Lecture notes on business communication. Учебное пособие

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6.3.Curriculum Vitae (CV)

CV/ Curriculum Vitae/Resume as it is often called in American English. Almost all job advertisements ask for resume or CV or bio-data of the applicants. Particulars/personal details, Data sheet, Vitae sheet are some other terms used for this important enclosure going along with the covering letter. CV serves three clear goals that define its format, design, and presentation:

•To represent your professional information in writing

•To show the relationship between your professional information and the challenge your potential employer hopes to solve, often represented in the form of a job description

•To get you to an interview by clearly demonstrating you meet the minimum qualifications and have the professional background for

the organization to meet its goals

Different advertisers ask for the applicants details in a particularly specified way. There are generally two kinds of resume – the general purpose resume that fits a number of companies and jobs, and the personalized or specific purpose resume that fits one company and one job. Whatever the type of resume is, the following details are common to all:

1.Name

2.Personal details

3.Objective / short profile

4.Personal statements, biographies

5.Education

6.Work experience

7.Hard and soft kills

8.Personal interests

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9.Publications

10.References

The physical layout of the resume is very important because there are so many things to be presented on paper. Whether the applicant can and should be considered for appointment depends entirely on the resume. And the recipient`s patience level is not very high as he has to look through enormously large number of applications and resumes.

Bear in mind that although most recruiters will start at the top and work down, some may do the opposite way. This means that wherever the reader chooses to begin his reading, the information presented must be perfectly clear and make perfect sense. As with other types of writing, you should imagine that you are the reader, in this case a recruiter. Don’t think of ways to impress him, but think instead: how can I make my CV easy and quick to read? This means:

understanding and facilitating the priorities of the recruiter (i.e. their top priority is to find the perfect candidate in the minimum

time possible with the minimum effort)

•avoiding big chunks of text

•avoiding unnecessary information (e.g. if you are a PhD student applying for a job in industry, the recruiter will probably not

appreciate seeing the long list of papers that you have published). Recruiters’ attention tends to focus on the left hand side of the page. This happens because in standard CVs all dates and key words (job positions, names of companies and universities) are usually found on the left.

Like all readers, a recruiter's eye is drawn towards white space and initial capital letters. That means that we focus more on the beginnings and ends of sentences, than we do on the middle of sentences. Therefore, CVs with big blocks of dense text tend to be read with less interest than those where the content is structured into short blocks of text. Thus, your CV may be quickly discarded if:

•key achievements are hidden within a big blocks of texts

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•you deviate from the standard presentation, i.e. if your dates and key words do not appear on the left

All in all, try to follow these rules when creating your CV:

1.Your CV is one of the most important documents that you will write during your life. Consider paying a profession native English proofreader to check it for you.

2.Do not copy and paste your profile into your cover letter or vice versa.

3.In any important document – a report, a presentation, a CV – a few spelling mistakes could mean that people don't take you seriously. Always use a spell checker and never make last-minute changes to a document. Also give your document to some other person to read. If your eyes can only see what you think you have written, a pair of fresh eyes can catch a lot more errors.

4.Telephone the institute / company if they have not been in touch within two weeks. Even if not successful, HR people can give you a few minutes of valuable feedback that you can integrate into your CV for next time.

5.Do not create your CV at the last minute and then send it off without double checking anything. A day spent on your CV is better than six months of waiting for a reply.

6.4. Reports

Digital-age organizations are competing in a world of constant change due to innovative technology and the ability to generate and share data with vast audiences. Whether a company decides to launch a new product, expand into new markets, reduce expenses, improve customer service, or increase its social media presence, the decisions are usually based on information submitted in reports. Routine reports keep managers informed about work in progress.

Business reports range widely in length, purpose, and delivery mode. Some are short, informal bulleted lists with status updates. Others are formal 100-page financial forecasts. Routine reports may be generated weekly or monthly, whereas focused reports appear irregularly and cover

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specific problems or situations. Report findings may be presented orally in a meeting or shared electronically on Web platforms. Many reports today are delivered digitally in e-mail messages, PDF files, or slide decks. These reports can then be shared on a company’s intranet, posted on the Internet, or saved in cloud environments.

The word ‘report’ is derived from the Latin “reportare” which means to carry back (re = back + portare = to carry). A report, therefore, is a description of an event carried back to some who was not present during the case. A report is the means to present this information. Some reports might present the actual solution to solve a business problem; other reports might record historical information that will be useful to assist in future decisionmaking. A business report, therefore, can be defined as an evaluation or assessment or review of a particular event, issue, period or set of circumstances which is related to a business.

There are two main categories for reports, regardless of their function or type. The first, an informational report informs or instructs, presenting the details of events, or activities without any analysis. An example of such type of a” report is a report on the results of the conference. The report notes the time, date, and place, the number of participants, the number of presentations given and other supporting details. It does not presuppose analysis, only the facts. The second type of report is called an analytical report. An analytical report presents information with a comprehensive analysis to solve problems, find relationships, or make recommendations. Ann example of this report may be a technical report written after the long-term project has been completed, and all the results with the conclusions should be presented to the management.

Table 2 summarizes the main types of the report, be it informational or analytical.

Table 2. Types of reports and their functions.

The structure of the report.

A business report should not be written in essay format; on the contrary, it should have the style that allows the reader to navigate the report quickly and identify key details. It should have appropriate headings and subheadings, if necessary, bullet points, flowcharts or tables. The main function of a business report is to communicate relevant information quickly, clearly, and efficiently. Business reports can range from brief one- or-two-page reports, to reports of a hundred pages or more with several chapters and, quite possibly, a number of appendices. A lengthy report would include a table of contents and possibly an index. The essential components of the report are as follows:

1. Title Page. Usually it contains the label, the name of the report, features title, author, affiliation, date, and sometimes for whom the report was prepared.

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2.Table of Contents. It is the list of the main parts of the report and their respective page numbers.

3.Abstract. It can be informational highlighting the topic, methods, data, and results, as well as a descriptive abstract that mentions all of the above without any conclusion or recommendations.

4.Introduction. This part introduces the topic of the report.

5.The body of the report. Key elements of the body include background, methodology, results, analysis and recommendations.

6.Conclusion. This part provides the presentation of findings and indicates the main results for recommended action or outcome.

7.References. This part contains a list of citations.

8.Appendix. It includes all supporting materials, e.g. maps, analysis of samples, and field reports.

To sum it up, any business report must necessarily have the following features:

1.Be objective: It means that a report is free from prejudices, personal preferences, it is impartial and factual.

2.Be factual: it is based on facts found in trusted sources and analyzed with ethical standards.

3.Serve a business purpose: a report always serves a specific purpose, it is not written just for the sake of writing.

4.Be orderly: any report must always be carefully planned, structured and presented in a comprehensive, concise and complete form avoiding all possible clichés.

5.Be logical: a report always features a systematic order.

6.5. Contracts

When parties sign a written contract or binding agreement, they voluntarily agree to act according to the rights and obligations defined in this document. Oral agreements are fine for small transactions, but everyone benefits from putting a contract in writing. Written contracts can ensure that

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your interests and other parties’ obligations are fulfilled according to the law, and they can spell out solutions if the contract is broken.

Further the main types of contracts are presented. 1. Sales contracts

Every sale is a contract between the buyer and seller. The buyer promises to pay for a property or service (including intellectual property like music or images), and the seller promises to transfer ownership of that property (often guaranteeing its proper condition) or perform that service. Examples of sales contracts include a promissory note, a bill of sale, a warranty or security agreement, and a purchase order.

2. Employment contracts

These contracts set the terms of any type of employment, including services for hire from freelancers, consultants, or other independent contractors. These types of contracts may also contain termination agreements in case the employee is fired, as well as nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) and confidentiality clauses, which protect the company from liability and disclosure of sensitive information.

3. Settlement agreements

Parties to a dispute might agree to a settlement to avoid going to court. Before a dispute arises, business partners might sign a contract promising to use alternative means of dispute resolution, like arbitration and mediation, instead of pursuing legal action. In arbitration, a neutral third party decides the outcome, while in mediation a neutral third party tries to bring the sides together so they can find a mutually satisfying agreement. These are most common in franchise contracts and business sale agreements.

4. Property contracts

These types of contracts can be considered as part of sales contracts or as independent types and include leases for commercial, retail, residential, and parking spaces. They often detail maintenance expectations, requirements like tenant insurance, the amount of a security deposit, and the terms and conditions for its return upon completion of the lease.

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Essential components to write a contract agreement.

There are up to four elements needed to create a valid business contract. First, an agreement has to be reached on all essential conditions of the contract. The second element is the notion of consideration. Each party establishes the obligation to give something to each other. Consideration can take the form of money, services rendered, property or individual rights. The third element is that of capacity (or competence): ensuring that parties entering into the contract are lawfully capable of agreeing to contracts (e.g. whether an individual has the authority to represent their organization). Finally, the legal purpose of the contract must be established. A contract cannot be enforced unless the actions agreed upon are legal in the jurisdiction where the contract is made.

Other important features of every contract include:

1.Basic information. Legal names and/or business names of the involved parties, their addresses, the description of the property or service being exchanged for money or other consideration.

2.Agreement. This is a statement of the terms of the contract, such as the rights and responsibilities of all the parties involved. If the contract records a loan, this section might cover the payment terms.

3.Specific considerations. It is a more detailed description of the property and/or terms, like the condition of the item, what the parties will and will not be responsible for, and what, if any, warranty or guarantees exist.

4.Dates. Every agreement notes the date of sale, dates for any warranties in effect, and due dates for payment installments, if any.

5.Null and void. This section explains how the contract can be nullified if there is a breach of contract.

6.Signatures. All involved parties must sign the contract and take completed copy of the contract for their records.

B2B (Business-to-Business) contracts

Many enterprises nowadays are eager to take advantage of emerging "Internet Economy". Internet based commerce offers more potential than just online storefronts (a.k.a. Business-to-Customer (B2C))

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and auction sites (a.k.a. Customer-to-Customer (C2C)), it also offers opportunities in Business-to-Business (B2B) e-commerce. B2B covers the area of online exchange of information between trading partners.

Some examples of B2B include:

•Trading partner integration between enterprises, forming supply and value chains and allowing automated coordination of business operations (e.g. order management, invoicing, shipping and government procurement).

•Business process integration. Integration of commerce sites, organization resource planning systems and legacy systems.

•Business-to-business portals enabling formation of trading communities, electronic catalog, and post-sale customer management.

A fundamental issue faced by many developers of B2B systems is how to ensure that you can trust a party that you are dealing with. The primary mechanism to do this is to set up a business contract and depending on the law to enforce the terms of the contract. In a B2B context a contract can range from a simple one-page purchase order for the sale of goods, to an extremely complex thousand-page document for a trade level agreement between multinational businesses.

In general, most B2B cases can be generalized to a 5-phase trading process:

1.Pre-contractual phase: customers identify products or services and possible sources of supply;

2.Contractual phase: formal relationship between buyer and seller is created, covering contract negotiation and validation operations;

3.Ordering and Logistics phase: placing of purchase order, delivery of goods and services;

4.Settlement phase that includes invoicing, payment authorization and payment;

5.Post-processing phase to gather information for management reports, e.g. trade statistics.

Standardizing Contracts

In terms of B2B, standard form contracts are essential, as they allow business to confidently operate at arm’s length. A business can deal

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with another business without the need to negotiate and develop a new contract for each transaction. Electronic contract forms can be stored in an electronic database for subsequent access by businesses to facilitate the definition of their mutual obligations. It is important to note that by electronic contracting not only an electronic version of contract forms is identified, but also a wide list of possibilities related to the automation of typical contracting procedures like:

•location of suitable contract templates and/or contract clauses,

•electronic negotiation of contracts,

•electronic signing of a contract, and having this as an evidence of the agreement;

•electronic tracking allowing timely reaction to some important deadlines such as contract termination, making it possible to renegotiate a subsequent contract;

•monitoring the behaviour of the trading partners who have entered in contractual relationship.

EXERCISES

1.Find a memo from your work or study, or borrow one from someone you know. Share it with classmates, and observe identifying details such as the name of the sender, recipient, and company. Compare and contrast.

2.Find a business letter (e.g., an offer you received from your bank company or some other type of letter) and share it with your classmates. Look for common elements and points of difference.

3.Write a business letter informing a prospective client or customer of a new product or service.

4.Find a job announcement with specific duties that represents a job that you will be prepared for upon graduation. Prepare your CV to submit to the employer.

5.Conduct an online search for job advertisements that detail positions you would be interested in, and note the key job duties and position requirements. Please post one example and share with your classmates.