Researching an employer

"In your mission statement, you state your aim to reduce your carbon footprint year on year and this really matters to me. I've been involved in a project at university to encourage more students to recycle and we recently won a prestigious award presented by a local green charity."

"On your website, you promote a set of values that I share, such as giving back to the community. During my three years at university, I volunteered on many occasions and gained confidence and a huge sense of satisfaction being involved with people in my local community."

"When you gave a talk to my university, you stressed how you invest heavily in supporting and developing staff to reach their full potential. For the last two years, I've been helping others be the best they can be through mentoring students new to the University and as a placement mentor, supporting a student through the challenging recruitment processes to successfully get a placement in a large company. I learnt a lot about myself in that process."

"I speak three languages and I've been studying a degree called International Business, which included taking a year abroad in Spain. I'm excited by the new opportunities you are creating in Madrid. My longer-term goal is to utilise my languages and work in..."

"You state that the core of everything you do is to provide a unique and personal customer experience. Having spent five years working in retail, I've learnt how to deliver excellent customer services. Working in Debenhams in Oxford Street, I received high-quality training and I delighted in helping customers with their purchases. I worked as a mystery shopper for an agency where I looked critically at the services shops offered. I've received positive compliments and feedback and gained 'Employee of the Month' awards on several occasions."

"I'm confident in my ability to analyse big data and provide solutions to problems. Your customer reviews express high praise for your services on independent review sites, and I want to learn from you but also make a contribution to what you do. A recent project I worked on for a charity was to help them improve their data and make it easier for them to analyse and present data to their end-users. This won me praise and an excellent reference."

"You identify yourselves as a company very proud of your diverse workforce. In my background, I have family from West India, Ireland and Sri Lanka. I was involved in Black History month at school bringing in local people to celebrate the impact immigrant and refugee people have made through food, dance and music. At university, I worked with the student union to promote diversity through positive action schemes and events."

"I regularly read online business news including the Financial Times and The Economist, and I'm excited by your recent acquisition of xxx company and your commitment to invest in virtual reality technology to improve the wellbeing of people with dementia. This fits well with what I've been studying, and where I believe my talent lies, as evidenced by getting top marks for relevant units and because my grandmother has dementia and I'm aware of the limits current care can provide."