1.3. Types of business correspondence

Business letters are written for the fulfillment of several purposes. The purpose may be to enquire about a product to know its price and quality, availability, etc. This purpose is served if you write a letter of enquiry to the supplier. After receiving your letter the supplier may send you details about the product as per your query. If you are satisfied, you may give order for supply of goods as per your requirement. After receiving the items, if you find that the product is defective or damaged, you may lodge a complaint. These are the few instances in which business correspondence takes place. Let us learn the details about some important business letters.

Samples included:

Resume, CV (Curriculum Vitae), Cover Letter, Application Letter, Letter of Inquiry, Letter of Acknowledgment, Thank You Letter, Acceptance Letter, Refusal and Resignation Letters, Quotation Letter, Order Letter, Offer Letter, Complaint Letter, Recovery Letter.

The following samples are meant to be guides for your own letter writing.

Do not copy a letter word for word. Employers read them all and will recognize the samples taken from other sources.

RESUME

Resume – a summary, especially of one’s education, employment, etc. submitted in application for a job.

When you apply for a job most companies ask you for resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV). A good resume should show your prospective employer that you are the right kind of person for the job. This is the possible plan for your resume:

• your job objectives

• your work experience

• your education

• personal information

• references

HOW TO WRITE A RESUME

Summary:

• Contact Details

• Personal Statement

• Career Overview

• Education

• Employment History

• Skills and strengths

• Interests

• References

 

Your resume must let an employer know what you can contribute to their organization.  It is also the first chance you get to make an impression on a potential employer. An employer will generally spend around 20-30 seconds initially reviewing each resume, so it is critical that you get it right. Present your information in a clear, concise and persuasive way.

Resume formats and layouts vary considerably. A range of options are provided for you. The order of these key elements may vary but your resume should include each of the following: 

Contact Details

Name (make it stand out)

Address Telephone contact numbers

E-mail

Personal Statement

It is good to have a clear bold paragraph that grabs the reader and makes him/her want to find out more. It should be positive and serious but show you are well prepared and a good fit for the job. It should help you stand out from the crowd and convince an employer you want the role.  This may also be titled ‘Personal Profile’, ‘Capability Statement’, ‘Career Objective’, etc. Choose whichever heading is most suitable.  It may also be combined under one heading with your Career Overview. It is important that it relates to the job ad.

Career Overview

A career overview or snapshot is a summary of your core skills, experience and competencies, usually for people who have been working in a profession for many years. It outlines in a snapshot, what you have to offer.  It might also be titled ‘Profile’, ‘Summary of Skills & Experience’, ‘Career Summary’, etc.  It may also be combined under one heading with your Personal Statement.

Education Provide details of your education with most recent first.

Include your academic and professional qualifications.

The full name of the course you studied.

The full name of the institution you studied at.

What skills you learned from the course.

Your achievement - results in the course if the achievements good.

Employment History

List the most recent employment first and work through your employment history job by job.  For each:

List the period of employment.

Name the company that you worked for.

Include the title of your position.

Describe your achievements and responsibilities. Use brief bullet points. This allows the reader to scan and match your experience to the role easily.

If you have a long employment history, just include those jobs in your history that are relevant to the job you apply for.

Skills and strengths

List out your skills in different areas:

Computer literacy. List software that you are proficient in.

Written and communication skills – give brief detail.

Foreign languages and level of fluency.

Key skills or competencies with some brief examples (e.g. people management, business development, project management etc.).

Awards received.

Membership of professional associations or relevant bodies.

Accreditations attained by relevant professional organizations.

Interests Include things you like to do, particularly if they are employment-related. It is not a ‘must’ in the resume. The resume can give your reader a more rounded picture and something more personal may distinguish you.

References This section should be placed at the end of the resume.  It is not necessary to list referees on your resume. You should state that referees are available on request. A referee is someone you worked for or with who knows the quality of your work. If it is your first job, this might be someone who is a teacher or mentor. Gain permission from the referees before you include them in your resume and be sure to choose people who you are confident will provide positive feedback on you. Make sure they are easy to contact if they are included and provide their contact details.

BASIC TYPES OF RESUMES

There are two basic types of resumes — chronological and functional. The chronological (or time order) resume emphasizes time by arranging data in time order and displaying dates prominently. The time order is usually inverted, starting with the latest item and working backwards.

The functional resume emphasizes kinds of work (functions) without maintaining any particular time order. The main advantage of the functional resume is the prominence it gives to actual achievements, particularly those most directly related to the job that you are seeking.

Use a chronological order of presentation if your career advancement has been progressive and the job you seek is the same as your latest jobs. Use a functional order if strict time order places you at a disadvantage or if you want to stress a particular job that was not your most recent.

SO WHAT SHOULD BE IN A RESUME?

Begin with the basics. Your name, address and phone number should always go at the top of your resume. There is no need to include the words "resume" or "c.v." - they are redundant and take up precious space.

State a resume objective. It should come below the name, address and phone number and be a clear and concise job objective. Using it forces you to tailor your resume to a particular position or company, as well as provides an immediately clear sense of direction to those people who will be reviewing your resume.

Most career consultants say that if they can't tell where a job applicant is going by reading their resume, then how does the applicant? It is not the recruiter or employer's job to sort through the applicant's experience to decide which position is right for the candidate. That is the main objective of your writing a resume - to demonstrate your abilities for a particular position - so state it clearly at the top. It should be more than "Objective: To make money" or "Objective: To work in a challenging environment." Focus on the position and career path you are going after, and state exactly what you want.

Talk about your accomplishments in your "Experience" section. Focus on achievements at your present and previous jobs, especially those that involve problem solving, management skills, critical thinking and initiative. These should be listed chronologically, beginning with your most recent position and then moving through previous jobs, as long as they provide applicable experience to the position you are seeking. And always use action verbs in your job description: Words like "analyzed", "coordinated," "evaluated," "negotiated" offer a stronger presentation of your abilities. But keep the description short and to the point, and also make sure everything listed is relevant.

Include a section about your education, but list it before your experience only if your educational history is stronger than your work background. This is often best for first-time job seekers that don't have much work experience. Make sure to list any additional courses you have taken that might be relevant to the job you are seeking, including specific company training programs or language courses.

Personal data can be included in a short section at the end of your resume, although experts disagree about the value of including it. Listing hobbies, or the fact that you love to play tennis, may or may not help in getting an interview. Regardless, such information is not nearly as important as the sections on work experience and education. Including information about your marital status, number of children, health and physical characteristics is always unnecessary. Most suggest using this short section at the end of the resume to wrap up any additional information that doesn't fit into the other categories, such as language fluency, extensive travel history or specific computer skills.

Don't include references on your resume. Only later in the interview process you should present a list of references to a potential employer. The list should include colleagues or anyone who knows you well and can give a good representation of why you would be an asset to the company.

Active Vocabulary

to wrap up - охоплювати

to the point - no суті

tyро - помилка

to end ир - закінчуватися

Employment/Recruitment agency - бюро з працевлаштування

job jumper- той, хто дуже часто змінює роботу

to cотріlе - упорядковувати

to present oneself in a resume- надати відомості про себе у резюме

extraneous - побічний, не пов 'язаний з чимось

CV (Curriculum Vitae)- автобіографія

redundant- зайвий

objective- мета

concise- стислий, чіткий

to tailor to a particular position- пристосовувати до конкретної посади

to review a resume- переглянути резюме

applicant- кандидат

to sort through- сортувати, класифікувати

challenging environment - напружена робота

to demonstrate abilities- продемонструвати здібності

to state clearly- заявляти чітко

present/previous job- теперішня/попередня робота

to focus оп - зосередитися на

accomplishments- 1) виконання, завершення, досягнення 2) освіта, освіченість; вихованість; гарні манери; зовнішній лоск 3) благоустрій; впорядкованість

achievements- досягнення

problem-solving skills- здібності до вирішення проблеми

management skills- здібності до управління

critical thinking - критичне мислення

initiative - ініціативний

to list chronologically- перелічити у хронологічному порядку

applicable experience- відповідний досвід

relevant- доречний, що має відношення

educational history- відомості про освіту

work background- професійна кваліфікація

to take language courses- займатися на мовних курсах

Specific company training program - тренувальна програма певної компанії

personal data- особисті відомості

marital status - сімейний стан

to wrap up additional information- надати додаткову інформацію

to fit- підходити

Language fluency - вільне володіння мовою

Travel history - відомості про подорожі

Specific computer skills - певні комп'ютерні навички

Reference- рекомендація

asset- цінний співробітник