CHAPTER 13

External correspondence Reflect your company Inquiry, cover, complaint, adjustment,

sales, job Reports, proposals More formal than memoranda Personal (I, we, you etc.) Block format Clear, concise, correct, complete,

courteous

Purpose of writing Business LettersTo informTo congratulateTo enquireTo orderTo request

To collect duesTo complainTo make an adjustmentTo sell a product, service, or schemeTo apply for a job

Standard ElementsHeadingDateInside AddressSalutationMessageComplementary CloseSignature Block

Additional ElementsAddressee notationAttention lineSubject lineReference initialsEnclosure notationCopy notationMailing notation

Block Layout Modified block layout Semi-block layout Simplified layout

Block Layout-All elements except the

letterhead heading are aligned to the left margin.

- It follows open punctuation.

Headingdateinside address____________________sub:salutationmain body

complimentary close signature enclosure

•End punctuations omitted

•All elements aligned with left margin

•space between elements, paras

Modified Block Layout:Heading, complementary close

and signature block are aligned vertically with the right margin.

Rests are left aligned.

Semi-block layoutEach paragraph of the

message a few spaces away from the margin.

It has gone out of style.

Simplified layout:-Omits salutation-Often includes a subject line in capital letters-Omits complementary close

‘You’ attitude Clarity and conciseness Correctness and completeness Positive approach Courtesy and consideration

Sender-focused“Because we need more space for our new inventory, we’re staging a two-for-one sale.”

Receiver-focused“You can buy a year’s supply of paper and pay for only six months’ worth during our two-for-one sale.”

“We” viewWe are issuing a refund.

“You” viewYou will receive a refund.

“We” viewWe take pleasure in announcing an agreement we made with Hewlett Packard to allow us to offer discounted printers in the student store.

“You” viewAn agreement with Hewlett Packard allows you and other students to buy discounted printers at your convenient student store.

Dr.Raman gave a presentation on the use of drugs in our auditorium

Manish explained the proposal to John but he was not happy with it.

The vehicle broke down several times recently.

To recapitulate, our utilization of adultered water precipitated the interminable delays.

Signing both copies of the lease is a necessary requirement.

Open seven days a week plus weekends In view of the fact that the model failed

twice during the time that we tested it, we are at this point in time searching for other options.

Chetan made an announcement that he will give consideration to our request

We have received your recent letter and are happy to provide the data you requested

This brochure, which is available free of charge, will answer your questions

Signing both the copies of the lease is necessary

We are open seven days a week Because the model failed twice when

we tested it, we are now searching for other options

Chetan announced that he will consider our request

We are happy to provide the data you recently requested

This free brochure will answer your questions

Correctness = Accuracy The executive committee of

Mumbai Financial services met on Thursday, October 30, to determine how to resolve the distribution fiasco.

Completeness= Who, What, When, Where, Why, How

We cannot ship your merchandise until we receive your check

I do not have any work experience We apologize for this error We close at 7 pm on Fridays I cannot speak at your November

meeting I cannot release the names of our

clients

As soon as we receive your check, we will ship your merchandise.

My two terms as the Secretary of Astronomy club taught me the importance of accurate observation and gave me experience in working as part of a team.

We appreciate your calling this matter to our attention

We’re open until 7 pm on Fridays to give you time to shop after work.

I wish it were possible for me to speak at your November meeting

Releasing the names of our clients would violate their right to privacy.

Your indifferent attitude has caused a great loss

If you do not respond to this letter also, we do not have any option other than lodging legal proceedings against your company

You sent your complaint to the wrong department. We don’t handle shipping problems

Your satisfaction means more to us than making a profit, and we shall work day and night to see that we earn it

We have forwarded your letter to the shipping department. You should be hearing from them within a week

We value your goodwill and have taken these specific steps to ensure your satisfaction

Credit and collection letters Order and enquiry letters Claim and adjustment letters Sales and fund-raising letters Job application letters

Catch the reader’s attentionquestion/quotation/anecdote/

statistics/central selling point/appealArouse the reader’s interestCreate a desire in the readerMotivate the reader to actionPostscript

Offer something valuable, promise a significant result, or describe a product feature.

Present a testimonial, make a startling statement, or show the reader in an action setting.

Describe the product in terms of what it does for the reader.

Show how the product or service saves or makes money, reduces effort, improves health, produces pleasure, or boosts status.

Counter reluctance with testimonials, money-back guarantees, attractive warranties, trial offers, or free samples.

Build credibility with results of performance tests, polls, or awards.

Close with repetition of the central selling point and clear instructions for an easy action to be taken.

Prompt the reader to act immediately with a gift, incentive, limited offer, or deadline.

Put the strongest motivator in a postscript.

Begin with a compliment, state the problem, provide identifying data.

Explain the problems you’re facing / you may face.

Appeal to the receiver’s fairness, ethical and legal responsibilities, and desire for customer satisfaction. Describe your feelings and your disappointment.

Enclose copies of documents supporting your claim.

Avoid sounding angry, emotional, or irrational. Close by telling exactly what you want done.

To satisfy customers and to safeguard your reputation

Thank for bringing mistake to your notice ; give ref. point; agree or disagree

Apologize; explain how it occurred; admit

What action you intend to take to avoid such mistakes

Clarify actions that customer has to take; assure of cooperation

Dear Sir / Madam: I am writing to you on behalf of the concerned citizens of the Malaviya Society for Health Care. You have once again expressed your desire to cut the services offered by your esteemed Medical Society and also your plan to increase the charges on the few services offered by you at present to our Society.

This is simply ridiculous. Where are my people supposed to go for their health care? The closest hospital is over 100 km away! My husband just had a surgery and we're Rs.2,00,000 in debt. Try to understand that we can't afford to pay more charges which you are planning to hike.  Though I don’t want to threaten you, I am forced to say here that you may not be able to keep your position as the Representative for long. My brother knows the family doctor of the President of JMS and when she comes to know about your intentions, she'll no doubt persuade your boss to fire you.  Please mend your ways, try to resume the services and don’t increase the charges

Crucial first impression Appearance, content Well organized, written, presented Free of errors Purpose is to persuade that you have

abilities, skills & personal qualities Paper copy, scannable resume Cover letter + Resume

Address the letter to an individual by name. For advertised jobs, name the source;

include job title, date, and publication. If someone referred you, name that person. Tell how your qualifications fit the job

specifications, show knowledge of the reader’s business, or describe how your special talents will be assets to the company.

Demonstrate how your background and training fill the job requirements.

Summarize your principal assets from education, experience, and special skills.

Avoid repeating specific data from your résumé.

Refer to your résumé.

Ask for an interview. Consider hooking the request to a statement reviewing your strongest points.

Make it easy to respond. Tell when you can be reached (during office hours). Some recruiters prefer that you call them.

Chronological Functional Hybrid/Combination Electronic

ASCII(American Standard Code for Information Interchange)

HTML(Hyper Text Mark-up Language)

Series of crisp pointers of academic & professional history

Keep short Adequate margin Font size Serif / sans-serif (most part) (headings) Copies (crisp, clean dark)

Keep busy readers in mind

Tabular form Page continuation Edit Triple check

Serif Times New Roman Century School

book Book man old style (with small lines at

the top & bottom)

Sans Serif Arial Arial Narrow Calibri

APPEARANCEPleasing to the eyeReader friendlyLooks like a professional

documentFormat that highlights the selling

points

Name, address and telephone number Job objective College major, degree, name of college

and date of graduation Jobs held, employing company or

companies, dates of employment and job details

Special aptitudes and skills No : photographs, religion, age, marital

status, too many high school activities

Personal information

Career objective Education Employment / work

experience Professional skills

(Related course work) Technical knowledge

Professional affiliations (membership etc.)

Activities and Interests

Awards / Honors Achievements References

Name Current addressTelephone NumbersEmail id.

________________________________________________Gopinath M.C.Male Contact : Mobile: 09829227255Email: gopinath_mc@yahoo.co.inMail: 248, Ashok Bhawan

BITS, Pilani Rajasthan, India – 333031___________________________________________________ 

CAREER OBJECTIVEType of job/industryEmphasis on strong and most relevant skills

Flawed Seeking employment in a business environment offering an opportunity for professional growth

Good An entry level position as a computer programmer Better To market financial planning program and provide financial counseling to assure positive

client relations

A paid, one-semester internship in robotics / nano technology

Position in personal sales in a medium-sized manufacturing firm

Opportunity to apply my project experience in VLSI design / Signal processing

A public relations position requiring well-developed communication, administrative and computer skills

Most recent degree, date/ anticipated date of graduation

Name and location of college/university

Major/ Minors Honours/awards Division/ % / CGPA

Degree Degree UniversitUniversity / y / College College

Year Year CGPACGPA Remarks Remarks

Title, organization Dates, positions Skills, relevant

accomplishments Intern / co-experience

Professional/ Teaching Assistant

University of …….. 2004-present prepared and processed ……….

Project Team Member

Worked on a project on… Designed a vehicle… Managed a retail design studio

producing over ……. Hired, trained and supervised

……. Provided training ………

NOT : Worked as a volunteer for NirmaanBUT :Personally sold more than

Rs.50000 worth of tickets to annual benefit dance; introduced an “Each one, reach one” membership drive that increased membership every year during my three-year term as membership chairperson.

Membership in organizations

IEEE, AIMS, NSS No religious/political

affiliation

Clubs / associations - roles

Sports participation Language fluency Hobbies

Academic / non academic

Professional

2 from University / earlier org.

1 from reputed person

OCR programs to scan paper copy resumes / e-mail

ASCII or plain text file (.txt) Scans key words for best match

American Standard Code for Information Interchange

Computer friendly ( avoid underlines, bold , italic, tables, graphics, boxes, columns, bullets ( you can use * or + signs at the beginning )

Use a line length of no more than 70 characters Press space bar to show any indentions

Don’t worry about length Present as many facts skills,

attributes Rely heavily on technical

language Industry buzz words Common technical acronyms

Use words / phrases --nouns, dynamic verbs

Under budget, surpassed goals, skill in time management ,leadership, sense of responsibility , adaptable, passionate, successfully developed, HTML programming, result oriented, strategic planning, marketing research

Standard address format

Left justify Avoid columns Margins (at least 1”) Standard fonts (10-12) Leave space for sections

KEYWORD SUMMARY Project manager, HTML, energy sales,

market research, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Power Point, Microsoft Project, resource planning, writing, training, presentations, primary research, secondary research

TypesDocumentaryCongratulatoryDisciplinary

Heading segment Opening segment Discussion segment Closing segment Signature segment Necessary attachments segment

(optional) Distribution segment (optional)

FormatHeading

Date:To:From:Subject:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________opening________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Discussion________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Closing________________________________________________________________SignatureAttachments:Distribution: