Cover Letters
Cover Letters
• Purpose: To interest employers scheduling an
interview for you
• Key: target each letter to a specific company
and position
• Cover letters shows how much time you spent
on researching the company and writing an
individual letter
Particular Purposes and
Information
• Cover letters are sales letters
• Goals to achieve:
1. show how you as an individual will fit
into the organization
2. Use key terms from the ad or job
description that are clearly relevant to
your background
3. Structure your letter so that each part achieves
these particular goals:
1) Opening paragraph:
clarify your purpose and build reader interest
2) The body:
persuade the reader that you have skills and
abilities useful for the company.
3) The closing:
request an interview as well as a strong
reminder of the benefit to the employer
 Writing like a professional assumes that
your letter contains no grammatical, spelling,
or typographical errors.
 Adapt a formal tone to promote yourself as
a professional.
 Use technical terminology appropriate for
the position you seek.
 Try to downplay "I" and "me" and
emphasize "you" instead.
e.g.:
Another experience which could be readily
adapted to the Resource Center is my work
as counselor during the past two summers for
boys and girls ages 11 to 14 at a United
Methodist junior high camp. This rewarding
experience involved skills such as creativity,
leadership, listening, and one-to-one and
group communication.
Although children in
this age level are quite different from those in
the nursery school group, I found once again
that treating the campers with respect and
care fostered cooperation and growth.
This strategy is challenging -- particularly if
you're trying to vary your sentence structure so
it's not repetitive.
Use concrete, specific language so that
readers get a good sense of what you've done
and who you are. This means using strong,
active verbs to describe what you've
accomplished.
Make sure that you sound confident rather
than cocky or unsure of yourself.
Your Contact Information
Address
City, State, Zip Code
Phone Number
Cell Phone Number
Email
Employer Contact Information
Name
Title
Company
Address
City, State, Zip Code
Date
Dear Mr./Ms. LastName,
I am applying for the Inside Sales position posted on Boston.Monster.com. At
your convenience, I'd appreciate the opportunity to discuss the position and my
candidacy with you. You can find my resume attached to this e-mail.
I am looking to bring my well-honed public relations, marketing, and clientfocused online, oral, and interpersonal communication skills internally to
succeed in an inside sales position.
Pertinent experience and skills for the posted position include:
*The power of persuasion. I’ve pitched stories for C-level executives via
phone and e-mail and placed them in major media outlets, such as MSNBC, CIO
Magazine, Sirius Satellite Radio, MSN Money, AARP Bulletin, and The New York
Daily News.
*The ability to reach key audiences. As a journalist, I published stories in key
print and online media, including CareerJournal.com, CollegeJournal.com and
StartupJournal.com (online publications of The Wall Street Journal), Consumers
Digest, Woman's Day, and ePregnancy Magazine. As a copywriter, my work has
been used in e-mail marketing, online and offline advertisements, blogs,
brochures, taglines, and Web sites.
*Strong financial aptitude (My experience includes a little over a decade in the
accounting profession in external and internal client-facing environments.)
*B.S. in Accounting from Southern New Hampshire University, with a Minor in
Management Information Systems.
*Relevant computer skills (Microsoft products, HTML, etc.).
*Good listener...Solid work ethic...Desire to excel...Meet deadlines...Enjoy a
fast-paced environment...Extraordinary factual recall...
I'd love to find out more about the position you're looking to fill, and I would
welcome the opportunity to tell you how my skills and ideas can benefit Wellesley
Information Services. I can be reached at (5555) 555-5555 or name@gmail.com.
Thanks for your consideration; I look forward to hearing from you soon!
Sincerely,
Your Signature
Your Typed Name
=======
Writing Letters
of Request
Mia Chen
Tips for Requesting a Favor
• Ask politely. Do not demand or threaten.
• Show the reader what’s in it for her. Prove your
case.
• Say exactly what you hope she will do for you.
Sample Request Letters for Each Topic
Business / Work
• Request a change in a contract or agreement
• Request a copy of an official document
• Request a raise or promotion
• Request a response to a survey or questionnaire
• Request an endorsement or testimonial
• Request confirmation of an authorization to take
action
Credit Line
• Request an explanation for a denial of credit
• Request an increased credit line
• Request correction of an error in a credit report
• Request or apply for a credit account
Information
• Request information
• Request information about an applicant
• Request information from a government agency
• Request information on a product or service
Sample Request Letters for Each Topic
Miscellaneous
• Request a retraction or correction from the media
• Request application materials for admission to college
• Request confirmation of receipt of earlier mailings
• Request correction of an insurance company's error
• Request payment of a personal loan
• Request that someone write a letter of recommendation in your behalf
Sales
• Request a discount or a complimentary product or
service
• Request samples or information about products or
services
• Request a refund or reimbursement
• Request correction of a billing error
Service
• Request a favor
• Request an individual to volunteer services
• Request government service or action
1. Begin the letter with the proper
formal letter formatting. The date goes
at the top, followed by your return
address, the name and address of the
recipient, the greeting.
Date, Address
2. State the purpose of
your letter in the first
paragraph. Be direct, yet
polite.
3. Explain your request in the
next paragraph with some
details. Be sure to mention a
deadline, provide background
information about yourself or
the situation.
4. Provide all the
information necessary for
your recipient to make a
decision and grant what
you ask.
Contact number, Email
6. Finish the body of the letter by thanking the
recipient for his consideration and help.
7. Close the letter with
the closing
"Sincerely."
5. Include your telephone number and e-mail
address as part of the body of the letter.
I can finish a letter of
request!! So awesome!!!
How to
write
Complain
letter
蔡松旻Mini
Effective complain letters should be…
•
•
•
•
•
Concise
Authoritative
Factual
Constructive
Friendly
1. Setting the Scene (Background)
Who, When, Where, What, Why
【ex.3】
I【ex.1】
am a shareholder of Sunshine Bank and I am very
concerned
newspaper
I am writingregarding
to informrecent
you that
the goodsreports
we on
the
financial
of the bank.
Yourbeen
company is
ordered
fromsituation
your company
have not
listed
as the
auditor in the latest annual report of the
supplied
correctly.
bank, so I am writing to you to ask for an explanation
【ex.2】
of the following issues.
I attended your exhibition Sound Systems 2009 at the
【ex.4】
Hotel
(22-25 you
January)
found it informative
IFortune
am writing
to inform
of myand
dissatisfaction
with
andfood
interesting.
Unfortunately,
my enjoyment
of the
the
and drinks
at the “European
Restaurant”
event
was spoiled
by a number of organizational
on
18 January
this year.
problems.
2. Problems: Cause + Effect
• Cause
– (a) On 10 February 2009 we placed an order with your
firm for 12,000 ultra super long-life batteries. The
consignment arrived yesterday but contained only 1,200
batteries.
– (b) Firstly, I had difficulty in registering to attend the event.
You set up an on-line registration facility, but I found the
facility totally unworkable.
– (c) You sent us an invoice for $10,532, but did not deduct
our usual 10% discount.
– (d) We have found 16 spelling errors and 2 mis-labelled
diagrams in the sample book.
Details
Problems
• Effect
– (a)This error put our firm in a difficult position, as we had
to make some emergency purchases to fulfill our
commitments to all our customers. This caused us
considerable inconvenience.
– (b) Even after spending several wasted hours trying to
register in this way, the computer would not accept my
application.
– (c) I am therefore returning the invoice to you for
correction.
– (d) This large number of errors is unacceptable to our
customers, and we are therefore unable to sell these
books.
3. Solutions
• Keep requests realistic
• Polite but Firm
– (a) I am writing to ask you to please make up the shortfall
immediately and to ensure that such errors do not happen
again.
– (b) Could I please ask you to look into these matters.
– (c) Please send us a corrected invoice for $9,479
– (d) I enclose a copy of the book with the errors highlighted.
Please re-print the book and send it to us by next Friday.
★Request rather than Demand
4. Warning(optional)
• Tone: Optimistic Patience
• Be Careful not to threaten "OVER”
– Otherwise, we may have to look elsewhere for
our supplies.
– I'm afraid that if these conditions are not met, we
may be forced to take legal action.
– If the outstanding fees are not paid by Thursday,
26 February 2009, you will incur a 10% late
payment fee.
5. Closing
• I look forward to receiving your explanation of
these matters.
• I look forward to receiving your payment.
• I look forward to hearing from you shortly.
Fortune Goods
317 Orchard Road
Singapore
17 February 2009
Attn: Mr David Choi
Sales Manager
Everlong Batteries
171 Choi Hung Road
Hung Hom
Hong Kong
Dear Mr Choi
Re. Order No. 768197
I am writing to inform you that the goods we ordered from your company have not been supplied correctly.
On 10 February 2009 we placed an order with your firm for 12,000 ultra super long-life batteries. The
consignment arrived yesterday but contained only 1,200 batteries.
This error put our firm in a difficult position, as we had to make some emergency purchases to fulfill our
commitments to all our customers. This caused us considerable inconvenience.
I am writing to ask you to please make up the shortfall immediately and to ensure that such errors do not
happen again. Otherwise, we may have to look elsewhere for our supplies.
I look forward to hearing from you by return.
Yours sincerely
J. Wong
Purchasing Officer
Dear Sir/Madam
I attended your exhibition Sound Systems 2009 at the Fortune Hotel from 6 - 9 February and found it informative and
interesting. Unfortunately, my enjoyment of the event was spoiled by a number of organisational problems. I explain
each of the problems below.
Firstly, I had difficulty in registering to attend the event. You set up an on-line registration facility, but I found the facility
totally unworkable. Even after spending several wasted hours trying to register in this way, the computer would not
accept my application. I eventually succeeded in registering by faxing you.
Secondly, the exhibition was held at one of Hong Kong's most prestigious hotels, but frankly the venue was better
suited
to a medium-sized business conference than to a large exhibition open by registration to the public. The lack of space
led to serious overcrowding in the venue, particularly at peak visiting times (i.e. lunch times and early evening). On one
or two occasions I was also seriously concerned about the physical safety of attendees.
The final point I want to make concerns product information. It is very enjoyable to see and test a range of excellent
sound systems, but it is also important to be able to take away leaflets on interesting products, so that more research
can be done before deciding which system to buy. However, by the time I attended the exhibition all the leaflets had
been taken.
Could I please ask you to look into these matters - not only on my behalf but also on behalf of other attendees, and in
fact on behalf of your company, too.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully
Michael Leung
How to Reply to
Complaints
Acknowledging receipt of a
complaint letter
• Thank you for your letter of … regarding / concerning / in
connection with …
• I refer to your letter of … about / relating to …
• Thank you for bring this matter to our attention.
• Thank you for giving us the opportunity to look into our…
• We appreciate your bringing this matter to our attention.
Accepting the Complaint
• We agree that the usual high standards of our products /
services were not met in this instance.
Apology for the error or fault
•
•
•
•
•
We really must apologise for …
We sincerely apologise for …
Please accept our apologies for …
Please allow us to apologise for …
I would like to apologise for the error made by our company in
(verb+ing)
1
A short explanation of the fault
• Introductory phrase
– As a result of our investigation, we found that... (Not: After our investigation...)
• Causes
– The error was caused by … / was due to …
– Apparently, the problem was the result of … / resulted from …
– The cause of / reason for the mistake was …
• Effects
– As a result …
– This led to …
– Consequently …
• Solutions
– We have modified / changed our ...
– We have implemented a system to...
– To prevent re-occurrences we have set up a verification procedure.
• Assurances
– We assure you that this will not happen again.
– We assure you that in future we shall do all we can do to avoid this error
occurring again.
– We shall endeavor to make sure that this does not happen again.
2
Investigation to be made
• We are currently investigating the cause of ...
• We will investigate the cause of...
Proposal to settle the difficulty
• As a gesture of our regret, we are prepared to …/ we are
willing to …/ we would like to …
• To show goodwill, we will …
An offer to take goods back, make a
replacement, give a discount etc.
• We have dispatched the new items by express courier. They
should arrive by Friday, 27 April 2012.
• To show our goodwill, we would like to offer you a 5%
discount on your next order with us.
A concluding paragraph aiming at
retaining the goodwill of the customer
• While we can understand your frustration, ...
• We understand how disappointing it can be when your
expectations are not met.
Example
Letters
Dealing with complaintsRejecting a Complaint
Ariel
A. Your contact
information:
 Address
 Phone
numbers
 Email
B. Employer
Contact
information:
 Name
 Title
 Company
 Address
C. Date
1.Acknowledging receipt for a complaint letter
2.Regret at dissatisfaction
3.Rejecting responsibility for the
problem leading to the complaint
4.Reasons for rejection
5. Proposal to settle the difficulty
6. Direct the complainer to that party
7.A concluding paragraph aiming at retaining the
goodwill of the customer
• Your name
• Title
Finished!!!!