CV THE COVERING / COVER LETTER A covering letter (NAmE cover letter) accompanies a CV (NAmE résumé) or an application form. It should normally be no longer than one side of a single page. While in some countries covering letters are handwritten, in Britain and North America they are typed, unless otherwise requested. A good covering letter uses formal language and presents some key arguments for why your application should be taken seriously. When there are many applicants for a job, employers may select which CVs to read on the strength of this letter. A MODEL LETTER (ON PAPER) On the next page you will find a model letter, with its component parts. Useful standard phrases have been highlighted. 1
Your address (without you name): 19 Strangelands Road London NE23 6ZB Your telephone number: Tel: 0207 337 34589 Addressee: Mrs F. Hunter Human Resources Manager Timson Office Supplies Unit 5 Males Industrial Estate Cambridge CB7 9HD Date: 20 January 2010 (or NAmE January 20, 2010, 20/1/10, NAmE 1/20/10) Salutation: Dear Mrs Hunter, Subject heading: Re: Senior Accounts Clerk Paragraph 1: I am writing to apply for the post of senior accounts clerk (1) advertised in last Friday's edition of the Cambridge Evening News. Paragraph 2: As you will see from my enclosed CV I am currently an accounts clerk in a medium-sized printing firm. In addition to my normal bookkeeping duties, I am responsible for invoicing (2) and chasing up (3) late payments. I also deal with credit checks (4) on potential customers. Paragraph 3: I am committed to pursuing a career in (5) management accounting (6) and am currently studying for further professional qualifications by distance learning. I am particularly interested in your post as it would enable me to gain experience of working in a larger company with the opportunities for professional training and development that this brings. In addition to my skills and experience as an accounts clerk, I would bring to the job a proven ability to deal successfully and tactfully with customers and clients. Paragraph 4: I am available for interview for the next three weeks, but will be away for two weeks from 14 February. I can supply details of referees (7) and any other information you may require. Closing: I look forward to hearing from you. Yours sincerely, [handwritten signature] Dilip Patel Enc. CV Notes (1) IN RED: names of the parts of the letter (2) NOTE the position of the various parts of the letter on the page (3) senior accounts clerk = contabile esperto (i.e. non principiante) (4) invoicing = fatturazione (5) chasing up = recupero (6) credit checks = affidabilità (7) I am committed to pursuing a career in = mi interessa perseguire una carriera di (8) management accounting = contabilità gestionale (9) referee: a person who gives information about you, usually in a letter, in order to support you when you are trying to get a job. 2
STRUCTURE OF A TRADITIONAL LETTER (ON PAPER) Sender: Do not write your name here Write your address Your telephone number Date N.B.: THE DATE: write the month in letters and capitalized: e.g.: 12 April 2013 (BrE), or April 12, 2013 (AmE, with a comma after the day). Never write a date as 12.04.13. To Europeans this means 12 April, but most Americans will understand it as December 4. The ordinal form of 1 st, 2 nd, 3 rd, 4 th, etc. is now considered old-fashioned for written dates in formal letters. However, when reading dates aloud, use the model The twelfth of April 2013 in BrE and April twelfth 2013 in AmE. Receiver (or Addressee): Employer's name, position and address Salutation (or Greeting): Dear... N.B.: Use Dear+Mr/Ms+surname, or Dear Sir/Madam, if you do not know the name of the person you are writing to. Use Dear Sirs when you write to a company, organization or university. In American English (and often in British English as well) Dear is sometimes omitted in these types of salutations, and letters just open with Madam or Sir. Always use a comma after the salutation. Note that in BrE you do not use a full stop after abbreviations like Mr, Ms, Mrs and Dr. In AmE full stops are used. Subject heading: Re: (or ref.): N.B.: Subject of the letter; in the model letter above, it is the name of the post you are applying for. Note that the subject heading is placed under the salutation and before the body of your letter. [From Latin rē, ablative case of rēs, thing ] Paragraph 1: State your purpose for writing. Say which job you are applying for and how/where you heard about it. Paragraph 2: Outline your current job and responsibilities, or your qualifications if you are a new graduate. Paragraph 3: Say why you want the job and what you can bring to the company. Paragraph 4: 3
Give any other relevant information and say when you are available for interview. Closing (or Ending): Use a closing formula that matches the salutation. If you start your letter with Dear Sir/Madam/Sirs, a suitable ending is Yours faithfully. If you start with Dear+Mr/Ms+surname, the ending can be Yours sincerely. Note: if you write to a university teacher, use Dear Professor+surname for all professors. Avoid using the slangy Prof., and always capitalize Professor. Use a comma after the closing formula. Sign your name and print it in full under the closing formula. Enc. or encl.: This abbreviation is put at the end of the letter without any specification. It shows that you have enclosed something. 4
EMAIL Business emails follow much the same structure as letters on paper. Therefore, if you use an email to apply for a job and send your CV, follow the same structure as that suggested above. Never use salutations like Hi! and endings like love and kisses in formal emails. Do not to forget to write your name at the end of your email. Friendly emails The way you write your email depends on how well you know the person you are sending it to. Emails between friends can start like ordinary letters: Dear, but often this is left out. You can start a friendly email without writing anybody s name, or with Hello or Hi!+first name, or sometimes just with the first name. This type of emails may end with Best wishes, Warm regards, Love (used for close friends). FORMAL/INFORMAL STYLE IN WRITING LETTERS AND EMAILS The typical beginning of an Italian business letter/email: In riferimento alla Vs del 22 luglio scorso, etc. can be expressed this way in English: With reference to your letter of July 22, etc. This is formal style. Here is a number of formal/informal phrases common in letter/email-writing: 5
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