BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE – GENERAL GUIDELINES + + Application letters Covering letter/letter of motivation

Food for thought  women-face-in-less-than-60-seconds-2 women-face-in-less-than-60-seconds-2

Filling a vacancy → MK, p 30 Talk about it! Vocabulary to give notice (resign, quit) one month’s notice resume / CV Practice explaining what happens when an employee gives notice!

Application letters Covering letter/letter of motivation

Getting you a job interview  introduce you to the employer  arrest his/her attention  arouse his/her interest  persuade him/her you are the person to interview → MK, p 35 → RB, p 73

What to say?  Introduction why you are writing (name position, your source of info or if they might have a vacancy) basic info about yourself  Body why you want the job, why this particular company and how it fits your interests refer to your CV to prove your claim convey enthusiasm and interest for the job/organization  Closing express your wish for an interview, offer additional info, thank them – be proactive

Curriculum Vitae / Resume → RB, p HW: Read notes and study examples in MK, p Study Further tips for job interviews, MK p 37 Reader, p 75, task II Find a job ad for the position you would be interested in. Then write your CV and a letter of application. Here is how 

Formal business correspondence General guidelines  → RB, p 67: 1 Layout 2 Cohesion & organization 3 Content 4 Register and style 5 Accuracy

1 Layout: Block style → RB, p 70

topbottom rightleft after under  The address of the sender (the person who is writing) is at the ____, on the ____.  The name and address of the addressee/recepient is at the ___, on the ____.  The date us at the ___, on the ___, _____ the address.  The subject heading is _____ Dear....  The paragraphs start at the ____ margin. Between the paragraphs, there is a space.  The signature is _____ Yours....  The name and title of the sender is at the _____, _____ the signature.  There is no punctuation in the addresses or ____ Dear.... or ____Yours faithfully / sincerely.

1 Layout: Block style → RB, p 70  The address of the sender (the person who is writing) is at the top, on the right.  The name and address of the addressee/recepient is at the top, on the left.  The date us at the top, on the right, under the address.  The subject heading is under Dear....  The paragraphs start at the left margin. Between the paragraphs, there is a space.  The signature is under Yours....  The name and title of the sender is at the bottom, under the signature.  There is no punctuation in the addresses or after Dear.... or after Yours faithfully / sincerely.

1 Layout: Letter vs. → RB, p 69: Compare! → RB, p 68: Read and answer the questions: 1. What’s the proper way to start your ? 2. What is cc, what is bc? 3. What’s the purpose of Subject heading? 4. How is a message in upper case interpreted? 5. Do you copy parts of the original message when you reply? 6. Why is it important to mention what you are attaching?

2 & 3 Content, cohesion & organization  Subject heading – CONTENT!  Three parts: 1) opening 2) main message 3) close (ending)  One topic per paragraph  Avoid long sentences and paragraphs  Avoid incomplete information  Present information in correct order → RB, p 71

Divide into separate paragraphs Dear Inge Good news! Following our conversation yesterday, I talked with our engineers. I am pleased to tell you that we can install your new wireless network one month earlier than we thought. Work can now begin January 23. With regard to the printers, I need to speak to our manager to see if we can revise the price. We can supply five free cartriges for each printer. I checked the price for the scanners, but unfortunately we are unable to reduce the price on those. This is because our suppliers recently increased the price by 15%. Please can you confirm that January 23 is a good date for you for the network installation? Best regards Rebecca Rebecca Ou Customer Service Desk Net2Net Services

Divide into separate paragraphs ¶ Dear Inge ¶ Good news! Following our conversation yesterday, I talked with our engineers. I am pleased to tell you that we can install your new wireless network one month earlier than we thought. Work can now begin January 23. ¶ With regard to the printers, I need to speak to our manager to see if we can revise the price. We can supply five free cartriges for each printer. I checked the price for the scanners, but unfortunately we are unable to reduce the price on those. This is because our suppliers recently increased the price by 15%. ¶ Please can you confirm that January 23 is a good date for you for the network installation? ¶ Best regards ¶ Rebecca ¶ Rebecca Ou ¶ Customer Service Desk ¶ Net2Net Services

4 Register & style  Avoid contractions (I’m)  Avoid short and direct phrases  Don’t use spoken style  Avoid colloquialisms  Be polite

Message style  Use natural style Thank you for your letter, dated 14 June...  Do not use informal language, such as: Hi! Hello! Ciao, John!  Do not use text-message abbreviations I hope I can c u soon. Yr order is ready 4 u.  Do not use slang and emoticons A guy here can help. ;-) ;-(  Handout (Writing tip exercises – in teams)

Register (politeness) Is this acceptable?  We got your order. The cost is $ 250 per box plus $50 for delivery (3-5 days).  Your prices are not acceptable.  Respond to my message straight away!  Can you call me on the phone?  You must have lost my address.  This is very unpleasant. Say please and thank you. Say more. Avoid being very direct. Avoid ordering. Avoid direct questions. Avoid blaming. Understate the point.

Be polite!  Say please and thank you  Say more  Avoid being very direct  Ask rather than order  Use indirect questions  Avoid blaming or accussing the addressee  Understate the point  Handout (1.9 + exercises – in teams)

USE TYPICAL PHRASES ! Ways to start your message  Dear Sir or Madam  Dear Sir  Dear Madam  Dear Mr Smith  Dear Ms Smith  Dear Mrs Smith  Dear Miss Smith  Dear JohnNever: Dear Mr John

Ways to end your message  Best wishes- to someone you know well  Yours faithfully – not writing to a named person  Yours sincerely – to a named person More useful phrases → R, pp 79 & 80

Summary  Block layout Letter vs.  Content, organisation, cohesion  Register and style Useful phrases  Letter of application HW: RB, p 75, task II Find a job ad for the position you would be interested in. Then write your CV and a letter of application.