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41.Read the dialog in pairs. Trade roles.

42.In your job hunt campaign you may often need to inquire about a job by phone. If you answer an ad, you may want either to know if the position is still available and how to apply, or get some other pertinent job information to see if the offer suits you or you qualify to it. You can do that in a number of ways. Consider how you can ask for information:

–Can / Will / Could / Would you tell me …, (please)?

–I’d like to know … .

–I’d like to ask you … .

–I need to know … .

–Do you happen to know … ?

43.Here is a newspaper job ad.

a)Read it through first:

Growing Westchester pharmaceutical firm seeks responsible, research-oriented team-players. Excellent entry-level positions for college graduates to assist and be involved in all phases of clinical drug research and drug development. Interested and eligible candidates will be assigned project responsibilities.

b) Assume you are calling in reference to the opening. Work in pairs.

You want to speak to the person who supervises the position to know: 1) the name of the person who hires for the position; 2) degrees required; 3) previous experience required; 4) the working days and hours available; 5) pay rates; 6) if they provide medical insurance coverage; 7) if the holidays are set or floating; 8) if vacations are paid and how long; 9) how much night shifts pay per hour; 10) the time interviews are held; 11) if they have child day care center; 12) location of the company; 13) if the position implies traveling or relocation; 14) if they provide retirement benefits, 15) if they provide on-the-job training, etc.

Model:

Appl. 1: Hello. I … about … . I need to know …

Appl. 2: Hello. I’d like … . Will you please tell me … ?

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44. You are answering a business phone. The correct way to do this is as follows:

SWhen answering your own line, state your name: “Don Wilson speaking, how can I help you?”

SWhen answering someone else’s line, state their name: “John Tucker’s office, what can I do for you?”

SWhen answering a general line, state the department or organization: “Application Department (or: MICMAC Corporation). May / Can I help you?)”

Work in pairs. Practice answering business calls. Use the requests from the previous exercise.

Model:

St. 1: Judy Witton speaking. May I help you?

St. 2: Hello. I am calling about ... . I need to know …

45.Assume you are an applicant a) who is uncertain if his qualifications match those outlined in a newspaper ad and wants to know more about the job; b) whose goal is to find out what to do to get an interview. His/er qualifications match those outlined. Work in pairs. Make up short dialogs. Trade roles.

Dialog 2

46.Listen to the dialog. What was the problem ?

47.Listen to the dialog again and repeat after each speaker. Follow the script if necessary.

Checking the Information

Applicant: Hello. My name is Dick Barton. I would like to apply for the position of Research Assistant advertised in Saturday’s issue of The New York Times. Could you tell me the name of the person who supervises the position? It’s for my application letter, you see.

Personnel Officer: It’s Susan Linder. She is Head of the Personnel Office and is responsible for hiring.

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Applicant: I’m sorry, there’s so much noise on the line and I did not hear what you said. Could you say that again, please?

Personnel Officer: Sure. The person you need is Susan Linder.

Applicant: I still can’t hear you very well. Would you speak a bit louder, please? Did you say Kinder or Linder?

Personnel Officer: (spelling) L-I-N-D-E-R.

Applicant: Oh, that’s better now. But let me check just to be sure. You said Susan Linder, right?

Personnel Officer: Absolutely.

Applicant: Thank you for your help. Goodbye.

Personnel Officer: Goodbye. Good luck on your application!

48.Read the dialog in pairs. Trade roles.

49.When speaking on the phone in reference to the opening, you may need to check and confirm information. This is how you can do this:

1.If you don’t hear, you can

a)state your problem:

–Sorry? / Excuse me? / Pardon?*

–(I’m) sorry, something is interfering. I didn’t hear what you said / that.

–(I’m) sorry, there’s so much noise on the line. I didn’t quite catch what you said / that.

–(Sorry), could / would you speak a bit / a little louder, please*?

–(I’m) sorry, I can’t hear you very well / a thing. I missed that last part.

–(I’m afraid) I am having a bad connection.

–(I’m afraid) this is a (very) bad line.

b)make a request:

–(I’m) sorry / Excuse me, but I didn’t quite get that. Can you say the last word again?

–Could you repeat what you said, please?

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–Could you say that again, please?

–Could you speak a bit / a little louder, please?

c)say it’s OK:

–Oh, that’s better now.

d)ask for verification:

–Let me just check / Let me check just to be sure. You said … . Right?

–Did you say … ?

e)ask for spelling:

–Could you spell that, please?

2.If you did not understand, you can

a)state your problem:

–I don’t quite follow you.

–I don’t understand what you’ve just said.

–I don’t quite see what you mean.

b)ask for clarification:

–Could you go over that again, please?

–Could you tell me a bit more about that, please?

–Could I have some more details, please?

–What (exactly) do you mean by … ?

50.Assume you are calling in response to the job ad in Ex. 43.

a)Make up short dialogs using the requests from Ex. 43, b).

b)When calling, you need to check and confirm information. Work in pairs.

Model:

St. 1: The working hours available are 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

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Asks about the location of the Personnel

Office.

Gives explanations.

States s/he did not hear well. Asks for repeating the information.

Repeats the information.

Verifies the information.

Agrees.

Thanks. Says goodbye. Expresses her / his enthusiasm to apply.

Commentary

entry-level – inexperienced, just entering a profession

cover letter – an application letter

align – to bring into one line

GPA – (grade point average) the average of every course grade received throughout the 4 years of college or university. Practically it is a measure used by prospective companies to determine the worth of the candidate

drawing card – an element that can be expected to draw larger attention

uncluttered – in good order

tailor – to alter to meet particular requirements

justified – how the text is lined up on a document; it may be either left or right justified, or centered

shareholder – a person who holds or owns a share or shares, esp. in a corporation

is unsure of – as distinct from is not sure of means a slightly different thing: a) “He is not sure of what his career goals are” means that he has some idea of what they might be, but just can’t be sure. “He is unsure of what his career goals are” means that he has no idea of what his goals are.

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open-ended – in the case of employment objectives, this would simply mean that you have no idea what you are looking for. It would be synonymous with “vague, indeterminate, unfocused, unclear”, but much more euphemistic.

maintenance – keeping equipment in a state of good repair

referee – here the same as reference

furnish – to give, provide

Sorry? / Excuse me? / Pardon? – is only used for entirely unheard information, not for half-heard information. It means you could not understand anything the person said at all because you either were not prepared to listen, were not paying attention and were caught off-guard, or it was too noisy.

speak a bit / a little louder, please – When speaking to your prospective employer, do not use “speak up” instead of “speak a bit / a little louder” because it implies a power relationship between the speakers, and is only addressed to subordinates or children, to take an example, witnesses taking the stand at court. In this situation it sounds rude and inappropriate.

h.r. specialist – Human Resources Specialist, a specialist responsible for hiring

in hand – here “in hand” does not literally mean holding your cover letter and resume, but rather suggests that you should be ready to present them at an appropriate moment. Of grammatical interest: “in hand” cancels the article before “cover letter and resume” that would have been necessary if this element were absent. However, you may use “your cover letter and resume”, e.g., To come to / To go into / to your interview with (your) cover letter and resume in hand.

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Unit 4 Application Letter

READING AND WRITING

Text 1

1.Answer the following question before reading the text: Why should you write an application letter to accompany your resume?

2.Read the text. Is it a personal letter or a business letter?

APPLICATION LETTER (I)

As you are in a competitive market, your potential employer can choose from a number of people with similar qualifications; therefore, your letter of application and resume will really count in engaging interest and setting you apart from the crowd. Writing a “successful” letter will get you to the most important stage of the job hunt campaign – personal interview.

One of the most important documents you will write is a letter applying for a job that goes together with resume. Your job-application letter is crucial because it is the first thing the reader sees. If the letter is ineffective, the reader may not bother to continue reading the resume. A personnel officer specializing in employment, called h.r. specialist*, would seek letters and resumes that meet the criteria stated in the position announcement. Most employment specialists would file job letters and resumes until there are many to evaluate or would save them for the end of a busy day. This leads to a lack of patience and leniency toward flowery wording and hard-to-read print. Your major points should stand out vividly, making the information clear to the reader. Applications that pass this search-and-screen process are sent to the department manager who will supervise the employee that is hired. This manager interviews applicants and hires the employees.

In their job ads, employers usually advertise for the “ideal” candidate, but are actually flexible and may hire a person who does not possess every qualification listed in the ad.

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Therefore it may be a good idea to reply not only to those ads that fit you perfectly, but also those for which you feel less qualified. Each letter should be tailored to the situation.

In fact, the application letter and resume should function as a unit and should be carefully designed to complement one another. The letter skillfully prepares the reader for the resume by telling just enough to make the details of the resume come alive. Knowing how the letter of application and resume work together and how they differ can give you a better idea of how to write your application letter. The typical resume only gives a broad description of a candidate’s qualifications. Your resume is intended for all the readers, as it presents objective facts that can not be changed but can be arranged differently to fit a particular job ad. A resume may be duplicated and a copy of it may be sent to a number of prospective employers. The letter of application accompanying your resume gives a more personal description. You should write a new letter to each employer, it should be tailored to the specific job requirements and respond precisely to the kind of qualifications mentioned in the job ad. While your resume presents objective facts, your application letter relates them to the company you are applying. A good application letter is selective and does not try to cover every point on the resume. Rather it chooses two or three details that best respond to the needs of the particular employer and expounds upon them in greater detail.

While writing a job letter it is best to take the point of view of the person to whom you are writing and think of the main points s/he will be searching as s/he scans your letter. Employers look for three virtues in your application letter and resume: 1) eye appeal, 2) correctness, 3) consistency. Your letter should be clear, concise, complete, and correct. It must convey information in a logical order and be direct to avoid wasting your readers’ time. It should also allow for quick and easy location of information. If the sentences are immature or illogical, readers will question your powers of reasoning and ability. It is best to use short paragraphs and clear sentence structure, avoiding pomposity and passive voice, which may give your letter an impersonal tone (“It is requested that you send …”). Your letter should establish a positive personal tone (“I would appreciate your sending …), as it is a communication from one person to another.

It is commonly recommended that you develop what has been called the “you” attitude in your letter. With this attitude, you look at the situation from the reader’s perspective and adjust the content, structure and tone to meet the reader’s needs. Your efforts to see things from the reader’s point of view must go deeper than simply replacing the pronouns. The underlying objective is to change from a writer-centered prose (“I feel that this job will be a good place for me to work”) to a reader-centered prose (“You’ll find that my qualifications and skills will benefit the company”). Moreover, the tone of your correspondence should be courteous and thoughtful. Professional behavior is good business.

After you have drafted a letter, revise it to ensure it keeps your readers’ attention and persuades them that you are worth interviewing. Your letter should consist of no more than one page and the text should be properly balanced on it. Leave generous margins at least one inch all around and balance the letter vertically on the page. Experiment with spacing in your rough drafts. Your letter will look better with generous amounts of white space, so you should seldom

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allow paragraphs to run more than seven or eight lines. Besides, do not be afraid of writing paragraphs as short as one or two lines, particularly at the end of the letter. If your letter is carefully prepared and has a highly professional look, employers will assume that the work you do for them will be the same.

Do not be discouraged if you do not get an immediate response. It is not unusual for personnel officers to wait until several resumes have been collected, sometimes holding them for more than a month before setting up interviews.

EXERCISES

3.Go through the text again and answer the following questions:

1)Why is an application letter so important for your job search? 2) Does a letter of application serve the same function as your resume? 3) In what cases will your letter be tossed off by the personnel officer? 4) Which people will review your letter and resume? 5) Do they have the same qualification? 6) Do you think they would apply the same criteria while evaluating your credentials? 7) Both your letter and resume should be changed to fit you for different jobs. Is there any difference in the way they should be tailored to the situation? 8) What do the resume and the letter of application have in common and where do they differ?

4.Replace the words and phrases in italics by those from the text.

1)Your job application letter is decisive because it is the first thing the reader sees. 2) If the letter is ineffective, the reader may not concern himself with reading your resume. 3) This

leads to a lack of patience and tolerance toward flowery wording and hard-to-read print. 4) Employers can actually adjust to a changing situation and may hire a person not possessing every qualification listed in the ad. 5) Your resume is not meant for all readers. 6) Think of the main points a personnel officer will be searching for while giving a quick glance at your letter. 7) Employers look for internal logic in your application letter and resume. 8) Your letter should set up a positive personal tone. 9) The fundamental objective is to change from a writer-centered prose to a reader-centered prose. 10) Your letter should convince your readers that you are worth interviewing. 11) It is not unusual for personnel managers to hold resumes for more than a month before scheduling interviews.

5.For a number of years, a set of words has developed which make letters sound formal and insincere. As a letter substitutes for conversation, it should be natural and avoid cliches. Section A contains overused and formal expressions and B section contains their modern equivalents. Match them by a line.

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