Chapter 2 Letter of intent and C.V.

Chapter 2 Letter of intent and CV

Objectives:

o To familiarize the students with the structure of a letter of intent; o To explain the two major situations requiring the writing of such a letter; o To familiarize the students with the structure of a curriculum vitae.

2.1 Letter of intent

One of the most important letters from the perspective of ones professional career is the letter of intent. This is usually the first contact one has with the company in which one plans to work. Most often that not, people fail to get a job not because they do not have the necessary expertise but because they do not know how to build and sell their image to the potential employer. This type of business letter is, as its very name suggests, a vehicle of expressing the senders intention to acquire a certain position or apply for a job, a scholarship, a visa, etc. Writing such a letter could be either entirely the senders initiative or his/her reaction to an advertisement. While the latter is a letter of intent proper, the former is called an unsolicited letter of intent; irrespective of the type, a letter of intent should provide certain information about the signer of the letter and about the circumstances under which he/she decided to write it. Thus, the first paragraph is supposed to mention the advertisement (if it is a regular letter of intent) or the person (in the case of an unsolicited one) that provided the sender with the information about that particular job, vacancy or whatever the sender is applying for. Here are a few examples of how such an initial paragraph should be organized: I am writing concerning your advertisement in The Observer, issue of 21 February, referring to the position of assistant manager. I am replying to the advertisement you placed in last months issue of Science Today in which you were asking for specialists in deep underwater welding with more than five years experience. I would like to apply for one of the 12 scholarships for foreign students you advertised in this months newsletter of your college.
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Chapter 2 Letter of intent and C.V.

I was strongly recommended by Ms Olivia Lashton who is the general Manager of one of your largest customers to contact you regarding a possible vacancy in your accountancy department. I am writing to you on Mrs. Robert Krums suggestion about the position of project manager that has recently became available. Mentioning the source of information in the case of unsolicited letters of intent is a proof not only of integrity but also of good faith and trustworthiness. The main part of the letter should be dedicated to mentioning the enclosing of a C.V. and of those skills and qualifications that recommend the sender as the right person for that particular job as well as the circumstances under which these skills have been acquired. As it could be seen from my C.V., my qualifications meet all the requirements mentioned in the advertisement. In addition to these, I am also familiar with much of the welding techniques that have been developed by your company in the last five years. The level of my knowledge of foreign languages, as the C.V. clearly shows, is more than satisfactory. Moreover, I have a two-year experience as an interpreter for The High Court of Appeal in Bucharest during which I covered mostly cases of economic nature. I am enclosing a C.V. which - I hope will recommend me as highly qualified for this position especially due to the three-year project I supervised in the Columbian rain forest in the spring of 2002 working for the Greenpeace organization. The final paragraph of the letter is usually used to express the readiness to offer any further information necessary as well as to mention the availability for an interview: If there is any further information you need, do not hesitate to contact me and I will be more than willing to provide you with it. If there are some details that require personal contact, my schedule allows me to come for an interview every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoon starting from 15.00. Please let me know if there is any other information that you need in order to make a decision regarding the arrangement of an interview.

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Chapter 2 Letter of intent and C.V.

Feel free to contact me provided there is any further information you might find relevant. I am also confident that an interview would be the best way to assess my eligibility for this opening position. The closing line followed, of course, by the signature marks the end of the letter. The fact is worth mentioning that, from a strategic point of view, one should not offer all the information in the letter and the C.V. since, if one does this, there will be nothing left for the interview and getting to the interview is usually the most important goal of a letter of intent. The content of the letter together with the c.v. should be attractive enough for the receiver so as to arrange an interview.

The curriculum vitae (also called rsum) is perhaps the best-known element of business correspondence. It is a summary of a persons educational qualifications, skills, publications and professional activities, prepared when applying for a position. When it accompanies a letter of intent, the latter is called covering letter. A C.V., as the letter of intent itself, may be either required by the advertisement or sent on the applicants initiative. There are numerous and various patterns of C.V. and the possible differences do not depend on whether it was required or not. In spite of this diversity, there are several categories of information that should always be present in a curriculum vitae and they are as follows:
a) information about the identity and residence of the

2.2 Curriculum vitae

person writing the C.V.;

b) information about his/her educational history; c) information about the work experience that he/she has

acquired till the moment of writing the C.V. The structure of a C.V. is rigid and flexible at the same time. It is rigid in that the curriculum vitae always begins with the section dedicated to the information concerning identity and residence of the candidate and it is flexible since the second section can be either the one dedicated to education or the one dealing with work experience. Moreover, the way the information within these two sections is organized is, on its turn, flexible; in other words, the information could be presented in a chronological order (from the oldest to the latest) or in a reverse chronology (starting with the latest event and moving backwards toward the oldest). According to the purpose of such a document, a curriculum vitae can be of two major types:
a) a fully fledged curriculum vitae stipulating all the steps of

educational and professional evolution of the candidate (acting as a simplified autobiography); b) a targeted curriculum vitae mentioning only those items of information that are relevant at a particular moment for a particular purpose
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Chapter 2 Letter of intent and C.V.

(in this case whole chunks of information might be overlooked completely). Other sections that frequently appear in a curriculum vitae are dedicated to supplementary information such as reasons for applying for the position, reasons for leaving the previous and/or present employment; personal qualities and skills thought relevant by the candidate for that particular position; current salary; hobbies; references; professional and/or personal goals; articles/books published; conferences /conventions attended, etc. The following pages contain two examples of letters of intent and a sample C.V. that might serve as 45 models. Summer Street Arad 360641 Romania Eurobanks 25 Market Boulevard Bucharest 335703 Romania Attention: Human Resources Department Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing to you in connection with the advertisement you placed in The Financial Review this month referring to a position of Sales manager. As you will see from my c.v., this would not be the first time I take this position in a company from this field but working for your bank will provide me with the perfect opportunity to further improve myself and, thus, be able to add more value to the company. I strongly believe that my experience and results recommend me as the right person for this position and should you need any further information, please contact me. I am looking forward to meeting you. Yours sincerely, Sergiu Petrinoiu
Partner to Partner. 24 Mr. Sergiu Petrinoiu Business correspondence for Public administration

June 14, 2004

Chapter 2 Letter of intent and C.V.

36 Street 250602 Belleview Hotel 4 Breeze Street Mamaia 340021 Romania

Square

Alba-Iulia ROMANIA April 8, 2004

Att. of the Head of Accountancy Department Dear Mrs. Alicia Thornton, I am writing on the recommendation of Mr. Cosmin Brunescu, the Economic Director of ROMTOUR Bucharest, one of your oldest partners. Two weeks ago we met at an international tour operators convention here in Alba-Iulia and he let me know about an opening in your department as a chartered account suggesting that I should contact you in order to arrange an interview. As it can be seen in the c.v., my expertise is quite vast and I am very familiar with the accounting systems on both sides of the Atlantic. Should you need further data, I would be more than willing to come for an interview. I look forward to meeting you. Sincerely yours, J. Greenhut Jane Greenhut (Mrs.)

Encl.: C.V.
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Chapter 2 Letter of intent and C.V.

PERSONAL DATA Name: Edward White Date of birth: August 4, 1971 Address: 34 Long Street, Galati 800008 Tel.: +04 0236 440066 e-mail: ed@yahoo.com EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND 1998 2000 Faculty 1991 1996 Faculty Sciences, Lower Danube University, of Economics, MBA Lower Danube University, of Economics, Bachelor of Banking and Finances

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE March 2001 present VOXIM Ltd., 20 Rose Street, Galati 800332, Sales

manager May 1999 Feb. 2001 VelBankRo, 151 Royal Street, Galati 800166, PR assistant manager June 1997 April 1999 VelBankRo, 151 Royal Street, Galati 800166, cashier OTHER DATA Languages: Driving license: REFERENCES Mrs. Judith Meadow, Dean of the Faculty of Economics, 217 Southeast Street, Galati 800551 Mr. Michael Stratton, General Manager, VOXIM Ltd., 20 Rose Street, Galati 800332 Ms. Olga Vinsky, General Director, VelBankRo, 151 Royal Street, Galati 800166 English (advanced) French (upper intermediate) B, since 1990

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Chapter 2 Letter of intent and C.V.

1. An unsolicited letter of intent is: a. a letter written by a solicitor; b. a letter written by more than one person; c. a letter of intent written at the initiative of the signer; d. a letter written against the solicitation of a company; e. a letter that is not necessary. 2. Which of the following statements are false [F]? a. A letter of intent should provide information about the receiver of the letter. [ ] the b. A letter of intent should provide certain information about signer of the letter. [ ]

2.3 Self-evaluation test

c. An unsolicited letter of intent is totally the opposite of a regular letter of intent. [ ] 3. Mark the following statements with T (true) or F (false). a. The first paragraph is supposed to mention the advertisement (if it is a regular letter of intent) or the person (in the case of an unsolicited one) that provided the sender with the information about that particular job, vacancy or whatever the sender is applying for. [ ] b. This type of business letter is usually the first contact one has with the company in which one plans to work. [ ] c. The main part of the letter should be dedicated to mentioning the enclosing of a C.V. and of those skills and qualifications that recommend the sender as the right person for that particular job as well as the circumstances under which these skills have been acquired. [ ] d. The final paragraph of the letter is usually used to express the readiness to offer any further information necessary as well as to mention the availability for an interview. [ ] e. Strategically speaking, one should offer all the information he/she has in the letter of intent and the accompanying C.V. and leave nothing else for the interview. [ ] 4. Which of the following samples could be used in the first paragraph? a. The level of my knowledge of foreign languages, as the C.V. clearly shows, is more than satisfactory. Moreover, I have a two-year experience as an interpreter for The High Court of Appeal in Bucharest during which I covered mostly cases of economic nature. b. If there is any further information you need, do not hesitate to contact me and I will be more than willing to provide you
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Chapter 2 Letter of intent and C.V.

with it. If there are some details that require personal contact, my schedule allows me to come for an interview every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoon starting from 15.00. c. I am replying to the advertisement you placed in last months issue of Science Today in which you were asking for specialists in deep underwater welding with more than five years experience. d. As it could be seen from my C.V., my qualifications meet all the requirements mentioned in the advertisement. In addition to these, I am also familiar with much of the welding techniques that have been developed by your company in the last five years. e. I was strongly recommended by Ms Olivia Lashton who is the general Manager of one of your largest customers to contact you regarding a possible vacancy in your accountancy department. 5. Which of the following samples could be used in the main part? a. I am enclosing a C.V. which - I hope will recommend me as highly qualified for this position especially due to the threeyear project I supervised in the Columbian rain forest in the spring of 2002 working for the Greenpeace organization. b. Feel free to contact me provided there is any further information you might find relevant. I am also confident that an interview would be the best way to assess my eligibility for this opening position. c. If there is any further information you need, do not hesitate to contact me and I will be more than willing to provide you with it. If there are some details that require personal contact, my schedule allows me to come for an interview every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoon starting from 15.00. d. I am replying to the advertisement you placed in last months issue of Science Today in which you were asking for specialists in deep underwater welding with more than five years experience. e. As it could be seen from my C.V., my qualifications meet all the requirements mentioned in the advertisement. In addition to these, I am also familiar with much of the welding techniques that have been developed by your company in the last five years. 6. Which of the following samples could be used in the final paragraph?
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Chapter 2 Letter of intent and C.V.

a. Please let me know if there is any other information that you need in order to make a decision regarding the arrangement of an interview. b. The level of my knowledge of foreign languages, as the C.V. clearly shows, is more than satisfactory. Moreover, I have a two-year experience as an interpreter for The High Court of Appeal in Bucharest during which I covered mostly cases of economic nature. c. Feel free to contact me provided there is any further information you might find relevant. I am also confident that an interview would be the best way to assess my eligibility for this opening position. d. If there is any further information you need, do not hesitate to contact me and I will be more than willing to provide you with it. If there are some details that require personal contact, my schedule allows me to come for an interview every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoon starting from 15.00. 7. A curriculum vitae may also be called rsum. a. true; b. false. 8. When a C.V. accompanies a letter of intent, the latter is called covering letter. a. true; b. false. 9. A curriculum vitae is a summary of a persons educational qualifications, skills, publications and professional activities, prepared when applying for a position. a. false; b. true. 10. A curriculum vitae should contain: a. information about the identity and residence of the person writing the C.V.; b. information about the identity and residence of the person reading the C.V.; c. information about the work experience that he/she has acquired till the moment of writing the C.V. d. information about his/her educational history; e. information about the receivers educational history.

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