Professional Profile

B1 Professional Profile task

This was the cover page of Alyson Shontell's letter of application for an interview at Google. What do you think of it?

Here is her covering letter. What does she do to make it convincing and engaging?

B1 Professional Profile task

you to stand out from the crowd

next round

Be wary of spending hours on

at the expense of

cover letter

The first thing

 

________ a potential employer sees in your job application is the______ . This doesn't just support your CV – it's an opportunity for _________and persuade the recruiter to put you through to the_________.

___________perfecting your CV ____________your cover letter

 

 

1. Standard, conservative style

This is ideal for sectors such as business, law, accountancy and retail.

Dear Mr Black,

Please f___ enclosed my CV in application f__ the post advertised i__ the Guardian on 30 November.

The nature of my degree course has prepared me for this p______. It involved a great deal of independent research, requiring ini____tive, self-m_______n and a wide r____e of skills. For one course, [insert course], an understanding of the [insert sector] industry was e______al. I found this subject very stimulating.

I am a fast and accurate writer, with a keen __e for detail and I should be very _____ful for the opportunity to progress t__ market reporting. I am able to take o__ the responsibility of this position _____diately, and have the enthusiasm and de_______n to ensure that I make a su____s of it.

Thank you for ___ing the time to con____ this application and I ___ forward to ____ing from you in the n__r future.

Yours ____erely

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Standard speculative letter

This may vary according to the nature of the organisation and the industry you're applying to.

Dear Mr Brown,

I am writing to e_____e if you have any v______s in your company. I en____e my CV for your information.

As you can s_, I have had extensive vacation w___ experience in office envi_____, the retail se___r and service ind___ries, giving me v__ied skills and the a___ity to work with many different t___s of people. I believe I could fit e__ily into your t__m.

I am a cons_____ous person who works hard and pays a_____on to __ail. I'm flexible, quick to pick u_ new skills and __ger to learn from __ers. I also have lots of ideas and e______asm. I'm keen to work __r a company with a great reu_____n and high pr____le like [insert company name].

I have excellent ref______s and would be de______ed to discuss any possible vacancy with you at your c____nience. In case you do not have any suitable op____gs at the moment, I would be ____eful if you would keep my CV on fi__ for any ___ure possibilities.

Yours sincerely

 

 

 

Exam task

 

Write a Standard speculative covering letter for a prospective employer

 

Include

 

Greeting

Intro sentence

Your background and experience

Your skills and characteristics and attitude to work

Your availability and interest in further communication

Sign off formally

Name

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Letter for creative jobs

We've used the example of a copywriter but you can adapt it for your profession. The aim of a creative letter is to be original and show you have imagination, but understand what the job entails. Balance is essential: don't be too wacky, or it will turn off the reader.

Dear Ms Green,

· Confused by commas?
· Puzzled by parenthesis?
· Stumped by spelling?
· Perturbed by punctuation?
· Annoyed at the apostrophe? (And alliteration?)

Well, you're not alone. It seems that fewer and fewer people can write. Unfortunately, there are still a lot of people who can read. So they'll spot a gaffe from a mile off. And that means it's a false economy, unless you're 100% sure of yourself, to write your own materials. (Or to let clients do it for themselves.)

To have materials properly copywritten is, when one considers the whole process of publishing materials and the impact that the client wishes to make, a minor expense. Sloppiness loses clients, loses customers.

There is an answer. Me. Firm quotes are free. You can see some of what I do on my multilingual website at [insert web address]. If you'd like, I can get some samples out to you within 24 hours. And, if you use me, you'll have some sort of guarantee that you can sleep soundly as those tens of thousands of copies are rolling off the presses.

Luck shouldn't come into it!

With kindest regards