Reviewer (Business Letter and Resume)

Business Letter- is a professional, formal document that is sent by one company to another. These letters can
be used for professional correspondence between clients, employees, stakeholders as well as individuals.

Parts of a Business Letter

Step 1: Sender’s Information/Heading

If you want a reply, you need to understand how to address a business letter properly.

In this section, you’ve to write your address, contact number, and email address.

Many people include their full name at the top too. However, others think that it’s unnecessary because you are going to
sign the letter with your name anyway.

Step 2: Date
Rather than abbreviating with numbers, write the entire date.

When you’re writing to American companies, use the American date format i.e, put the month before the day.
Example: October 20, 2016

Write the date before the month if you’re sending a letter in the U.K. or Australia.
Example: 20 October 2016

Step 3: Recipient’s Address/Inside Address

This is the address where your letter will be delivered.

Write the recipient’s name, their title (Ms./Mrs./Mr./Dr), and their address. Make sure you’re as specific as
possible so that it reaches the right destination.

If you don’t know the person’s name, a little research won’t harm you! Call the company or speak to the
employees of the company to find out the name.

Example:

Mr. Mike Brown

Executive Director
XYZ, Inc.
602 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90038

Tips:
In case you’re unsure about a woman’s preference in being addressed, use ‘Ms’.
If you think that your recipient uses ‘Dr’ or has some other title, use that. (Usually, people don’t mind being
addressed by a higher title than they actually possess, but they don’t wanna be addressed by a lower one.)

Step 4: The Salutation

A salutation isn’t just a simple greeting, it’s an indicator of respect. You can choose the salutation based on how
well you know the person and the context of your letter.

If you know the person you’re sending the letter to, and you mostly address them with their first name, it’s okay to
use their first name in the salutation. (For example, Dear Mike)

However, there are exceptions to this case too.

Let’s take an example.

The dean at XYZ college might be your uncle, but if you’re writing to him regarding an official matter, it would be
best if you use the salutation “Dean (Last Name)” or “Dr. (Last Name)” because there’s a chance that other
people handle his letters and emails.

If you don’t know someone, always use the personal title and their last name.

If you are not sure of someone’s gender, you can use their full name. (For example, Dear Taylor Brown)

If you don’t know specifically whom you’re sending the letter to, use “to whom it may concern.”
Whatever the situation is, make sure that you end the salutation with a colon. (Not a comma!)

Step 5: The Body

This is the most important part of your letter. The body should contain a few (mostly three) concise paragraphs,
each with a clear purpose.
If you want your reader to get the best possible impression, keep your message crystal-clear.
In the opening paragraph, introduce yourself and clarify the point of your letter. You can also mention mutual
connections here, in case the recipient doesn’t know who you are.

You can write “I am writing to you regarding…” as the opening line.

In the next paragraph, go into the details of your main point.

In the closing paragraph, briefly summarize your points, restate the letter’s purpose and tell your planned course
of action.

Tip: Try to avoid lengthy, meandering sentences and just get straight to the point.

Step 6: Closing
Here, you’ll mention that the recipient can contact you or your team if he has any concerns or questions. You can
also thank him or her for reading the letter.

Make sure that the closing isn’t more than two sentences long!

For instance, you can write:

Kindly email me at (your email) to schedule a meeting. Thank you!

If you have any queries, don’t hesitate to call me at (your contact number).

Step 7: Complimentary Closing

This is a short remark that marks the end of your letter. You’ve got a lot of options here but choose the one that
reflects the formality of your relationship.

Recommended formal closings include “Yours Truly” or “Respectfully” or “Sincerely”.

If your letter is less formal, you can write “All the best” or “Thank you” or “Regards” or “Best”.

Regardless of what you choose, add a comma to the end of it.

Step 8: Signature
Below the complimentary close, sign the letter.

Make sure that you skip at least four lines so that there’s enough room for your signature. After that, type out the
name that has to be signed.

You can include your job title below your full name too.

Here’s the format:

Your signature
Typed full name
Title

Step 9: Enclosures (If applicable)

If you plan to send anything along with your business letter, you can indicate this simply by writing Enclosures
after the signature.

Consider it the print version of “please find attached” for emails.

If you have included many documents, make a list that tells the recipient what he needs to look for in the
envelope.

For example:

Enclosures (5): 2 Brochures & 3 Flyers

Different style/format of a business letter (for a clear copy of the pictures below, you may go to the link
provided above)

Resume
A resume is a document that you send to a prospective employer (usually before an interview). It provided a
summary of your background including your education, work history, and other qualifications for a job, admission
to a college or university, or a scholarship grant.

Parts of a Resume: 5 Key Resume Components

The five most important parts of a resume are your contact information, resume introduction, experience, skills,
and education. This standard outline is appropriate for nearly any job seeker.

1. Contact Information
Your contact information belongs at the top of your resume in your resume header, and should help hiring
managers quickly understand who you are and how to reach you.

Your contact information includes your:

First and last name

Email
Phone number
Mailing address (optional)
LinkedIn (optional)

2. Resume Introduction
Your resume introduction is your elevator pitch. This resume component is a short section at the top of your
resume that summarizes your key qualifications and tells the hiring manager how your goals align with theirs.

There are four types of resume introductions:

resume summary
resume objective
resume profile
summary of qualifications

A resume summary is a short section at the top of your resume that highlights your professional strengths. It
allows hiring managers to quickly see if you’re right for the job before they read your entire resume.

Example:
Customer Service Resume Summary
Customer service representative with 5+ years of experience in a call center setting, including sales, tech support,
and customer care. Received an average 85% customer satisfaction rating to date, while handling 90+ calls daily.
70 WPM typist.

Simply defined, a resume objective is a three sentence self-introduction and statement of purpose placed at the
top of a resume.

A general resume objective can be broken down into these sentences:

First sentence: Mentions number of years of work experience in chosen industry, and the types of duties you filled

Second sentence: Mention the qualities that make you a strong candidate for a SPECIFIC job role — ensure that
they are RELEVANT to the job you’re applying for

Third sentence: Note what kind of degree you hold, and any relevant licenses or certificates you’ve earned.

What is a Professional Profile?

A professional profile is a powerful resume introduction that gives hiring managers a detailed look at your job-
related skills and expertise.

It is often referred to as a resume profile (the two terms are synonymous), and depending on your preference can
be written in paragraph form or as a list of bullet points.

A summary of qualifications comprises four to six bullet points that highlight an applicant’s crowning work
achievements, skills, and experiences.

Executive Secretary Qualifications Summary Example

EXECUTIVE SECRETARY | EFFICIENT – ORGANIZED – ATTENTIVE

 Managed 4 employees in an executive office, maintaining an atmosphere of exactness, efficiency, and attention to
detail
Designed and implemented efficiency programs aimed at streamlining direct office services, saving $150,000 per
year in labor costs

3. Work Experience
Work experience is one of the most essential parts of a resume, and typically makes up the bulk of its content.
Your experience section should include the following information for each entry:
Employer or company name
Location (city and state)
Dates employed
3-5 bullet points describing your responsibilities and accomplishments

4. Skills

The skills section of your resume is an important part of your application, regardless of how much experience you
have. To write a strong skills section, list your most marketable abilities and include a mix of both hard skills and
soft skills to show employers that you’re a dynamic candidate.

Hard skills are technical knowledge or training that you have gained through any life experience, including in your
career or education.
For example:
If you’ve worked in food service or retail, you may know how to use a point-of-sale system.
If you've taken an accounting class, you may know how to use Microsoft Excel.
If you’ve studied a foreign language, you may be able to speak it fluently.

Every job will require certain technical skills specific to that industry. If you want to work as an architect, for
example, you will need to know how to use drafting software.

Some of the most in-demand hard skills include:

 Bilingual or multilingual
 Database management
 Adobe software suite
 Network security
 SEO/SEM marketing
 Statistical analysis
 Data mining
 Mobile development
 User interface design
 Marketing campaign management
 Storage systems and management
 Programming languages (such as Perl, Python, Java, and Ruby)

Soft skills are personal habits and traits that shape how you work, on your own and with others. Effective
communication, for example, is a key soft skill many employers seek. Some others include dependability, effective
teamwork and active listening.

Some of the most in-demand soft skills include:

 Integrity
 Dependability
 Effective communication
 Open-mindedness
 Teamwork
 Creativity
 Problem-solving
 Critical thinking
 Adaptability
 Organization
 Willingness to learn
 Empathy

5. Education
The level of detail added to your resume education section can vary based on how much work experience you
have and your level of education.

Ultimately, any strong education section includes your:

School name
School location
Degree
Graduation year

Types of Resume

1. Chronological Resume

A chronological resume lists your work history in order of date, with the most recent position at the top. It might
include a resume objective or career summary before the list of work experiences.

2. Functional Resume

A functional resume showcases an applicant's skills. It may start with a summary of qualifications followed by a
list of a candidate's skills and examples of using those skills.

3. Combination Resume

A combination resume lists your skills and qualifications first. Your employment history is listed next, in reverse
chronological order (beginning with your current or most recent job and then working back through earlier
positions).