Jeff Bartosh
Chapter 12 [email protected]
972/953-8640
To: Debbie Williams
From: Jeff Bartosh
Date: Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Re: Chapter 12 Summary
This memo is a brief synopsis of Chapter 12 Writing Job Application Letters, in Business and
Administrative Communication.
A Short Overview
Throughout this memo you will receive a short summary of the construction and context of job
application letters, or as some call them cover letters, and how they differ from resumes yet are
essential to receiving that first interview everyone is seeking for.
The Summary
This chapter brings together two other major fields studied within most college campuses,
psychology and communication, and ties it into most everyday business mistakes college
students and inexperienced, unemployed workers face while searching for that dream job. Not
only are these certain issues overlooked but many are ignorant these exist.
First, many people are solely focused on the resume, which is important, they forget that
a quick few word summary of their experience on a paper will not suffice in today’s competitive
job market. A resume, of course, is a big chunk of the opportunity you receive to impress those
that matter. However, taking it a step farther by breaking down the main focuses of your resume
into a detailed “letter” formatted with 3 well-organized paragraphs will give you a much bigger
step in front of the pack. A few things to consider is that your resume is only one page in which
you will get to comprise and squeeze all of your accomplishes on, with as much detail while
keeping it as concise and effective for the viewer to be interested. Now if you took the time to
prepare a one page job application so that the reader can see the outline of your experience,
resume, and then understand the essential information and how your experience can help his/her
company, cover letter, you will have already given him an insight into how your first interview
would go. But, make sure you do not reuse the same job application letter like a “generic letter”
for multiple firms. There is a saying, “choose quality over quantity any day”, the same idea goes
for cover letters. It is a little more work than tweaking a resume, but the outcome will be worth
the effort.
