Motivation letters, personal statements, research proposals, CVs and reference requests.
8 articles
A rejection email is information as well as bad news. What to do in the first two days, when to ask for feedback and how, how to review your own application, and what to change before you apply again.
Grades get an application considered; the motivation letter is where a committee decides whether to fund the person behind them. How to open, how to link the award to a plan, and what to cut.
What admissions readers check in a Masters or PhD personal statement, a four-part structure that covers it, an annotated sample paragraph and a checklist to run before you submit.
An academic CV works to different rules from a business one. The sections to include, how to order them for a particular post, an annotated sample and the mistakes that weaken an otherwise good record.
A good reference can help an application and a weak one can hold it back. Choosing referees, when to ask, a sample request to adapt and the information pack that helps them write a specific letter.
For a PhD place or research grant, the proposal is often the deciding document. What reviewers check, the sections it normally contains, how to sharpen the research question and how to show the project is feasible.
Recruiters often scan a CV in seconds, and software may screen it first. Adapting it to each role, writing results instead of duties, what goes at the top of page one, keywords, length and proofreading.
The two names are often used interchangeably, but the documents lean in different directions. What each one covers, how to read the prompt to tell which you need, and what to do when asked for both.
