[11] R&W - Composing Professional Correspondence

• Resume - a document used by a person to present their backgrounds and skills; can be used for a variety of reasons, but most often is used to secure new employment; everything written must be true
• Resume - originated from the French word resume which means summary; concise document that highlights your education, work experiences, and other qualifications such as your skills and strengths; information or qualifications that your future employer might look for in the job that you are applying for; usually an enclosure to an application or cover letter; recommended that you prepare the resume first since it will be the basis of your letter
• Features/Parts of Resume

  • Heading/Personal Details
  • Job/Career Objectives
  • Education
  • Work Experiences
  • Skills
  • Reference
• Heading/Personal Details - includes complete name written in bigger and in bold text, current complete address and contact details, such as cellphone number and email address
• Job/Career Objectives - reflects your career goals and intention for applying for the job; contains what you want to achieve in your career and what the employer could expect from you
• Education - refers to the degree you obtained together with your major, school, year attended, and awards and/or certificates received in school
• Work Experience - also called "work history" stipulates all previous employment that you have had
• Use action verbs for descriptive phrases and list the most recent experience first
• If you have no work experience yet, write first the educational background, and include the optional part Training and Seminar Attended
• Skills - enumerate the abilities you can do based on your training, experience or practice which would pave the way in obtaining the job you are applying for
• Reference - 2 to 3 reliable people to endorse you; could be former professor or employer
• Types of Resume Format

  • Chronological
  • Functional
  • Combination
  • Targeted
• Chronological - used to emphasize your work history arranged according to dates; starts with the complete work experiences, followed by the educational background; best used if you are applying for a job related to your previous experiences (10-15 years)
• Functional - focuses on your skills and experience and not your work history; best used if you changed career or re-entering the industry after a long absence
• Combination - works best if you are aiming for a career change or you want to highlight both your skills and traits and provide a chronological listing of your work experiences
• Targeted - customized and specific to the position you want to get; your work history, abilities, and education are reflections of the job requirements
• College Admission Letter - also known as the letter of intent; a one-page letter required for college and university admission; sender writes a letter to briefly discuss their intention for attending the college program
• Features of College Admission Letter

  • Determine the program/course you want to take
  • Follow a thorough research on program/course structure
  • Reflect on your purpose in enrolling the course, your achievements and future goals
  • Decide the format to use in writing a letter
  • Write letter in a full-block style
• Full-block Style - all parts are aligned to the left, with the format of one-inch margin, 12 font size, and single-spaced paragraph
• Employment Letter - also referred to as the job application letter or cover letter; one-page letter attached to the resume when applying for jobs highlighting the applicant's experiences and personal qualities for them to be considered for an interview designed for the job; parts are same with the college admission letter
• Formats of Application Letter

  • Full Block Format
  • Modified Block Format
  • Semi-Block Format
• Full Block Format - most common layout used in writing cover letter; all parts are justified to the left
• Modified Block Format - type of format where applicant's address, complementary close, signature and sender's identification are shifted to the right side; note that first sentence in the body or in each paragraph is not indented
• Semi-Block Format - least used format; almost same as the modified block format, however the first sentence in each paragraph is indented
• Parts of Application Letter

  1. Heading
  2. Date
  3. Inside Address
  4. Salutation/Greeting
  5. Body
  6. Complimentary Close
  7. Signature
• Heading - sender's mailing address
• Date - when the letter was written
• Inside Address - receiver's name, job title, and address
• Salutation/Greeting - usually begins with "Dear" and uses colon (:) at the end
• Body - consists of the opening, middle, and closing paragraphs; main part of the letter which includes the course you are interested in, reason for choosing the university/college, description of academic interest serving as the basis for them to consider your application; last part is request to consider your application for admission and information on how to contact you
• Complimentary Close - polite way of ending your letter; ends with a comma (,)
• Signature - the complete name and signature of the sender
• Your application letter is only one page in length and free from errors. Remember that any mistakes will create negative impression in you
• Various Forms of Office Correspondence

  • Office or Business Correspondence
  • Business Letter
  • Business Memorandum or Memo
  • Business E-mail
• Office Correspondence - business correspondence; means the exchange of information in a written format for the process of business activities; can take place between organizations, within organizations or between the customers and the organization; a written interchange of internal and external communication to assist the flow of business processes
• Business Letter - traditional way of communicating information from one company to another or used in external correspondence; can either be full block, modified block, and semi-block
• Types of Business Letters

  • Recommendation Letter
  • Acknowledgement Letter (Receipt Letter)
  • Request Letter
  • Complaint Letter
  • Apology Letter
  • Resignation Letter
• Recommendation Letter - applicants are usually required by their prospective employers to submit this kind of letter from their previous employer; focuses on the professional relationship between the applicant and the sender and the positive points that may convince the receiver to consider the application; can also be used in college admission
• Acknowledgement Letter (Receipt Letter) - written to express acceptance or receipt of a prior correspondence; usually allows the receiver know if an action regarding his/her request, complaint, or inquiry has taken place
• Request Letter - letter written to ask for a particular information, permission, favor, or service; use polite yet straightforward language when writing this kind of letter