Sometimes organisations call for an Expression of Interest (EOI) rather than a standard job application. An EOI is a short letter which introduces a jobseeker, tells a prospective employer why the jobseeker would like to work for them and what skills they have to offer.

Organisations might call for an EOI because they are planning work but haven’t settled on what role to offer, or they have a lot of short-term work on; it’s a way of getting a sense of who is willing and available. Government agencies are using EOIs more and more and we are also starting to see them in the community sector.

The good news about an EOI is that you don’t have to spend ages writing essays in response to selection criteria!

Here’s how to write an EOI:

Read the instructions

Usually EOIs have a word limit; they are meant to be quite short.  Read carefully about the job they are wanting done.

Make some headings

In your EOI you will need to cover:

• An opening paragraph saying who you are, why you should be considered and why you want to work for this employer.
• Examples of your work or skills that qualify you for this job. Look for examples that combine these (remembering that brevity is the soul of an EOI). If you are a new graduate and don’t yet have a professional work history think about the skills you have – you might be surprised what skills you acquired doing your casual hospitality job.
• The reason why you would like to do this work – tell them about what you hope to contribute to their organisation or work.

Write it like a business letter

If you are a consultant you might put a coversheet on your EOI to display your business branding. For most individuals though the best approach is to write it like a business letter. This means name, address, contact details on the top of the letter; a professional looking font (no comic sans!); a professional greeting (Dear Ms/Mr…) a professional ending – “I look forward to speaking to you, [name]”; and professional language throughout…and no spelling or grammatical mistakes.

Reread it and make sure it’s brief

Double check you are within the word limit. Editing is a good exercise that can improve the quality of your EOI.

Update your resume

Make sure your resume complements your EOI.