Cover letters

Study the sample cover letter and say what type of busi­ness correspondence it refers to:

1. Employment correspondence (that is used for job-hunting matters)

2. Transactional correspondence (that is used as a reply or needs a reply)

3. Social correspondence (that is used for interpersonal matters)

Dear Mr Carry:

I am writing in response to your advertisement in yesterday's edition of "The Times". I would like to apply for the position of Personal Assistant. I have recently graduated from Leeds College with honours. My degree is in advertising and in my second year of studies I worked for Leeds Pub­lishing Ltd for a year.

I also attended a secretarial course, where I got skills and experience practically in all areas of office work.

I have enclosed my resume and would be happy to provide any further information if required.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely yours,

Linda Davis

What's a Cover Letter?

Never send a resume without a cover letter when you apply for a job. But re­member that the employer will receive hundreds of resumes and cover letters from people that are applying for the job you want to get. Your aim is to stand out from the other candidates1. A good cover letter explains why you are the best candidate for this position. It should motivate the employer to read your resume and invite you to be interviewed2 for the position you are seeking3. Basically, a cover letter expands4 on your resume and gives you a chance to write about yourself in a more personal way. Cover letters are not too formal -don't write in a "rubber stamp5" way. It should sound friendly and genuine6. Em­ployers are more likely to hire real peo­ple, not robots. A cover letter should reflect8 your personality, but don't forget about your audience9. Catchy10 opening sentences are good for creative jobs and advertising11, but won't be appreciated12 if you apply for a position requiring seri­ous analytical work.

those who are applying for a job being asked questions to see if you fit a job looking for adds details to what you are saying very official real give a job show the real nature people who watch, read or listen to the same thing pleasing and easily re­membered telling the public about a product or a service in order to make people buy or use it be grateful for something that somebody has done

1. Mark the following statements as true (T) or false (F). Correct the false ones.

A. There is no use to send a cover letter with your resume, because the employer won't have time to read it anyway.

B. A good cover letter makes you different from hundreds of candidates, because it explains why you're the best.

C. One of the goals of sending a cover letter is to make the employer read your resume and invite you to the interview.

D. A cover letter is practically the same as your resume — it should be even more formal.

E. Employers don't appreciate any personal relations within their companies — the best candidate is seen as a hardworking robot, able to perform the job perfectly.

F. "Rubber stamp" is the best style for a cover letter.

G. The style of a cover letter should correspond to the specific em­ployment situation.