IELTS letter topic seen in Australia

The following topic was found in an IELTS writing test held in Australia in March 2013.

Write a letter to your friend who works in a multinational company. In your letter, you have to:

• Tell him or her that you have heard about a job vacancy in their company
• Express your interest in applying for the job and ask for their help with your job application
• Explain why you are interested in the job.

Here is a model letter

Dear Rahul

I hope this letter finds you in good spirits.  Sorry I haven’t written to you for so long. I’ve been quite busy over the last year. Now that I’ve finished my studies, I’m sort of free.

The reason that I’m writing this letter is to ask for a small favour. I’ve just discovered that there is a vacancy for an mechanical engineer in your company. I saw the advertisement in the newspaper. I’m interested in this position. As you know, I’ve always been into mechanics and that was the reason I decided to study mechanical engineering at university. I’ve got the necessary qualifications, so I guess I’m a deserving candidate.

Since you’ve been working with them for well over two years, I thought you’d be able to help me with the application process. Would you be willing to serve as a positive reference for me?

I hope you don’t mind doing this for me. I don’t know any other person who works at your company, so I would really appreciate it if you could recommend me for the job.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Many thanks

Ravi