Speculative letter for the Department of Health

Hi
I am writing a speculative letter to the department of Health (civil service) and I am hoping to gain a position as a researcher in health related issues but am open to other posts as well. I am not a native English speaker so I would be very grateful if you could read through my letter before I send it.

Dear (I have his name just don't want to write it here)
I am writing in connection with any vacancies you may have within your department for which you feel I may be suited. I have just graduated from **** with a First Class Honours BSc Psychology degree. My special interest is Health Psychology, which I choose as an optional module and I am seeking to advance my career in research on health related issues. Both my academic studies and work experience have equipped me with knowledge and skills that, I believe, would add value to your department.

RESEARCH -During my degree I developed excellent report writing and strong quantitative and qualitative research skills including data gathering, coding and analysis. These skills resulted in a First (74/78%) in both Advanced Research Methods and my Third Year Project. In the latter I undertook a qualitative study on the experience of fatherhood in intact families. I conducted and coded semi-structured interviews, analysed the textual data and submitted a report of approximately 10,000 words. In addition, I have worked professionally as a market researcher in various well-known agencies such as NOP and Millward Brown. In this role I conducted interviews with the Danish public and collected the research data in CATI. Moreover, I received market research training by Millward Brown, which included the Ethical Guidelines for market researchers.

COMMUNICATION and INTERPERSONAL SKILLS -I have during my third year worked for the British Psychological Society (BPS) as a Member Liaison Officer of the Student Member Group (SMG). Through this work I have developed excellent communication and interpersonal skills. I actively participated in SMG meetings, collaborated with SMG/BPS officers and communicated with students from various backgrounds on a daily basis. I worked in close collaboration with the PR officer to send out newsletters to student reps. I also worked closely with fellow students on my degree course to create and deliver academic presentations in seminars.

TIME MANAGEMENT- I have developed great organisational skill due to the combination of both ongoing academic work and simultaneous part time work. Moreover, I have the ability to think innovatively whilst under time pressure. In my role as Member Liaison Officer I designed on my own initiative a website with frequently asked questions (please see ****) and I also created an e-mailing system so I could easily contact all student reps. Thus, I applied my existing knowledge to create an efficient and well-organised system which can be adopted by the next person taking over my position.

I appreciate your time is valuable and am grateful to you for taking the time to read this. I would very much welcome the opportunity forn an interview where we can discuss any position within your department. I am available at any time and I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,
***

Thank you,
Anna