UNIT 11 --- Resumes, CVs and Covering Letters in English

Resumes, CVs and Covering Letters in English

             A resume or CV is a summary of our educational qualifications and work experience. Companies usually want to see our resume when we apply for a job. A covering letter is the letter that accompanies our resume when we send it to a company. Both of the documents are vitally important in the job application process.

         When we apply for a job, most employers want to have 2 important documents from us :

1. A CV or resume
2. A covering letter

          First impressions are important. Our CV and letter are usually the first impression that an employer has of us. And because an employer may have hundreds of job applications to consider, we have about 15 seconds to make sure that first impression is a good one. Why do we need a good CV ?  Our  CV's job is to get us an interview. Our CV or resume is our visiting card, our ambassador, our shop window. It represents us and it has a specific purpose: to get us an interview! To do this, it must :

• attract
• inform
• persuade
•  sell

 A good CV is one of our most important tools in the search for employment.

A CV or resume is not ;

• a book.
•  an obstacle.
•  a tombstone.
• boring or difficult to read.
•  your life story or autobiography.
•  a catalogue of your personal opinions.
•  a list of problems with past employers.

A CV or resume is :

• short.
•  seductive.
• an important document.
• answers the question 'Why?'
• interesting and easy to read.
• a list of benefits for the employer.

                A CV is as much about the employer as about us.Why do we need a good covering letter ? Because our covering letter must sell our CV.

                Before even looking at our CV, an employer usually reads our covering letter. If it is badly-written, or untidy, or difficult to read, our CV will probably go into the nearest bin. If it is well-written, attractive, easy to read and persuasive, the employer will turn to our CV. It's that simple!

               When we send our CV to apply for a position, we should also include a short letter. This letter is called a covering letter or (in American English) a cover letter. A covering letter sent with a CV/resume is also called a letter of application. Our letter of application is a sales letter. The product it is selling is our CV. The reader of our letter may be busy and unwilling to waste time on unnecessary details. We should therefore design your letter to be easy to read. It should be short, concise and relevant. It should not be too formal or complicated. In this case, our letter should :

• confirm that we are applying for the position 
•  say where we learned about the position 
•  say why we want the position
• say why we would be a benefit to the company 
•  request an interview

                The layout of a modern business letter in English is very simple. Our address is at the top, on the right or in the middle. The rest of the letter can be in 'block' format, with each line starting on the left. Try to keep the whole letter on one single page, with plenty of white space.