APPLICATION LETTERS

• Definition
They are used for introducing yourself to your potential employers, thus the
letters should be brief, clear, correct and polite. Avoid to make many mistakes on
your application letters by using the correct punctuation and coherent paragraphs
that will give them good impressions.

• Purposes
 It allows you to sell yourself by pointing out key features of your CV.
 It gives you the opportunity to include material that is not in the CV,
especially personal qualities that you listed when making your
preparations.
 It shows a prospective employer that you know how to write a letter.
While this may be of decreasing importance in an electronic age, many
employers still value it highly, both as a skill in its own right and as a test
of your ability to communicate clearly and effectively.

• What should go in it?

 The introduction: In the introduction you should detail the job you are
applying for, and, if relevant, the circumstances that have led to this (for
example an advertisement, or the recommendation of an agency).

 The body: The body of the letter provides you with an opportunity to
present yourself to the employer:
 Tell the reader about your present job and why you are looking to
move on.
 Explain why you are suitable for this job
 Emphasize the skills you have which make you particularly
suitable for the job.
 List briefly the personal qualities you would bring to it
 Answer any specific questions posed by the advert or job details
 It is important not to write too much, however. Two, or at most
three, short punchy paragraphs are much more effective than two
sides of rambling prose.

 The conclusion: The conclusion should round the letter off, leaving the
reader with a positive image. It should sum up briefly the selling points
made in the body of the letter, mention any items (including the CV, your
academic certificates, reference letters) you are enclosing, and express
willingness to provide any further information that the reader may want.

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 • Sample Cover Letter for a Technical Support / Help Desk Position

Dear Mr./Ms. Last Name,

I am writing to you because I believe my training, experience, and proven ability as a

Tier One Technical Support Specialist and Help Desk Technician will allow me to
significantly contribute to your company's IT division.

In reviewing the attached resume, you will note that I have acquired valuable experience
in all facets of troubleshooting, installations, and maintenance for various desktop
operations, hardware, and software. I possess a unique talent for delivering highly
complex technical information into terms and concepts that the end users can readily
grasp. Furthermore, I am multi-task oriented, enjoy a challenge, and continually stay
abreast of the latest advancements in the IT field.

If you are seeking an IT professional who has excellent people and problem solving skills
and can easily provide optimum support to your MIS operations, then please consider
what I have to offer.

I believe it would be mutually beneficial for us to meet and discuss the goals of your
company and how my technical abilities can help you achieve those goals. I will call your
office in a few days to inquire about the possibility of a meeting.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Sample Email Cover Letter With Resume Included

Subject Line of Email Message: Store Manager Position

Email Message:

Dear Hiring Manager,

I read your job posting for the Store Manager position with interest. I can offer XYZ
Company:

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- Over five years of retail management experience, including experience opening a new
store location

- Ability to effectively hire, train, and manage staff

- Payroll management, scheduling, reports, and inventory

- Extensive work with visual standards and merchandising high-ticket items

In addition to my extensive retail experience, I have excellent communication skills. I

always maintain a gracious and professional manner when communicating with people,
including customers and store staff. My broad experience and range of skills make me a
superior candidate for this position.

My resume, which is below, provides additional information on my background and

qualifications. I look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible to arrange time for
an interview.

Thank you for your consideration.

Paul Jones
Email Address

========

Paul Jones Resume

Paul Jones
6 Pine Street
Arlington, VA 12333
555.555.5555 (home)
566.486.2222 (cell)
phjones@vacapp.com

Experience

Assistant Manager
Montblanc
April 2000 – Present
- Opened new specialty boutique
- Placed orders to restock merchandise and handled receiving of products
- Managed payroll, scheduling, reports, email, inventory, and maintained clientele book
and records
- Integrated new register functions
- Extensive work with visual standards and merchandising high-ticket items

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Sales Associate
Nordstrom, Collectors and Couture Departments
July 1998 – April 2000
- Merchandised designer women’s wear
- Set-up trunk shows and attended clinics for new incoming fashion lines
- Worked with tailors and seamstresses for fittings
- Scheduled private shopping appointments with high-end customers

Bartender
Jigg's Corner
February 1996 – July 1998
- Provide customer service in fast-paced bar atmosphere
- Maintain and restock inventory
- Administrative responsibilities include processing hour and tip information for payroll
and closing register

Education
- Ramapo College, Arlington, Virginia

Computer Skills
- Proficient with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, QuickBooks, and Internet

========

SAMPLE COVERING LETTER FOR PROGRAMMAR POSITION

December 2, 2009

Mrs. Wendy Hall

Human Resources Manager
12 Arkansas Street
(123) 888-8888

Dear Mrs. Hall,

I would like to present myself in the position for the programmer position which you
have advertised in ABC newspaper. My working experience in ZZZ Company for 5years
has given me a wide range of skills.

Enclosed with this is my job application, my resume and my three references. I have
excellent computer skills and I can communicate well in English medium. I am very
much willing to undergo training if your company requires it.

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The job opportunity offered perfectly suits my abilities and I believe that I am qualified to
be a competitive candidate for this position.

I can be reached anytime in my email at apple123@email.com or in my cell phone

09102222222.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I hope I could hear from you soon.

Very truly,

(Your signature)

• Resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV)?

The primary differences are the length, the content and the purpose. A resume is a one
or two page summary of your skills, experience and education. A goal of resume writing
is to be brief and concise since, at best, the resume reader will spend a minute or so
reviewing your qualifications.

A Curriculum Vitae, commonly referred to as CV, is a longer (two or more pages), more
detailed synopsis. It includes a summary of your educational and academic backgrounds
as well as teaching and research experience, publications, presentations, awards, honors,
affiliations and other details.

When to Use a CV

In the United States a Curriculum Vitae is used primarily when applying for international,
academic, education, scientific or research positions or when applying for fellowships or
grants. As with a resume, you may need different versions of a CV for different type of
positions.

What to Include in Your CV

Like a resume, your CV should include your name, contact information, education, skills
and experience. In addition to the basics, a CV includes research and teaching
experience, publications, grants and fellowships, professional associations and licenses,
awards and other information relevant to the position you are applying for. Start by
making a list of all your background information, then organize it into categories. Make
sure you include dates on all the publications you include.

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How to Write a Curriculum Vitae

Do you need help writing a curriculum vitae? Before you start, review these tips so you
can include the appropriate information in your curriculum vitae (CV) and format your
curriculum vitae correctly. Remember, the first impression is the one that matters, so,
your CV needs to be perfect!

Sample International Curriculum Vitae

Fahd El Zoghat

American University of Beirut · P. O .Box 11-0236/1533, Beirut, Lebanon. · Tel 1:

00961-1-323365 (Beirut)
· Tel 2: 0096311-6820300 (Damascus) · e-mail: abc@aub.edu.lb

Objective: To secure a promising position that offers both a challenge and a good
opportunity for growth.

Personal Data:
Date of Birth: March 26, 1975
Place of Birth: Qatana, Syria
Nationality: Syrian & Lebanese
Marital Status: Single Male

Education:
Bachelor of Science in Electronics Engineering, Concentration of Telecommunication
Engineering (2000), Damascus University. Damascus, Syria.
Note: Ranked second among the graduates of the academic year 1999 -2000.

Master of Engineering, Computer and Communications Engineering (CCE). Thesis in

Digital Image Processing. Date of graduation: June 2004, American University of Beirut
A.U.B. Beirut, Lebanon.

Related Skills:

Hardware: Z80 Microprocessor, Intel 8085 Microprocessor, Analog Design, Digital

Design, RF Design, Digital signal processing, Digital image processing.

Design Tools: Function generator, oscilloscope, Digital voltmeters, and logic analyzer.

Computer:
Operating System: MSDOS, Microsoft Windows, Windows NT.
Design: PSPICE, MATLAB, and MATHEMATICA
Programming Language: FORTRAN, PASCAL, Assembly
General: Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Visio Technical

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Language:
Fluent in Arabic and English.

Undergraduate Projects:

Function generator design: Generating sinusoidal, triangular and rectangular small signals
using digital techniques.

Ultrasonic guiding device for the Blind: The device used ultrasonic transmitters and
receivers aided with the 8031 Intel processor to perform a desired algorithm. The
program was written in assembly language and stored in an external EPROM chip. The
project provided a clear path for the user by producing an audible signal.

Graduate Projects:

Digital signal processing: Musical sound processing: Designing filters and doing all the
needed simulations using MATLAB to see the frequency response, gain response and the
pole-zero plot of these filters. The aim of this project is to design filters able to generate
single echo, multiple echoes or infinite number of echoes for the original direct sound
(input of the filter). The project included also all the needed simulations for designing
comb filters, teeth filters, first order filters and shelving filters, second order filters and
equalizers and high order equalizers.

Digital Image Processing: Designed an algorithm to trace the boundary of an object in a

digital image, using MATLAB and then displaying the contour.

Thesis: Boundary Extraction Methods for Segmentation, Representation and Description

in Digital Image Processing. The research concentrated on showing the advantages of the
four-neighbor connectivity approach, which is used to trace the contour of objects, over
the eight-neighbor connectivity approach in terms of the chain code's efficiency and the
compression ratio that can be achieved. Another boundary extraction method using
morphological operations was developed in the research.

Experience:Graduate Assistant American University of Beirut Beirut,

Lebanon 2003 - 2004

· Assisted a professor in the computer simulation of digital circuits (RC Integrators) using
both PSPICE and MATLAB.

· Assisted an instructor in the area of electromagnetic fields and radar systems.

· Worked as an instructor in the Microprocessor Lab: Duties included teaching the

students, correcting their reports and assisting in the assembly of electronic circuits.

· Programmed microprocessors based on the Z80 and the Intel 8085 using Assembly

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language.
Worked as an instructor in the physics dept/AUB (Electricity and Magnetism Lab.)
Working as a research assistant with a professor in the area of digital image processing:
The work includes investigating the properties of a new edge detecting technique with a
smoothing effect.
Teaching American University of Beirut Beirut, Lebanon 2002 - 2003
Worked as an instructor in the physics dept/AUB (Electricity and Magnetism Lab.)
Worked as an instructor in the physics dept/AUB (Electronics Lab.)
Hardware/Software Engineer Allied System Group Beirut, Lebanon 2000 - 2002
Duties included the installation and maintenance of software and hardware related
products.
Maintenance engineer Arabic Computer Center Damascus, Syria. 1999 - 2000
Provided computer related hardware/software maintenance and support to employees
throughout the company.

Sample Resume

Thomas Crown

Objective: Seeking an International Sales Management position in Information

Technology where my extensive sales experience will be used to the full

Experience: 2003-present Intelel Inc. London, UK

National Sales Manager

• Increased sales from £60 million to £100 million.

• Implemented Internet sales grossing £25 million.
• Doubled sales per representative from £5 to £10 million.

2001-2003 Teletrona Systems Edinburgh, UK

Northern Sales Manager

• Increased regional sales from £95m to £200m.

• Suggested new services adding £35m to revenue.
• Expanded sales team from 30 to 60 representatives.

1999-2000 ESS Holdings Cambridge, UK

Senior Sales Representative

• Increased sales by 300% annually.

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 • Closed deals with 100 major new accounts.
• Won over 25 competitor clients - adding £50 million to revenue.

1996-99 ESS Holdings Cambridge, UK

Sales Representative

• Increased sales by 300% annually.

• Awarded company's top sales award each year.
• Developed 'Winning Presentations' training course.

Education: 1992-96 London University London, UK

• BA, Business Administration & Information Systems

• Captain of University Rugby Club

1988-92 St Andrew's School Plymouth, UK

• 4 GCE 'A' Levels

• President of school's Drama Society

Interests: St Andrew's Board of Governors, rugby, drama, chess

17 King's Terrace, Richmond, Surrey, UK

Tel: +44 181 123 456 Email: tc@repu.co.un

Exercise 1.

Write an application letter or cover letter ( any format letters) and CV based
on your major and send to a company that advertised a job vacancy on
Newspaper (Kompas) or Online job vacancy. Then , send them to my email :
nvk3f@yahoo.com