CC unit 9, application letter letters of application

Part 1: OpeningPurpose: Gaining Attention Two important tasks:  Clearly state your reason for writing, and  Give the recipient a reason to keep reading... Part 1: Opening• With several

Commercial Correspondence

Unit 9

Letters of

Application

 Arouse interest in your qualifications

 Back up with convincing evidence

 Bring about the action you want the

Quick tips for writing

an effective cover letter

 Ensure your application looks attractive and neatly presented.

 Keep it short (2 or 3 paragraphs).

 Write sincerely.

 Show that you understand the company and the position.

 Show some personality (to balance the

choppy, factual style of your résumé)

 Meticulously check your spelling, grammar.

Types of Application Letters

Two kinds:

1. Solicited : for an employment position

which has been announced.

(to solicit: to ask sb for sth)

1. Unsolicited : the applicant does not

know whether a position is open and

he/she is prospecting for a job.

Parts of an Application Letter

Three main parts:

1. An opening that gains attention,

2. A body that builds interest and reduces resistance, and

3. A closing that motivates action

Part 1: Opening

Purpose: Gaining Attention

Two important tasks:

 Clearly state your reason for writing, and

 Give the recipient a reason to keep

reading

Part 1: Opening

Special attention-getter is not very

important because you have been invited to apply

Part 1: Opening

• With several years’ experience as the sole secretary of a private business, I would like

to apply for the position of executive

secretary which you advertised in the Terre Haute Gazette of Sunday, February 28,

20 .

Part 1: Opening

• Your advertisement in Section C-3 of the

June 1 Daily News for an accounting

administrator greatly appeals to me With

my accounting training and computer

experience, I believe I could serve Quad

Graphics well.

Part 1: Opening

Special attention-getter is very important

because you are prospecting for a job

What to write:

Spark interest and grab attention;

State why you are interested in the

company/job

Describe briefly what you have to offer

Part 1: Opening

Some ways to spark interest, grab attention, and

to indicate how you can serve the employer:

 Demonstrate interest in and knowledge of the reader’s business

• Since Signa Health Net, Inc., is organizing a

new information management team for its

recently established group insurance division, could you use the services of a well-trained

information systems graduate who seeks to

become a professional systems analyst?

Part 1: Opening

 Show how your strongest skills will benefit the organization

• If you need a regional sales specialist who consistently meets sales targets while

fostering strong customer relationships,

please consider my qualifications.

Part 1: Opening

 Mention the name of a person known to

and highly regarded by the reader

• When Janice McHugh of your franchise

sales division spoke to our business

communication class last week, she said

you often need promising new marketing graduates at this time of the year.

Part 1: Opening

 Use a question to demonstrate your

understanding of the organization’s needs

• Can your fast-growing market research

division use an interviewer with two years

of field survey experience, a B.A in public relations, and a real desire to succeed? If

so, please consider me for the position.

 Be as specific as you can;

 Back up your assertions with some convincing evidence of your ability to perform, even with brief anecdotes;

 Avoid repeating data from your résumé.

Part 2: Body

Poor:

I completed three college courses in

business communication, earning an A in

each course, and have worked for the past year at Imperial Construction.

Part 2: Body

Improved:

Using the skills gained from three semesters

of college training in business communication,

I developed a collection system for Imperial

Construction that reduced annual bad-debt

losses by 25 percent Emphasizing a win-win scenario for the company and its clients with incentives for on-time payment, the system

was also credited with improving customer

satisfaction.

Part 2: Body

 Match personal strengths to employer’s

needs

• A course in business communication,

report writing, and technical writing have helped me develop the research and

writing skills required of your technical

writers.

Part 2: Body

 Don’t restrict your message to just core

job duties Also highlight personal

characteristics that apply to the targeted position:

working hard, learning quickly, handling responsibility, showing initiative, or

getting along with people

Part 2: Body

• In addition to developing technical and

academic skills at Mid-State University, I have gained interpersonal, leadership,

and organizational skills As vice

president of the business student’s

organization, Gamma Alpha, I helped

organize and supervise two successful

fund-raising events

Part 2: Body

• While attending college full-time, I trained 3 hours a day with the varsity track team In

addition, I worked part-time during the

school year and up to 60 hours a week each summer in order to be totally self-supporting while in college I can offer your organization the same level of effort and perseverance.

Part 2: Body

• When writing a solicited letter, be sure to discuss each requirement specified in the advertisement

• If you lack any of these requirements,

stress other solid selling points to help

strengthen your overall presentation

Part 2: Body

 Refer the reader to your résumé.

• As you will notice from my résumé, I will

graduate in June with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

• As you can see in the enclosed résumé , I’ve been working part-time with a local publisher since my sophomore year During that time, I’ve used client interactions as an opportunity

to build strong customer service skills.

Part 3: Closing

Purpose: Motivating action

Two important tasks:

 Ask the reader for a specific action (try to

sound natural and appreciative), and

 Facilitate a reply (stating your phone number, email address, and the best time to reach

you).

Optional:

Part 3: Closing

• I hope this brief description of my

qualifications and the additional information

on my résumé indicate to you my genuine desire to put my skills in accounting to

working for you Please call me at (405)

488-2291 before 10 a.m or after 3 p.m to arrange an interview.

• Please let me know if there are any other

details you need Meanwhile, I look forward

to hearing from you.

Part 3: Closing

• To add to your staff an industrious,

well-trained administrative assistant with proven word processing and communication skills, call me at (350) 492-1433 to arrange an

interview I can meet with you at any time convenient to your schedule.

• Next week, after you have examined the

attached résumé , I will call you to discuss

Ask yourself these 4 questions before you send

the letter:

1 Does it read like a good business letter?

2 Will the opening paragraph interest the employer enough to prompt him/her to read the rest?

3 Does it suggest that you are genuinely

interested in the post and the kind of work to be done?

4 Is your letter neatly presented and logically

structured?

THE END