Vocabulary

advertised made known to people

to apply to ask in a formal way to be considered for a job

to pursue to have, to chase, to follow

to work well under pressure to be able to keep calm and do a good job in difficult situations

Exercise 2. Style (part 1)

Look at the following tips for writing Cover Letters. Decide whether the following tips for writing Cover Letters are true or false.

1. The letter should be as friendly and informal as possible.

2. You should avoid slang & idiomatic language.

3. Your sentences should be long and complex.

4. It is fine to use contracted forms (e.g. I'm, it's).

5. Emotive words (wonderful, great, terrible) should be avoided.

Vocabulary

Match the words and expressions on the left with their definitions on the right.

1. informal a. complicated, not simple

2. slang b. language using groups of words which have a certain meaning that is different from the ordinary meaning of each individual word e.g. 'My boss bit my head off when I was late for work' (my boss was angry and told me off)

3. idiomatic language c. relaxed, friendly

4. complex d. very informal words and language

What's next?

Exercise 3. Style (part 2)

Here are some common phrases you might use when applying for a job. However, the prepositions are missing – choose the correct ones from the table below. Some prepositions are used more than once.

to of under in for

1. I would like to apply ___ the position ___

2. If you would like to discuss this ___ more detail

3. I enjoy working ___ pressure

4. I was ___ charge ___

5. I was responsible ___

6. With reference ___

Task 1. Cover letter

Read the following Job ad and write a cover letter.

RECEPTIONIST – Part-time Age 18-25 (male or female). Good looking. No previous experience required. Essential: friendly calm personality and knowledge of English, Windows and Excel. Good salary. Write to: Mrs Higgins, Personnel Department, Beaver Hotel, River Rd., Bristol

(your address) __________________ __________________ (date) ______/______/_____ (the employer’s address) __________________________ __________________________ Dear Sir(s)/ Madam, I would like to apply for the vacancy as a ______________(job) advertised in ___________ (name of news paper) of ________ (date). I am ___________(age) and at the moment I __________________________(school and what you are studying) I am good at _______________________________________________________________________________________ ( some of your qualities). _______________________________________________________________________________________( working experience, if any). I am very interested in working as ________________(job), because _________ _________________________( reasons of applying). I am available for an interview ______________________ (dates and times) and I can start working _______________________ (date), but if is inconvenient for you, I would be happy to arrange another date. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Yours faithfully, ____________________ (signature) _____________________ (your name capital letters)