写英文求职信时易犯的28个错误
28 Common Letter Writing Mistakes
导读:一封糟糕的求职信会断送你的前程。下面是在写信时应力图避免的错误,不要认为它们太简单!
1. Addressing letters, "Dear Sir:" or "Dear Sirs:" As you know, many readers today are women. If gender is unclear, the salutation should be something like "Dear Hiring Manager," or "Dear Human Resources Manager."
2. Addressing letters, "To whom it may concern." Find out who will receive the correspondence, and address it personally. We received a letter addressed to "Dear Whomever," to which one consultant replied, "I'll answer to anything but this!"
3. Enclosing a photo. Skip the photo unless you're a model or an aspiring actor.
4. Handwriting or typing over an old resume or letterhead. If you've moved, start over. Changes on old documents aren't acceptable.
5. No signature. Even if you type your name at the end of correspondence, you should sign the page in your own handwriting to give it a personal touch.
6. Spelling errors. One applicant said he was well suited for "writting and editing chores... contac t (sic) me at the adrwss (sic) below." Would you give him your editing work? Another writer said she would enjoy "hearing form (sic) us." Word processing spell checkers make mistakes; so proof everything.
7. Not checking grammar. One person wrote, "It sounds exciting and give me (sic) the opportunity to use my skills." Check your letters for correct sentence structure. Have friends review them too.
8. Handwriting letters. Brief 30-word thank you notes can be handwritten, if legible. All other correspondence should be typewritten or word processed, even if you have to borrow a word processor or pay a secretarial service. Handwritten letters don't say "business."
9. Using a Post-It Brand Note(随意贴便条) as a letter. Post-It Brand Notes aren't letters. Using one says, "This isn't important. I was too busy to write a real letter."
10. Using the word "I" too much. Some letters are filled with 20 or 30 I's. Make sure yours aren't. Advertising is about "you." Emphasize "you" rather than "I."
11. FAXing letters unexpectedly.
12. Forgetting to include your phone number. One woman wrote, "Please call me at home," but didn't include a phone number. That looked bad.
13. Cluttered desktop publishing. With the advent of PCs, some job seekers feel the urge to "be creative" using various type sizes and fonts. Avoid this in business correspondence. Except in rare cases, business letters should look conservative. If you want to be creative, do so in your choice of words. Save Microsoft Publisher and Corel Draw for your Christmas cards.
14. Using a post office box as an address. Except in rare cases, such as conducting a confidential job search, use a street address. Post office boxes seem "transient."15. Oddball phrasing, such as "an opportunity to expand my strengths and delete my weaknesses... " Or, "You may feel that I'm a tad overqualified." Or, "Enclosed herewith please find my resume." Do you talk that way? You should write the way you talk. Avoid bad phrasing by having others critique your letters.
16. Typos, like "thankyou for your assistance."
17. Mailing form letters. Some letters contain "fill in the blanks." Generic forms don't work well.
18. Not saying enough. One want ad letter read, "Please accept my enclosed resume for the position of Executive Director. Thank you." That's too short. A letter is an opportunity to sell. So say something about yourself.
19. Ending with "Thank you for your consideration." EVERYONE ends their letters this way, so please don't. Try something different, like "I'm excited about talking further," or "I know I could do a good job for you." The same goes for "Sincerely," and "Sincerely yours." EVERYONE uses them. Find something different like "Good wishes," "With best regards," or "With great enthusiasm."
20. WRITING IN ALL CAPS. IT'S HARD TO READ. DON'T DO IT.
21. Abbreviating Cir., Ave., Dec., and all other words. Take time to spell words out. It looks so much better.
22. Forgetting to enclose your resume. If you say you're enclosing one, then do.
23. Justifying right margins. When you "justify right," you create large gaps between words inside your sentences.
24. Forgetting the date and/or salutation.
25. Using dot matrix printers. Most are hard to read and they make you look like an engineer. Whenever possible, use a laser printer, even if you have to borrow one.
26. Talking nonsense. "I work in instilling proper conduits for mainstream educational connections while also encouraging individual creative forms." What? Run that one by me again.
27. Forgetting to put the letter in the envelope. (I received an empty FedEx package yesterday.)
28. The 300-word paragraph. The worst mistake in marketing is writing too long. Limit sentences to seven or eight words, and limit paragraphs to four or five lines. In letter writing, short is usually better. I try to limit my own letters to one page, seldom two. I believe if I can't say it well in one page, I probably can't say it well at all.
29. Bonus tip from Laurie Schell. In an e-mail to me she said, "I thought you may want to add a number 29. As a manager my boyfriend reads a lot of cover letters and complains when he receives them with really small font. Even a regular size font is hard to read if he has forgotten his glasses that day, and so small-font letters are immediately dismissed."
-
自荐信细节技巧七条
一份好的自荐信才可以引起人事经理的注意力,虽然自荐信没有固定的格式,但是一些细节是一定要注意的。一、姓名、通讯地址、联系电话、电子邮件、网址占据求职信顶端的中间或靠边。注意:每条信息之间分隔清晰,网址独立成行;为便于扫描,每条信息独立成行最好。二、日期...
-
2013届应届生本科生求职信
您好!感谢您在百忙之中审阅我的自荐书,这对一个即将迈出校门的学子而言,将是一份莫大的鼓励。相信您在给予我一个机会的同时,您也多一份选择!即将走向社会的我怀着一颗热忱的心,诚挚地向您推荐自己!我叫***,是XXX大学2013届即将毕业的一名本科生,我怀着一颗赤诚的心和...
-
外企求职信的特点及写作
求职信是自我描绘的立体画像,是求职的第一阶段,其目的同个人简历一样,主要是引起招聘者的注意争取面试机会,但同个人简历又略有不同,求职信是针对特定的个人而写,而简历的写作却是针对特定的工作岗位,求职信可以说是对简历的补充和概述。求职信一般由三部分组成:开头、...
-
大学生求职信要“三忌三要三突出”
求职信是打开求职大门的“金钥匙”。10日,在此间召开的中国就业市长论坛上,劳动和社会保障部提醒广大求职者,写好求职信要做到“三忌”“三要”和“三突出”。所谓“三忌”,即一忌高枕无忧,以为自己有技术、有经验、有文凭,就拥有了求职成功的全部资本,过分地坚信自己...