{"id":4272,"date":"2020-04-16T14:09:05","date_gmt":"2020-04-16T14:09:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/?p=4272"},"modified":"2026-04-21T05:55:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T05:55:27","slug":"glossary-motivation-letter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/glossary-motivation-letter\/","title":{"rendered":"Motivation letter"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/glossary-cv\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CV<\/a> is the product brochure. The motivation letter is the tailored proposal.<\/p>\n<p>The motivation letter \u2013 also known as application letter \u2013 is often underestimated. Many see it as a formal add-on to the CV. In reality, it is a <a href=\"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/glossary-communication\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">communication<\/a> tool in its own right: while the CV summarises a professional track record in a factual way, the motivation letter explains why someone is interested in this specific role \u2013 and what makes them particularly well suited to it. It is not about retelling the CV in prose.<\/p>\n<p>Motivation is decisive \u2013 not only for selection, but also for long-term job satisfaction. Yet many motivation letters lack genuine reasons. Phrases such as \u201cI am looking for a new challenge\u201d say very little. Those who stand out show that they have engaged with the role and the organisation \u2013 and explain clearly why they want to work there.<\/p>\n<p>A motivation letter is not the place for copy and paste. It takes time \u2013 but it pays off: a well-crafted letter can significantly increase the chances of securing an <a href=\"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/glossary-job-interview\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">interview<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Articles on motivation letters (<a href=\"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/articles\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">all articles<\/a>)<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/is-the-motivation-letter-an-obsolescent-model\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Is the motivation letter becoming obsolete?<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/writing-motivation-letters-with-chat-gpt-seriously\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Motivation letters written by ChatGPT \u2013 seriously?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The CV is the product brochure. The motivation letter is the tailored proposal. The motivation letter \u2013 also known as application letter \u2013 is often underestimated. Many see it as a formal add-on to the CV. In reality, it is a communication tool in its own right: while the CV summarises a professional track record [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-glossar-2"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Motivation letter - Karrierecoaching - Peter N\u00e4f<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How to write a convincing motivation letter that shows true interest and fit \u2013 beyond skills and widespread clich\u00e9s.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/glossary-motivation-letter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Motivation letter - 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