own entity and each location is responsible for selecting who is hired or not, what they are initially paid, and define their duties and responsibilities unique to that location.

During the hiring process, shortly after he was offered the position, he shared with me a conversation he had with the selecting official, soon to be his boss if he accepts the position. I’m only going to share one of the two questions he had which is most relevant for my case at point. His question was: “Even though the position announcement indicated that moving expenses are likely covered, can I please confirm that this is true? Will my moving expenses be taken care of?” My friend basically, wanted confirmation that he would be receiving some kind of assistance moving from CA to HI.  I think anyone would agree with me that this would be quite large expense. I mean it could be a showstopper as to whether he accepts their offer or not. The response from the selecting official caught him off guard when she responded with saying that his question is very “foretelling’ for her and saw this as what type of employee he’s likely to be. She then responded, “No. Moving expenses will not be covered.”  

In the end, my friend accepted the position however, is still on the fence as to whether he should go. His comment may have been “foretelling” to his future boss, but what stuck with him is her response to his question which he sees as “foretelling” of the type of leadership he might be stepping into.  

In closing, I trust my friend won’t make the same mistake the selecting official did which is draw a conclusion on who someone is or isn’t, based solely on one negative interaction. But I do wonder if he would have had a letter of intent and noted in his letter that having assistance with moving across the ocean would be appreciated and may have been helpful with alleviating the two negative 'First" impressions.