Today is the first hearing for the intended ministers and secretaries of state. Before they start their new position, they are subjected to a general job interview. Before the hearing, all motivation letters and biographies of the ministers were published. A lot can be learned from this. For example, Eddy van Marum (BBB) was a funeral director and drunkard fighter, Flor Agima worked as a sailing captain in the past, and Mariel Bull was a bookseller.
Very versatile
Typically, you send a letter of motivation and your CV when responding to a job vacancy. But in this case the ministers were asked to post and then sent these letters. “These letters are actually application letters that were sent after they had already gotten the job,” says researcher Djur Holtrop from Tilburg University. Researches job applications. “What you see here is that the letters are very diverse. Some talk about their experience, others about their motivations. These cover letters vary greatly, which makes it difficult to compare them to each other.”
He therefore suspects that there are no clear instructions regarding motivation letters and CVs. In addition, he believes that not everyone paid the same attention to it. “Not all letters look equally professional, but you also see that with regular application letters. There were letters that were more like an essay, telling a very personal story. Others were more about the position.”
It is believed that the messages differed so much because the ministers were actually invited for an interview. So this goal no longer exists. “Normally you want to use your letter to make sure you're allowed to come in for an interview, but these people are actually allowed to come in for an interview. I think the benefit of these letters is that the House can prepare for the hearing.”
“For example, Mona Kejzer’s motivation letter is only one paragraph long, and it is too short for the House to ask questions about it. But on the other hand: she is well known. People know her background, so maybe she will see the benefit of this letter.” like that.”
Van Marum's letter begins with a very long greeting. Dear Parliamentary Committee on Digital Affairs, Parliamentary Committee on Kingdom Relations and Parliamentary Committee on Economic and Climate Affairs, Dear citizens of Groningen, Drenthe, Limburg and other provinces where mining and the consequences of mining damage play a role in your lives. “He knows very well who he wants to work for. I think he keeps his target group in mind very well.
mistake
Barry Madlener begins his letter with a typo: he writes the word “candidate” where the word “candidate” should have been. “A job application letter is generally viewed immediately as a language test. But a mistake like this is human error.”
Not all messages look professional in design. “The average recruiter will have an opinion about this. A poorly formatted letter often doesn't end up at the top of the pile.”
Norms and values
Because ministers were asked about their positions, the hearings were a little reserved for theatre, political scientist Julia Waters tells Editie NL. “It's important that they have a great story about what led them to pursue their calling,” she says. “For some parties, this is more important than others. It is above all a moment to clarify your standards and values. It is difficult to delve into the content, because as a politician you still have to delve into it.”
Therefore it is difficult to compare the procedure with a normal application. “It's more of a tour for people than a job application like you and me.”
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