Home Reading # 2

Letters and Documents (1)

Secretaries write all kinds of letters for their boss, sometimes on their own initiative and at other times from dictation. However, the single most important letter is the one which gets them the job: letter of application, accompanied by a curriculum vitae/resume (Am). It is courteous to add a follow-up letter if your first letter resulted in an interview.

LETTERS OF APPLICATION are written to a prospective employer or, some­times, to an employment agency. Their primary purpose is to obtain an interview, but the letter also gives the employer an example of your communication skills and creates the first impression. Most applications are written in response to an advertisement for a specific job. Study the advertisement carefully and find out as much as you can about the organization to which you are applying. Make your letter the one that will be remembered when read. Be confident, enthusiastic and show that you have the qualifications necessary for the position. Your letter should be neat, well spaced and free of mistakes.

RESUMES/CURRICULA VITAE (CV) summarize work experience and qualifications. They allow the employer to see at a glance the extent of the applicant's education, training and practical experience. Like letters of applica­tion, they are designed to arouse the employer's interest and to lead to an interview.

Follow-up letters are not essential, but it is courteous to write one after an interview. The letter should thank the person you met for giving you the interview, and let him or her know that you find the job attractive. A skillful letter would pick up a point made at the interview and expand on it, as though the conversation were still continuing. The follow-up letter is usually written within a day or two of the interview. It is not a bad idea to restate your strongest qualifications, but do it subtly: overstatement can produce too strong a tone.

The standard letters generated for most manufacturing and service jobs break down as follows:

1. letters of inquiry, replies;

2. memos (memoranda), transmittals;

3. letters of complaint, positive and negative responses to complaints;

4. sales letters, orders and invoices;

5. requests for credit references, responses granting credit and refusing to grant credit;

6 collection letters, follow-up collection letters.

Слова и выражения для сдачи наизусть:

1. letter of application – письмо-заявление (о приеме на работу)

2. curriculum vitae – краткое жизнеописание; биография; анкетные данные

3. courteous [`kə:tiəs] – вежливый; учтивый

4. follow-up letter – повторное письмо

5. prospective employer – потенциальный работодатель

6. employment agency – служба занятости; агентство по трудоустройству

7. advertisement for a specific job – объявление о работе по специальности

8. to apply to the organization – подавать заявление о приёме на работу в…

9. position – штатная должность

10. work experience – опыт работы

11. extent of the applicant's education – степень образования претендента на работу

12. to arouse the employer's interest – вызвать интерес работодателя

13. to restate your qualification – подтверждать вашу квалификацию

14. overstatement – преувеличение

15. letter of inquiry [in`kwaiəri] – письмо-запрос

16. response to complaint – ответ на жалобу / официальное обвинение

17. orders and invoices – заказы и счёт-фактуры

18. requests for credit references – просьба выдать справку о кредитоспособности

19. to grant a credit – предоставить кредит

20. collection letter – письмо-напоминание