Friday, October 24, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Writing Professional Email
How do I write a professional e-mail?
The way you write your friends and the way you write your professor should be different. Some of the key differences are summarized here:
When writing to friends and family, it is common to use
• Emoticons ☺, :0
• Informal language
• Incomplete sentences
• Misspelling
• Incorrect grammar
• Spelling the word the way it sounds, not how the word is spelled. For example, “bizness” for “business”
• Nicknames
• A funny or profane e-mail address domains
• Lots of exclamation marks
• Ellipsis… (the little dots) between ideas instead of complete sentences
• Words in all CAPITAL LETTERS
• Reductions such “RU” instead of “are you”
When writing to professors or other professionals it is better to use
• formal language
• complete sentences
• accurate spelling
• correct grammar
• the reason for your e-mail stated concisely at the start of your message
• Formal titles
• punctuation
• a separate professional e-mail address without a funny or profane name
• days of the week and dates
Tip: edit your language and your content for any mistakes before you press send
Avoid: emoticons, writing in all capital letters, exclamation marks
Also:
If your intention was to attach a document, do remember to attach it.
Example:
From: ???superstah@gmail.org
To: cosette_taylor-mendes@umanitoba.ca
Re: important!!!!!
Hello, my last final paper is due on thursday. is there any chance to meet you?
Change to:From: kate@umanitoba.ca To: Cosette_Taylor-mendes@umanitoba.caRe: PaperHello Cosette,I have a paper due Thursday, Oct 10. Could I see you on Wednesday, Oct. 9th?I am available from 10-3pm.
Writing Effective E-Mail: Top 10 Tips
Summary: This document offers 10 tips to help you write effective professional e-mails. The informal notes you exchange with your friends don't have to meet any particular standards, of course, but if you want to be taken seriously by professionals, you should know formal e-mail etiquette.
1.Write a meaningful subject line.
2.Keep the message focused and readable.
3.Avoid attachments.
4.Identify yourself clearly.
5.Be kind -- don't flame.
6.Proofread.
7.Don't assume privacy.
8.Distinguish between formal and informal situations.
9.Respond Promptly.
10.Show Respect and Restraint
1. Write a meaningful subject line.
Recipients scan the subject line in order to decide whether to open, forward, file, or trash a message. Remember -- your message is not the only one in your recipient's mailbox.
Subject: "Important! Read Immediately!!"
What is important to you may not be important to your reader. Rather than brashly announcing that the secret contents of your message are important, write an informative headline that actually communicates at least the core of what you feel is so important: "Emergency: All Cars in the Lower Lot Will Be Towed in 1 Hour." [I have my e-mail filter set to trash e-mail messages with more than one exclamation mark in the subject line. Anyone who shouts at me is being abusive, trying to sell me something, or both. --DGJ]
Subject: "Meeting"
The purpose of this e-mail might be a routine request for a meeting, an announcement of a last-minute rescheduling, or a summary of something that has already happened. There's no way to know without opening the message, so this subject line is hardly useful.
Subject: "Follow-up about Meeting"
Fractionally better -- provided that the recipient recognizes your name and remembers why a follow-up was necessary.
Subject: "Do we need a larger room for meeting next Fri?"
Upon reading this revised, informative subject line, the recipient immediately
starts thinking about the size of the room, not about whether it will be worth it to open the e-mail.
My e-mail accounts get dozens of virus-bearing junk mails each day, often bearing a vague title such as "That file you requested," or no title at all. You'll get a faster response if your recipient can tell from the subject line that it's a real message from a real person.
2. Keep the message focused and readable.
Often recipients only read partway through a long message, hit "reply" as soon as they have something to contribute, and forget to keep reading. This is part of human nature.
If your e-mail contains multiple messages that are only loosely related, in order to avoid the risk that your reader will reply only to the first item that grabs his or her fancy, you could number your points to ensure they are all read (adding an introductory line that states how many parts there are to the message). If the points are substantial enough, split them up into separate messages so your recipient can delete, respond, file, or forward each item individually.
Keep your message readable.
-- Use standard capitalization and spelling, especially when your message asks your recipient to do work for you. If you are a teenager, writing a quick gushing "thx 4 ur help 2day ur gr8" may make a busy professional smile at your gratitude... but there comes a time when the sweetness of the gesture isn't enough. i dont think u want ur prof r ur boss 2 think u cant typ LOL ;-)
-- Skip lines between paragraphs.
-- Avoid fancy typefaces. Don't depend upon bold font or large size to add nuances -- many people's e-mail readers only display plain text. In a pinch, use asterisks to show *emphasis*.
-- Don't type in all-caps. Online, all-caps means shouting. Regardless of your intention, people will react as if you meant to be aggressive.
3. Avoid attachments.
Put your information the the body of your e-mail whenever possible. Attachments
-- are increasingly dangerous carriers of viruses
-- take time to download
-- take up needless space on your recipient's computer, and
-- don't always translate correctly (especially for people who might read their e-mail on portable devices).
Instead of sending a whole word processor file, just copy and paste the relevant
text into the e-mail (unless of course your recipient actually needs to view file in order to edit or archive it).
[I'm annoyed when people send bulk e-mails with attached pdf or Word documents that contain nothing more than a few paragraphs of ordinary text. I'd much rather get a plain text message, with a link to where I can download the full version if I want to enjoy all the colors and typefaces. Sending a 1MB attachment to hundreds or thousands of employees is a huge waste of digital resources. -- DGJ]
4. Identify yourself clearly.
When contacting someone cold, always include your name, occupation, and any other important identification information in the first few sentences.
If you are following up on a face-to-face contact, you might appear too timid if you assume your recipient doesn't remember you; but you can drop casual hints to jog their memory: "I enjoyed talking with you about PDAs in the elevator the other day."
5. Be kind. Don't flame.
To "flame" someone is to write an abusive personal attack. If you find yourself writing in anger, take a break. Take some time to cool off before you hit "send." Don't "flame" without weighing the consequences.
The "flame" is a long-established Internet tradition:
When groups of people gather, they signal status by who gets the comfy chairs, who can talk and who must listen, etc. Online communities don't provide these physical signals, so the words you use become even more important.
Flaming anyone who (intentionally or otherwise) threatens the cohesion of the group helps online communities uphold hierarchy, define membership, and forge allegiances.
But the relationship between boss and employee (or professor and student) is not primarily social. Because the power differential complicates the situation, the rules of etiquette are stricter.
If you flame your boss or your professor, that message will probably surface someday when you're up for promotion or you want a letter of recommendation.
If you flame an underling or student (especially in public), then you damage that person's trust in your leadership, and you probably won't get that person's best work in the future.
Praise in public, criticize in private. If you want to complain about someone, do it in person or by telephone, so there won't be a permanent record.
6. Proofread.
If you are asking someone else to do work for you, take the time to make your message look professional.
While your spell checker won't catch every mistake, at the very least it will catch a few typos. If you are sending a message that will be read by someone higher up on the chain of command (a superior or professor, for instance), or if you're about to mass-mail dozens or thousands of people, take an extra minute or two before you hit "send". Show a draft to a close associate, in order to see whether it actually makes sense.
7. Don't assume privacy.
Unless you are Donald Trump, praise in public, and criticize in private. Don't send anything over e-mail that you wouldn't want posted -- with your name attached -- in the break room.
E-mail is not secure. Just as random pedestrians could easily reach into your mailbox and intercept the envelopes that you send and receive through the post office, a curious hacker, a malicious criminal, or the FBI can easily intercept your e-mail. In some companies, the e-mail administrator has the ability to read any and all e-mail messages (and may fire you if you write anything inappropriate).
8. Distinguish between formal and informal situations.
When you are writing to a friend or a close colleague, it is OK to use "smilies" :-) , abbreviations (IIRC for "if I recall correctly", LOL for "laughing out loud," etc.) and nonstandard punctuation and spelling (like that found in instant messaging or chat rooms). These linguistic shortcuts are generally signs of friendly intimacy, like sharing cold pizza with a family friend. If you tried to share that same cold pizza with a first date, or a visiting dignitary, you would give off the impression that you did not really care about the meeting. By the same token, don't use informal language when your reader expects a more formal approach. Always know the situation, and write accordingly.
9. Respond Promptly.
If you want to appear professional and courteous, make yourself available to your online correspondents. Even if your reply is, "Sorry, I'm too busy to help you now," at least your correspondent won't be waiting in vain for your reply.
10. Show Respect and Restraint
Many a flame war has been started by someone who hit "reply all" instead of "reply."
While most people know that e-mail is not private, it is good form to ask the sender before forwarding a personal message. If someone e-mails you a request, it is perfectly acceptable to forward the request to a person who can help -- but
forwarding a message in order to ridicule the sender is tacky.
Use BCC instead of CC when sending sensitive information to large groups. (For example, a professor sending a bulk message to students who are in danger of failing, or an employer telling unsuccessful applicants that a position is no longer open.) The name of everyone in the CC list goes out with the message, but the names of people on the BCC list ("blind carbon copy") are hidden. Put your own name in the "To" box if your mail editor doesn't like the blank space.
Be tolerant of other people's etiquette blunders. If you think you've been insulted, quote the line back to your sender and add a neutral comment such as, "I'm not sure how to interpret this... could you elaborate?"
Sometimes E-Mail is Too Fast!
A colleague once asked me for help, and then almost immediately sent a follow-up informing me she had solved the problem on her own.
But before reading her second message, I replied at length to the first. Once I learned that there was no need for any reply, I worried that my response would seem pompous, so I followed up with a quick apology:
"Should have paid closer attention to my e-mail."
What I meant to say was "[I] should have looked more carefully at my [list of incoming] e-mail [before replying]," but I could tell from my colleague's terse reply that she had interpreted it as if I was criticizing her.
If I hadn't responded so quickly to the first message, I would have saved myself the time I spent writing a long answer to an obsolete question. If I hadn't responded so quickly to the second message, I might not have alienated the person I had been so eager to help.
--DGJ
References & Further Reading:
Alsop, Stewart. "My Rules of Polite Digital Communication." Fortune. 142.2 (10 July 2000): p 76. Online. Academic Search Elite. 9 October 2000.
Cronin, Jennifer. "Netiquette, schmetiquette." Des Moines Business Record 16.24 (12 June 2000): p 11. Online. MasterFILE Premier. 9 October 2000.
"Email Etiquette." I Will Follow Services. 1997.. 9 October 2000.
Nucifora, Alf. "Use etiquette when messaging via email." Memphis Business Journal 21.51 (14 April 2000): p23. Online. MasterFILE Premier. 9 October 2000.
Thorton, Sam. "Rules and Regulations: Email Etiquette." 29 April 1998.. 9 October 2000.
The way you write your friends and the way you write your professor should be different. Some of the key differences are summarized here:
When writing to friends and family, it is common to use
• Emoticons ☺, :0
• Informal language
• Incomplete sentences
• Misspelling
• Incorrect grammar
• Spelling the word the way it sounds, not how the word is spelled. For example, “bizness” for “business”
• Nicknames
• A funny or profane e-mail address domains
• Lots of exclamation marks
• Ellipsis… (the little dots) between ideas instead of complete sentences
• Words in all CAPITAL LETTERS
• Reductions such “RU” instead of “are you”
When writing to professors or other professionals it is better to use
• formal language
• complete sentences
• accurate spelling
• correct grammar
• the reason for your e-mail stated concisely at the start of your message
• Formal titles
• punctuation
• a separate professional e-mail address without a funny or profane name
• days of the week and dates
Tip: edit your language and your content for any mistakes before you press send
Avoid: emoticons, writing in all capital letters, exclamation marks
Also:
If your intention was to attach a document, do remember to attach it.
Example:
From: ???superstah@gmail.org
To: cosette_taylor-mendes@umanitoba.ca
Re: important!!!!!
Hello, my last final paper is due on thursday. is there any chance to meet you?
Change to:From: kate@umanitoba.ca To: Cosette_Taylor-mendes@umanitoba.caRe: PaperHello Cosette,I have a paper due Thursday, Oct 10. Could I see you on Wednesday, Oct. 9th?I am available from 10-3pm.
Writing Effective E-Mail: Top 10 Tips
Summary: This document offers 10 tips to help you write effective professional e-mails. The informal notes you exchange with your friends don't have to meet any particular standards, of course, but if you want to be taken seriously by professionals, you should know formal e-mail etiquette.
1.Write a meaningful subject line.
2.Keep the message focused and readable.
3.Avoid attachments.
4.Identify yourself clearly.
5.Be kind -- don't flame.
6.Proofread.
7.Don't assume privacy.
8.Distinguish between formal and informal situations.
9.Respond Promptly.
10.Show Respect and Restraint
1. Write a meaningful subject line.
Recipients scan the subject line in order to decide whether to open, forward, file, or trash a message. Remember -- your message is not the only one in your recipient's mailbox.
Subject: "Important! Read Immediately!!"
What is important to you may not be important to your reader. Rather than brashly announcing that the secret contents of your message are important, write an informative headline that actually communicates at least the core of what you feel is so important: "Emergency: All Cars in the Lower Lot Will Be Towed in 1 Hour." [I have my e-mail filter set to trash e-mail messages with more than one exclamation mark in the subject line. Anyone who shouts at me is being abusive, trying to sell me something, or both. --DGJ]
Subject: "Meeting"
The purpose of this e-mail might be a routine request for a meeting, an announcement of a last-minute rescheduling, or a summary of something that has already happened. There's no way to know without opening the message, so this subject line is hardly useful.
Subject: "Follow-up about Meeting"
Fractionally better -- provided that the recipient recognizes your name and remembers why a follow-up was necessary.
Subject: "Do we need a larger room for meeting next Fri?"
Upon reading this revised, informative subject line, the recipient immediately
starts thinking about the size of the room, not about whether it will be worth it to open the e-mail.
My e-mail accounts get dozens of virus-bearing junk mails each day, often bearing a vague title such as "That file you requested," or no title at all. You'll get a faster response if your recipient can tell from the subject line that it's a real message from a real person.
2. Keep the message focused and readable.
Often recipients only read partway through a long message, hit "reply" as soon as they have something to contribute, and forget to keep reading. This is part of human nature.
If your e-mail contains multiple messages that are only loosely related, in order to avoid the risk that your reader will reply only to the first item that grabs his or her fancy, you could number your points to ensure they are all read (adding an introductory line that states how many parts there are to the message). If the points are substantial enough, split them up into separate messages so your recipient can delete, respond, file, or forward each item individually.
Keep your message readable.
-- Use standard capitalization and spelling, especially when your message asks your recipient to do work for you. If you are a teenager, writing a quick gushing "thx 4 ur help 2day ur gr8" may make a busy professional smile at your gratitude... but there comes a time when the sweetness of the gesture isn't enough. i dont think u want ur prof r ur boss 2 think u cant typ LOL ;-)
-- Skip lines between paragraphs.
-- Avoid fancy typefaces. Don't depend upon bold font or large size to add nuances -- many people's e-mail readers only display plain text. In a pinch, use asterisks to show *emphasis*.
-- Don't type in all-caps. Online, all-caps means shouting. Regardless of your intention, people will react as if you meant to be aggressive.
3. Avoid attachments.
Put your information the the body of your e-mail whenever possible. Attachments
-- are increasingly dangerous carriers of viruses
-- take time to download
-- take up needless space on your recipient's computer, and
-- don't always translate correctly (especially for people who might read their e-mail on portable devices).
Instead of sending a whole word processor file, just copy and paste the relevant
text into the e-mail (unless of course your recipient actually needs to view file in order to edit or archive it).
[I'm annoyed when people send bulk e-mails with attached pdf or Word documents that contain nothing more than a few paragraphs of ordinary text. I'd much rather get a plain text message, with a link to where I can download the full version if I want to enjoy all the colors and typefaces. Sending a 1MB attachment to hundreds or thousands of employees is a huge waste of digital resources. -- DGJ]
4. Identify yourself clearly.
When contacting someone cold, always include your name, occupation, and any other important identification information in the first few sentences.
If you are following up on a face-to-face contact, you might appear too timid if you assume your recipient doesn't remember you; but you can drop casual hints to jog their memory: "I enjoyed talking with you about PDAs in the elevator the other day."
5. Be kind. Don't flame.
To "flame" someone is to write an abusive personal attack. If you find yourself writing in anger, take a break. Take some time to cool off before you hit "send." Don't "flame" without weighing the consequences.
The "flame" is a long-established Internet tradition:
When groups of people gather, they signal status by who gets the comfy chairs, who can talk and who must listen, etc. Online communities don't provide these physical signals, so the words you use become even more important.
Flaming anyone who (intentionally or otherwise) threatens the cohesion of the group helps online communities uphold hierarchy, define membership, and forge allegiances.
But the relationship between boss and employee (or professor and student) is not primarily social. Because the power differential complicates the situation, the rules of etiquette are stricter.
If you flame your boss or your professor, that message will probably surface someday when you're up for promotion or you want a letter of recommendation.
If you flame an underling or student (especially in public), then you damage that person's trust in your leadership, and you probably won't get that person's best work in the future.
Praise in public, criticize in private. If you want to complain about someone, do it in person or by telephone, so there won't be a permanent record.
6. Proofread.
If you are asking someone else to do work for you, take the time to make your message look professional.
While your spell checker won't catch every mistake, at the very least it will catch a few typos. If you are sending a message that will be read by someone higher up on the chain of command (a superior or professor, for instance), or if you're about to mass-mail dozens or thousands of people, take an extra minute or two before you hit "send". Show a draft to a close associate, in order to see whether it actually makes sense.
7. Don't assume privacy.
Unless you are Donald Trump, praise in public, and criticize in private. Don't send anything over e-mail that you wouldn't want posted -- with your name attached -- in the break room.
E-mail is not secure. Just as random pedestrians could easily reach into your mailbox and intercept the envelopes that you send and receive through the post office, a curious hacker, a malicious criminal, or the FBI can easily intercept your e-mail. In some companies, the e-mail administrator has the ability to read any and all e-mail messages (and may fire you if you write anything inappropriate).
8. Distinguish between formal and informal situations.
When you are writing to a friend or a close colleague, it is OK to use "smilies" :-) , abbreviations (IIRC for "if I recall correctly", LOL for "laughing out loud," etc.) and nonstandard punctuation and spelling (like that found in instant messaging or chat rooms). These linguistic shortcuts are generally signs of friendly intimacy, like sharing cold pizza with a family friend. If you tried to share that same cold pizza with a first date, or a visiting dignitary, you would give off the impression that you did not really care about the meeting. By the same token, don't use informal language when your reader expects a more formal approach. Always know the situation, and write accordingly.
9. Respond Promptly.
If you want to appear professional and courteous, make yourself available to your online correspondents. Even if your reply is, "Sorry, I'm too busy to help you now," at least your correspondent won't be waiting in vain for your reply.
10. Show Respect and Restraint
Many a flame war has been started by someone who hit "reply all" instead of "reply."
While most people know that e-mail is not private, it is good form to ask the sender before forwarding a personal message. If someone e-mails you a request, it is perfectly acceptable to forward the request to a person who can help -- but
forwarding a message in order to ridicule the sender is tacky.
Use BCC instead of CC when sending sensitive information to large groups. (For example, a professor sending a bulk message to students who are in danger of failing, or an employer telling unsuccessful applicants that a position is no longer open.) The name of everyone in the CC list goes out with the message, but the names of people on the BCC list ("blind carbon copy") are hidden. Put your own name in the "To" box if your mail editor doesn't like the blank space.
Be tolerant of other people's etiquette blunders. If you think you've been insulted, quote the line back to your sender and add a neutral comment such as, "I'm not sure how to interpret this... could you elaborate?"
Sometimes E-Mail is Too Fast!
A colleague once asked me for help, and then almost immediately sent a follow-up informing me she had solved the problem on her own.
But before reading her second message, I replied at length to the first. Once I learned that there was no need for any reply, I worried that my response would seem pompous, so I followed up with a quick apology:
"Should have paid closer attention to my e-mail."
What I meant to say was "[I] should have looked more carefully at my [list of incoming] e-mail [before replying]," but I could tell from my colleague's terse reply that she had interpreted it as if I was criticizing her.
If I hadn't responded so quickly to the first message, I would have saved myself the time I spent writing a long answer to an obsolete question. If I hadn't responded so quickly to the second message, I might not have alienated the person I had been so eager to help.
--DGJ
References & Further Reading:
Alsop, Stewart. "My Rules of Polite Digital Communication." Fortune. 142.2 (10 July 2000): p 76. Online. Academic Search Elite. 9 October 2000.
Cronin, Jennifer. "Netiquette, schmetiquette." Des Moines Business Record 16.24 (12 June 2000): p 11. Online. MasterFILE Premier. 9 October 2000.
"Email Etiquette." I Will Follow Services. 1997.
Nucifora, Alf. "Use etiquette when messaging via email." Memphis Business Journal 21.51 (14 April 2000): p23. Online. MasterFILE Premier. 9 October 2000.
Thorton, Sam. "Rules and Regulations: Email Etiquette." 29 April 1998.
Top 10 Resume dos and don'ts:
Top 10 Resume dos and don'ts:
Don'ts:
Don't include too many personal details. Exclude information irrelevant to your job such as: Parents' name: Your parents have nothing to do with your job.
Family history: Employers are more interested in what you can do, not whether your father is with the government or if your sister is married.
Height, weight, blood group, and health: Not required unless you are applying to be a fitness instructor.
Nationality: Not required unless you're applying for a job abroad.
Languages known: Once again, unless it's a job requirement, it's a waste of space.
Don't write volumes about the companies where you have worked previously. While it may be good to have worked at a reputed company, a half page description of the company's activities is hardly required. Your resume should sell your skills, not your previous employer. However, do point the skills you acquired at your previous jobs.
Don't give details of more than the last three to four positions/ companies where you have worked. Omit the rest or put them in a section called "Other positions held". If you've got 15 years of experience, writing about your first job as a trainee is not required and only makes the resume long. Recruiters who often have to look through tens and hundreds of resumes may skip through your resume, which is not what you want.
Don't give a long list of job responsibilities that you were entrusted with. Give results. Instead of writing, "In charge of training of employees in computer applications", use, "Trained 35 employees to use Windows 95, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft Excel within 4 months". This will help your potential employer assess you by what you have done and is more likely to get you an interview. A long list will also make your resume excessively long. Most resumes should be a maximum of 3 pages in length.
Don't-and this is a big DON'T-create "fill-in-the-blanks" types of resume cover letters. Letters that have blanks for positions and company names like "Application for the position of _____" create the impression that you have been sending them out to plenty of companies, and can't be bothered to create a proper letter.
Don't ever write, "application for any suitable post" in your cover letter. If you can't decide where you will fit in, don't expect your potential employer to think of a position for you.
Don't photocopy resumes and send them. Get proper prints (preferably on a laser printer). It is very easy to distinguish a photocopy from an original. The minor extra expense is well worth it as an investment in your future.
Don't, for heaven's sake, type out your resume in all caps and with underlining. This is one sure way to destroy readability. For section headings, use a sans serif font in bold weight instead.
Don't mention salary information anywhere. This may put you out of the race at the application level itself. Remember that you have to get to that interview! If your expected salary is specifically asked, put it as "negotiable". Don't include a detailed salary history either.
Don't include a photograph unless specifically asked for. Passport photos have a way of turning bright, cheerful people into sulky, grumpy, stone-faced people and the recruiter may form a negative impression of you before he/ she even meets you.
Dos:
Do give your name and contact information at the very top of the page. This will get the rid of superfluous headings such as "Name" and "Contact Address". It also makes it more likely that the recruiter will remember your name.
Do focus on all your achievements in the past. Be sure to quantify everything you have done. Sentences such as "Reduced project expenditure by 20%" and "Increased sales in my region by 30% within 3 months" have more impact than merely "Overall charge of projects" and "Handled sales in region". They show that you have accomplished something instead of merely being involved in mundane activities. Employers want achievers so your resume must tell them why they should hire you.
Do put in skills that are important to the job for which you are applying. For example, If you are applying for the post of secretary, skills such as knowledge of computers, shorthand, etc. are usually required. Once again, be specific. Use sentences such as "Thorough knowledge of MS Word and Excel", "Typing speed of 60 WPM", "5 years experience as Secretary to Director" to highlight your skills. Exclude information like "School cricket captain" unless it is relevant to the position.
Do use good quality paper for your resume. Superior quality paper makes an excellent first impression and the cost hardly matters. Avoid old, yellowed paper and normal photocopying paper. Remember not to fold the resume either.
Do write a proper covering letter to go with your resume. A cover letter provides a short introduction of you, the position you're applying for, and the skills, qualifications, and experience you possess. Restrict it to half a page. Don't use cliches like "I am enclosing my resume for your kind perusal and consideration". Most recruiters will just skim over all that.
Do try and find out who will be reading your resume and then address your cover letter to them. This will give your resume a better chance of being read. If you don't know the person, call up the company, tell the person at the other end that you wish to send a job application and would like to know whom to address it to.
Do, and please follow this tip, proofread, proofread, and then proofread some more. Make sure you have a printed copy of your resume and give it a thorough and careful read. Then look at it again after a couple of hours. Once you're satisfied that there is nothing wrong, give it to a friend and ask him/ her if everything looks right. Spelling and grammar mistakes show that you can't be bothered reading your resume carefully. Some recruiters won't even call you for an interview if they find spelling mistakes. Don't create a negative impression at the beginning itself.
Do give your resume a professional look. Resumes that are typewritten or printed on a 9-pin dot matrix printer don't really work well. If you don't have access to a laser or inkjet printer, go to a DTP bureau that will do it for you. Make sure that all section headings are clearly visible and the recruiter can quickly get to the section that he/ she wants to see.
Do create your own resumes. Don't merely copy someone else's and then change the information. Resumes should be different depending upon your qualifications and experience, the nature of the position, etc. A resumes that is suitable for someone else may be totally unsuitable for you. For example, for a person with 20 years experience in Administration, skills and achievements are more important than educational qualifications. For a software engineer with limited experience, however, education and technical knowledge are definitely more important.
Do go to a professional resume service if you need help preparing a resume. By this, I don't mean your corner typist or your neighborhood DTP bureau. Resumes professionals will ask you for your qualifications, skills, experience, etc. and then create a targeted resume for you. Though they may cost more than the DTP fellow, they are usually worth it.
Don'ts:
Don't include too many personal details. Exclude information irrelevant to your job such as: Parents' name: Your parents have nothing to do with your job.
Family history: Employers are more interested in what you can do, not whether your father is with the government or if your sister is married.
Height, weight, blood group, and health: Not required unless you are applying to be a fitness instructor.
Nationality: Not required unless you're applying for a job abroad.
Languages known: Once again, unless it's a job requirement, it's a waste of space.
Don't write volumes about the companies where you have worked previously. While it may be good to have worked at a reputed company, a half page description of the company's activities is hardly required. Your resume should sell your skills, not your previous employer. However, do point the skills you acquired at your previous jobs.
Don't give details of more than the last three to four positions/ companies where you have worked. Omit the rest or put them in a section called "Other positions held". If you've got 15 years of experience, writing about your first job as a trainee is not required and only makes the resume long. Recruiters who often have to look through tens and hundreds of resumes may skip through your resume, which is not what you want.
Don't give a long list of job responsibilities that you were entrusted with. Give results. Instead of writing, "In charge of training of employees in computer applications", use, "Trained 35 employees to use Windows 95, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft Excel within 4 months". This will help your potential employer assess you by what you have done and is more likely to get you an interview. A long list will also make your resume excessively long. Most resumes should be a maximum of 3 pages in length.
Don't-and this is a big DON'T-create "fill-in-the-blanks" types of resume cover letters. Letters that have blanks for positions and company names like "Application for the position of _____" create the impression that you have been sending them out to plenty of companies, and can't be bothered to create a proper letter.
Don't ever write, "application for any suitable post" in your cover letter. If you can't decide where you will fit in, don't expect your potential employer to think of a position for you.
Don't photocopy resumes and send them. Get proper prints (preferably on a laser printer). It is very easy to distinguish a photocopy from an original. The minor extra expense is well worth it as an investment in your future.
Don't, for heaven's sake, type out your resume in all caps and with underlining. This is one sure way to destroy readability. For section headings, use a sans serif font in bold weight instead.
Don't mention salary information anywhere. This may put you out of the race at the application level itself. Remember that you have to get to that interview! If your expected salary is specifically asked, put it as "negotiable". Don't include a detailed salary history either.
Don't include a photograph unless specifically asked for. Passport photos have a way of turning bright, cheerful people into sulky, grumpy, stone-faced people and the recruiter may form a negative impression of you before he/ she even meets you.
Dos:
Do give your name and contact information at the very top of the page. This will get the rid of superfluous headings such as "Name" and "Contact Address". It also makes it more likely that the recruiter will remember your name.
Do focus on all your achievements in the past. Be sure to quantify everything you have done. Sentences such as "Reduced project expenditure by 20%" and "Increased sales in my region by 30% within 3 months" have more impact than merely "Overall charge of projects" and "Handled sales in region". They show that you have accomplished something instead of merely being involved in mundane activities. Employers want achievers so your resume must tell them why they should hire you.
Do put in skills that are important to the job for which you are applying. For example, If you are applying for the post of secretary, skills such as knowledge of computers, shorthand, etc. are usually required. Once again, be specific. Use sentences such as "Thorough knowledge of MS Word and Excel", "Typing speed of 60 WPM", "5 years experience as Secretary to Director" to highlight your skills. Exclude information like "School cricket captain" unless it is relevant to the position.
Do use good quality paper for your resume. Superior quality paper makes an excellent first impression and the cost hardly matters. Avoid old, yellowed paper and normal photocopying paper. Remember not to fold the resume either.
Do write a proper covering letter to go with your resume. A cover letter provides a short introduction of you, the position you're applying for, and the skills, qualifications, and experience you possess. Restrict it to half a page. Don't use cliches like "I am enclosing my resume for your kind perusal and consideration". Most recruiters will just skim over all that.
Do try and find out who will be reading your resume and then address your cover letter to them. This will give your resume a better chance of being read. If you don't know the person, call up the company, tell the person at the other end that you wish to send a job application and would like to know whom to address it to.
Do, and please follow this tip, proofread, proofread, and then proofread some more. Make sure you have a printed copy of your resume and give it a thorough and careful read. Then look at it again after a couple of hours. Once you're satisfied that there is nothing wrong, give it to a friend and ask him/ her if everything looks right. Spelling and grammar mistakes show that you can't be bothered reading your resume carefully. Some recruiters won't even call you for an interview if they find spelling mistakes. Don't create a negative impression at the beginning itself.
Do give your resume a professional look. Resumes that are typewritten or printed on a 9-pin dot matrix printer don't really work well. If you don't have access to a laser or inkjet printer, go to a DTP bureau that will do it for you. Make sure that all section headings are clearly visible and the recruiter can quickly get to the section that he/ she wants to see.
Do create your own resumes. Don't merely copy someone else's and then change the information. Resumes should be different depending upon your qualifications and experience, the nature of the position, etc. A resumes that is suitable for someone else may be totally unsuitable for you. For example, for a person with 20 years experience in Administration, skills and achievements are more important than educational qualifications. For a software engineer with limited experience, however, education and technical knowledge are definitely more important.
Do go to a professional resume service if you need help preparing a resume. By this, I don't mean your corner typist or your neighborhood DTP bureau. Resumes professionals will ask you for your qualifications, skills, experience, etc. and then create a targeted resume for you. Though they may cost more than the DTP fellow, they are usually worth it.
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