Tips Archives - Page 3 of 8

Tips for Writing a Cover Letter for a Teaching Position

The teaching profession is a very competitive one and when applying for a new teaching post either as an experienced teacher or as a newly qualified teacher, making the right impression from the outset is vital. And the first impression, when applying for a teaching post, is made by the cover letter.

Many teaching posts require applicants to write long, in-depth personal statements to support their CV or application. However, where this type of statement is not specifically requested then a more standard cover letter should be written.

A top tip for writing a cover letter is to split the letter into three paragraphs. The first should be a short summary of the purpose of your letter and any enclosed attachments. This does not have to be complicated, simply a sentence to detail the exact post you’re applying for, perhaps where you saw the job advertised, and then what the rest of your letter will be aiming to do.

As an example;

I am writing to apply for the position of Year 2 Teacher, as advertised in the Primary School News. I am very keen to become part of your school community and I hope that my enclosed CV will demonstrate that I have the appropriate skills and experience to fulfill this role successfully.

Paragraph two should be the bulk of the letter and should aim to demonstrate how the vision and ethos of the school, and the requirements of the job specification and/or person specification, align with your aims and experiences. You should therefore write one or two sentences which demonstrate that you have knowledge of the school and its values, and then pull out a few significant points from your CV to illustrate how you would be suited to that post and to the school.

The final paragraph is simply a section where you can sign off and clearly point the reader to the ways in which you can be contacted, either by email, telephone or post. These details should be provided at the top of your letter, in the right hand corner. Always remember to provide as many different contact routes as possible. Your final paragraph can also allow you to reiterate once again how passionate you are about that specific role and/or school.

Once your letter is written, be sure to check the contents for spelling mistakes and grammar errors, as a teacher who can’t spell, or indeed, can’t ‘correct’ their own work, will not stand up well against the competition. Finally, format your letter to ensure that it does not exceed more than one page of A4; this can be achieved by decreasing the page margins, decreasing the font size and adjusting the paragraph spacing; always remember that for ease of reading, the font size should never fall below 11pt.

Your perfect cover letter is now ready to be submitted, and you should be on the way to securing your dream teaching post.

Cover Letter Tips

Cover Letter Tips Can Provide Valuable Pointers to Enhance Cover Letter Writing

In the case of a cover letter for a resume or a CV, then it is directed to the prospective employer that is looking to recruit the most suitable person to do carry out certain duties and assume certain responsibilities. This will be a crucial element in the employment application kit that represent the candidate. Therefore, an effective cover letter should convey a clear and accurate image of the applicant to the prospective employer. Writing a cover letter for even the most coveted and high profile job is not a difficult task, if the correct methods are applied. Therefore, it is essential to know few key cover letter tips that can enhance the quality of a cover letter.

1. It should be original and not copied. This is very important as it is something that most applicants do. It will be more effective if it was thought out and written by the applicant. The letter must be targeted and highlight the strengths and skills of the applicant.

2. Keep to the facts. It is not required to go in to great lengths when writing a cover letter. Ideally it should be limited to one page. It should be kept in mind that the person reading it has many other important works to attend to. Therefore, keeping it short and accurate will enable the reader to assimilate the key points. The main point to highlight is the fact that the applicant meets the job requirements specified.

3. If asked to specify the salary expectations it is better if a range is provided and not the amount expected. Unless specifically prompted, do not include this item within your letter as it is against the recruiting etiquette for an applicant to talk about remunerations prior to establishing whether he or she has the skills to meet the job requirements. .

4. Write in a positive manner. Be clear and concise. It will not be necessary to write about why the applicant has been unemployed for a while. Be confident in how it is being written, this will show the applicant’s personality to the reader.

5. Another important tip is that the stationary used to write the CL should be white with a matching white envelope, which should be crisp and the quality should be up to standard. No fancy fonts should be used in typing this sort of formal letters. Use black ink and not colors and will be more professional if printed on a laser printer.

6. It is recommended to always request for an interview.

7. Proofread the document. If a CL is free of errors of any kind, be it grammatical or spelling, it proves that the applicant is thorough, and this will reflect well on the applicant

8. Always keep copies of whatever is sent.

Apply these tips to enhance your writing skills. However, we understand that an effective cover letter will bring you that much closer to getting the job you want.

Resume Writing – 12 Tips

A resume is like a short story that grabs the reader and keeps him or her engaged. This article presents 12 sure-fire tips that have benefited hundreds (college students, clients, colleagues, family, and friends) regardless of the career field or level. They’re certain to help you too.

12 Tips

· (Tip – 1) Prepare a brief profile

Start strong with a brief profile not an objective. Listing an objective is a thing of the past. What should your profile contain? Two or three short snappy phrases that summarize your experience, skills, and personality traits. Regarding the latter, avoid writing a laundry list.

So, what three words best describe you? Your dominant personality traits surface in your professional and personal life. In other words, wherever you go you’re there.

· (Tip – 2) Don’t sound like your job description.

Do not turn your resume into a document that reads like a boring job description. Instead, discuss accomplishments. How did you make a difference? What skills or unique abilities were utilized to make things better. Pick one or two accomplishments from your current position. Provide a brief summary.

· (Tip – 3) Select the right format.

All in all, two types of resume formats exist- chronological and functional. While the former begins with your most current position and works backward, the latter builds the resume around your dominant skills.

· (Tip – 4) Include special training/professional development.

For more than a few years, I advised a friend to include a professional development section on her resume. Why? Employers like to see what you’ve been doing since graduating from college. As a result of working in the corporate arena, she racked up a lot of training. Well, to make a long story short, it made her standout and receive even better offers.

· (Tip – 5) List education and credentials last.

You are not selling your education; degrees are a dime a dozen. You are promoting your unique skills that help potential employers solve problems. Hence, list your credentials last, not first.

· (Tip – 6) Determine the appropriate length.

A recent college graduate, high school student, or person entering the workforce for the first time will not have as nearly much to say as someone more experienced.

· (Tip – 7) Omit references.

Create a special file for references. By the way, your references should be people who know you in a professional capacity. And, make sure each person has good written and verbal communication skills.

· (Tip – 8) Create a tagline.

Imagine this. You work in human resources as a recruiter. Every day you receive tons of resumes when you open your email; no one stands out because the subject lines say things like Resume or the resume of. Be creative! Use a tagline. When you save the document, use the tagline not your name.

· (Tip – 9) Always send a cover letter.

The letter should state what you’re applying for, how you can contribute, and most important, it should refer the reader to the resume. Cut and paste or copy the letter into the body of your email.

· (Tip – 10) Use present tense.

Instead of writing in the past tense, use the present. It adds punch and lets a potential employer know that you still make a positive impact.

· (Tip – 11) Be creative.

Why not include a testimonial? Select a comment or two from a performance review.

· (Tip – 12) Develop a resume website.

If you really want to standout, develop a professional resume website. It’s free and a template is provided. Checkout Wix.

11 Tips to an Organized Job Search

So, you are searching for a new job? Perhaps you are making a voluntary career transition. Maybe you have been laid off, or worse, fired. Regardless of the reason for your career move, one fact remains true: if you are conducting a job search, it is vital that you take an organized approach. Managing this search is just like managing any other major project. You must create an infrastructure that allows you to operate in an efficient and productive manner. A successful job search requires forethought and action. Here are some tips for conducting an organized job search.

Declutter and Pre-Purge – If you are looking for a new job, it will be difficult to do so if your physical space is covered in clutter with piles of papers everywhere. Take some time to declutter. Purge any unnecessary items, file papers that you need to keep, recycle junk mail, and get some order back into that space! It will be easier for you to concentrate on your job search without all of that chaos and clutter around you. Just be careful that you don’t spend too much time decluttering that you start using it as an excuse to procrastinate with regard to your job exploration. A few days should suffice.

Create a Job Search Schedule – Let’s face it – searching for a job is hard work! If you are still employed while you are looking for a new position, be prepared to have an extremely busy schedule. If you are currently unemployed, realize that you do, indeed, have a job – conducting a job search! Create a schedule that gives you ample time for all of the activities you need to focus on in order to succeed: resume and cover letter preparation, surfing the web for jobs, networking, interviewing, follow-up, etc. Block out time in your calendar for job search activities and treat that time as you would any traditional work commitment. Be consistent in the amount of time you spend each day and week on new job activities so that you keep your momentum going, and don’t lose focus and miss valuable opportunities.

Get Your Gear in Order – Update your resume, cover letter, references, and writing sample (if applicable). Ask for letters of recommendation and testimonials from previous or current supervisors, co-workers, and professional colleagues. Get some nice new stationery, and stock up on print cartridges for your printer. If you want to use an outside source for printing, some local printing shops will copy resumes for free during an economic downturn, so ask around! Be sure to have a computer with high-speed Internet access. An all-in-one machine for printing, copying, faxing and scanning will also come in handy during a career move.

Create Job Search Central – Set aside space at home (or wherever you will be conducting your search activities) and make it job search central. Keep all of your job-search related supplies in that location, which will make it easy for you to find them when you need them. This will also help you to get into search mode when you are in that space.

Create a Career Move Paper Management System – You may be acquiring a lot of paper in your search: resources, articles, sample resumes and cover letters, business cards of networking contacts, contact-us-later or rejection letters, etc. To the extent that you can maintain these items in a paperless fashion, go for it. But if you have to maintain hard copy paper, be sure to create a job search paper management or filing system, to be stored in your job search center. Keep it simple and use whatever system makes the most sense to you for ease of use (binder, portable filing bin, traditional filing cabinet, etc).

Plan Job Search Activities – Plan out job search activities on a daily basis, such as phone calls to make, resumes to send, online applications to fill out, informational interviews to conduct, etc. Write down your search activities as calendar items, to-do’s, or tasks so that you take them seriously and treat them as measurable goals. Be realistic with regard to what you can reasonably accomplish in one day, but also challenge yourself!

Track Activities – Organizing your job search involves keeping track of all information and communications. Keep a record of where you sent your resume and when, whom you have spoken to, when interviews took place, etc. This information will prove vital when deciding when to follow-up with leads. You can track all of this information using a calendar such as Outlook or Google, or an online tool such as JobFiler.com. Whatever tools you use, it is important that you be able to track the status of your job search.

Manage Job Search Email – In today’s world, much of your job search will likely be conducted by email. Therefore, before you even start your search, whittle down the amount of email in your inbox so that you can hyper-focus on your job search emails, which will add up quickly. Create folders within your email system using categories that make sense to you, such as Companies Applied To, Contacts Submitted Resumes To, etc.

Polish Your Online Profiles – If you are searching for a new job in today’s market, you would be remiss not to develop an online presence on social media sites, especially LinkedIn, which is the most “professional” of the social media sites and can essentially serve as your online resume. But also consider other social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. The opportunities are endless for employers and contacts to find you online. You may even have your own website, e-zine, or blog. Maybe you post articles on various article-marketing sites, or serve as a guest blogger on other blogs. If you maintain profiles on any of social media sites, or have any type of online presence, be sure to polish your profiles so that they promote the image you want potential employers and contacts to see.

Change Your Greetings – Change the message that greets callers for any phone number that you plan to use for your job search so that it sounds professional, and conveys the information you want callers to hear. Be prepared, not embarrassed!

Stay Positive – The longer a job search takes, the more chance you have of becoming negative about it. Try to maintain a positive attitude to the extent you can by monitoring your progress and staying active in your search. When the going gets rough during a job search, many people take a back seat and give up, which is counter-productive. Try to stay focused and make valuable contacts that are likely to lead to a job. However, don’t be all consumed by your search for a job! Maintaining some balance in your life at this time will serve you well. Get adequate sleep, eat well, see family and friends for pleasure, and make time for exercise.

Organization is one of the single most important things you can do to keep your job search manageable. Just like being organized helps you improve any other area of your life, home, or work, it will also help move along your job search in quick and efficient fashion and with less stress. It may even wind up being the key to finding that dream job you always wanted.

Good luck!

Job Application Cover Letter Tips to Help Get More Interviews

Whether it’s a job application cover letter, or resume – one thing to remember is that there is only one “job” that your actual submission materials have. And that “job” is: Getting Job Interviews.

Once you get more interviews, we’ll talk about job interview techniques in other articles, OK?

So, if the entire purpose behind cover letter writing is getting job interviews, then it stands to reason that writing a good cover letter ought to be at the top of your “to do” list when you are looking for a job. Right?

Welcome to “Cover Letter Writing 101” where I hope the next few paragraphs and points and a personal experience will bring you up to date with the basics of how today’s successful job seekers get more interviews.

Point #1: You must be subtle about tooting your own horn while still letting employers know that YOU are the best candidate for the job. In other words, everything you write must be “about them” – about THEIR needs, about how THEY will benefit from bringing you in for an interview. And, you must put all this focus on THEM while still talking yourself up!

Point #2: You must be able to speak knowledgably not only about the position, but also about the company. You must know what the company’s needs are to begin with if you are to address them convincingly in your job application cover letter. Besides, if you don’t know exactly what their needs are, how will you know for sure if you are the right one for the job? Hopefully this makes sense to you! If it does, then writing a good cover letter and getting job interviews just got a whole lot easier for you!

Let’s try the following practice exercise to work on this little cover letter writing gem.

Practice Exercise: Take a job or position that you are interested in, and list the skills and qualifications that you believe will be most important to the company.

If you cannot think of a specific job or company off the top of your head, here is an example: Pretend you are going for the job of cashier at a local supermarket, “The Local Family Grocer.” This is where it gets personal – so the information is very real!

Now, “The Local Family Grocer” has stated that they need a cashier, and they pay $10/hour. The cashier needs to be available on weekends and weeknights. That’s about all you know about the position. For now!

As you collect your thoughts prior to writing your job application cover letter, sit down with a pencil and paper and ask yourself:

What do the cashiers actually do over at The Local Family Grocer? You can brainstorm your answers. The most obvious ones that will come to mind will probably be,

“scan items through check out,”
“bag groceries,”
“take the payment,”
“give receipts,”
“run price checks,” and things of that nature.

But now, I need you to dig deeper.

I need you to come to the store with me.

When you are about to get in line at the store, do you go to any old checkout line? Or are there any cashiers you seek out? Are there any you avoid? As you answer these questions, ask “why?”

I can tell you, as we walk through the store together on our cover letter writing exercise, that there are several cashiers I just adore. Again. Why?

For me, it’s the customer service and the big smile I get from them.

For example, “Mr. Richard” always makes me feel welcome. He comments on my smile, and says things like, “It’s always so good to see you! You always seem to be smiling!” and in response, after thinking about it, I have to say, “Why, I believe it’s because YOU are smiling and seem so glad to see ME! Thank you! You’ve made my day.”

And, now, you and I will stroll over to the manager and comment about what a terrific employee “Mr. Richard” is.

Conversely, why do I avoid certain cashiers in the same way I avoid eggplant? (My apologies to those of you who like eggplant. It’s nothing personal!)

Perhaps you saw the cashier whose line wasn’t quite as long as “Mr. Richard’s” was. Why, you may ask, didn’t I go for “Ms. Whoever’s” line? (Of course, you’re taking careful notes, because you are learning a lot more than just good cover letter writing strategies.)

For me – especially as someone who has done a lot of career coaching – I notice things like sullen attitudes, cashiers looking at their watches, etc. When I ask “Ms. Whoever,” “So, how are you today?” and hear, “Oh, I’ll be a whole lot better in a half hour when my shift ends,” it makes my skin crawl. Seriously!

I don’t like feeling my skin crawl when I’m in a grocery store. There’s something just not right about that…

I’ve also been known to avoid cashiers who chit-chat with other employees while they are waiting on me. What really rolls my eyes is when they begin talking about a member of the community behind his or her back.

I have been tempted (notice I say “tempted” – because I have held my tongue!) to look right at the cashier and say something like, “Oh, I wasn’t aware you knew my brother/sister/aunt/uncle/mother/father/cousin so well!”

Ahh… The things we’d like to see. Maybe in a movie one day.

But I digress.

So, as we get back to writing a good cover letter, it now becomes evident that the job of the cashier goes even deeper. The Local Family Grocer needs people who make customers feel welcome. People who are cheerful. People who act as though they enjoy their jobs.

So, as we leave the store, you take out your pencil and paper, and write a few sentences about the cashier job.

You have now become inspired to write a good job application cover letter directly to “Ms. Jones” (who you happen to know is the person who will be reviewing the job application, because we just found out about it while we were complimenting “Mr. Richard.”)

Armed with all this information, imagine this cover letter:

“Dear Ms. Jones,

I was so pleased to meet you earlier today when my friend and I were telling you what a great job we feel Mr. Richard does for The Local Family Grocer.

In fact, Ms. Jones – I am so glad that I visited and experienced that customer service, because I had to rush right home and let you know that not only I am not applying to be your next cashier, Ican prove to you that if you are looking for another cashier with that same positive energy and excellent work ethic, I am that person! Here’s why.”

And you can go on. Now, this is just one simple example of how this works. We have more to share on this and related topics, so please watch for more articles!

Resume Writing Tips to Help You Build Your Resume

If you are a job hunter, and you have what it takes, but you do not know how to sell it, then you have come to the right place. Here, we will provide you with resume writing tips to help you build your resume in a way that will lead you to your dream job. Writing professional resumes is not rocket science; however, it is also not a kid’s play. While writing your resume, you need to bear in mind certain pointers that would help you create an executive resume. Following are certain resume writing tips to help you build your resume:

When you are writing certain long sentences in the resume, make sure you are not ending up with a lengthy paragraph. Use bullet points that make the document easier to read

Use a positive tone all throughout the resume and cover letter. Depressed and negative tone will not win you an interview

Pay attention to the type of language you are using. Try to sound professional. Avoid using slang, jargon and flowery language.

Make sure your resume format is suitable to your line of work. It should not be too crazy or too boring in any case.

Make sure there are no mistakes present in the resume. spelling, grammatical and typographical mistakes are some common ones, and you must make sure you are following standard English rules and not committing these mistakes

Use active voice and strong, effective action words like “organized”, “managed”, etc. in the resume. You can find more words online

Use proper salutation and never make any mistakes with the name of your intended employer

Check out a few resume samples online for your specific field in order to get an idea as to which type of resume format is best for you, and what all character traits and personal information you should add on your resume

Keep yourself in the reader’s shoes. Ask yourself if you are finding your resume easy-to-understand and impressive, supposing yourself as the employer. Ask yourself questions based on your resume

If you are a resher, and you have good CGPA, you can flaunt it, but suppose you have substantial work experience and your graduation grades are not very impressive, you do not need to put them in your resume

Mention your complete personal details in the resume. Do not miss out on any vital information and make sure your contact details are all mentioned correctly and will be the same for a long time

These are some of the resume writing tips to help you build your resume effectively. This complete resume guide in itself will lead you to your successful resume. Similarly, following these rules meticulously will in turn lead you to your dream job for which you have applied with this resume.

7 Tips For Writing Thank You Letters With Class

When I first started tracking the information preferences of people visiting my Writing Help Central Web site I was surprised to find how many folks were seeking information on how to write thank you letters. In fact, “thank you letter” information and sample templates are the fifth ranked destinations at that Web site.

In reality, thank you letters are among the most important letters we will ever write. Whether business or personal, an effective thank you letter needs to be written with sincerity, tact and sensitivity.

Following are a few tips that will help you whenever you encounter thank you letter situations in your business or personal life.

1. Make Sure It’s Appropriate

One of the main issues with respect to thank you letters is to know when to send one. As a general rule, I would say “better to be safe than sorry”. However, make sure there is something noteworthy about the situation. A thank you letter for a routine situation doesn’t make sense and dilutes their meaning.

2. Write It Promptly

It is always best to send a thank you letter as soon as possible after the event for which you are doing the thanking. It will help with the level of sincerity in your letter if the event is still fresh in your mind. In any case, a delayed thank you letter will seem like an obligatory afterthought to the recipient.

3. Remind The Recipient

In your introductory sentence, make it very clear that it is indeed a thank you letter and that it pertains to a specific event, situation and/or person. This will eliminate any confusion on the part of the recipient as to the purpose of the letter.

4. Make It Short and Direct

Get straight to the point and never exceed one page. Thank you letters should be short, direct, sincere, and to the point. In business situations they will always type-written but personal thank you letters can be hand-written or typed, as appropriate to the situation.

5. Make It Personal

By definition, a thank you letter is a sincere personal gesture from one individual to another. It should be expressed as a heartfelt personal sentiment, even when written in a business situation. At the same time, strive to be balanced in approach and don’t be overly effusive.

6. Always Write it To One Person

Always write your thank you letter to an individual, not an organization or group. Even if it’s a situation where a group is involved, write your letter to the senior person in the group and/or the group spokesperson. Ask that person to please pass on your sincere appreciation to the other people in the group, and name them in your letter if possible. (Contrary to advice given by certain so-called experts online, in my experience, writing a group letter is NEVER appropriate and achieves little or nothing).

7. Check Spelling and Grammar

As when writing all letters make sure you carefully check your spelling and grammar. This is even more important for thank you letters, since they are almost always a sincere statement of appreciation from one person to another. Be sure to double check the spelling of all names used in the letter. There’s no quicker way to blow your credibility and sincerity than to misspell someone’s name.

The bottom line on thank you letters is “make it appropriate and sincere”, or there really is no point in sending one.

Professional Tips For Effective Business Writing – Write to Express, Not to Impress

Business has no time for long or fuzzy words. Effective business correspondence is built on tight writing which depends on few, but hard-hitting words. Every word must convey a precise meaning that is understood in the same way by writer and reader. Use your thesaurus to replace long words with shorter, crisper ones.

Whether you are writing a prospecting letter or a report, a follow-up letter or a proposal, use the shortest, simplest word you can find to convey the meaning you want. Whether you are writing up, out or down, choose appropriate replacements for the cold and pretentious business expressions of the past. Eliminate the junk like: attached herewith please find. Instead, say exactly what you mean: I am attaching this for you. Use ordinary, everyday English–I call it shirtsleeve English–for real results.

Simplicity makes reading easy–and professional writers know that business readers want a quick, easy read. In fact, most busy readers get lost in sentences of 21 words or more. Equally important, when you go for the bigger, more impressive word, the chances are your reader will find you less impressive–not more. According to Daniel Oppenheimer, researcher and contributor to the Journal of Applied Cognitive Psychology, “Anything that makes text hard to read and understand such as unnecessarily long words or complicated fonts, will lower readers’ evaluation of the text and its author.”

In twenty years of teaching business writing workshops and polishing proposals for my corporate clients, my experience tells me it’s the people with the least education who seem driven to use the biggest words–often with the silliest results. One writer, for example, searched for an alternative to “old” and found one he liked. In his letter, he actually referred to “senile” equipment. Another writer tried to impress a CEO with this: I value your needs and I wish to have the opportunity to assist you in achieving your envisions. You may laugh, but that is a direct quote–and it isn’t funny.

Now, I am not suggesting you would make the same foolish mistakes, but the principle of writing simply and cleanly is an important one–no matter how many degrees you have or how good you are with a dictionary. Professionals don’t complicate information–they simplify it. They don’t choose a ten dollar words when a fifty cent word works better. They don’t try to dazzle with multi-syllables when short, crisp words simplify reading and improve business results.

Don’t use “as per your request” when you could say, “as you asked.” Don’t write, “despite the fact that” when you could write, “although.” Don’t go for the heavy-duty, “in reference to” when “about” works better. I’m sure you get the idea.

When you write for business, it is not your job to teach your reader a new word. Nor is it to your advantage to show off, talk down, or confuse the reader. Clarity charms. Simplicity pays. Write to express, not to impress, and you’ll find your business writing actually means business.

The AIDA Principle – Sales Letter Writing Tips

For most business owners, writing sales letters are perhaps one of the hardest things to do. But for those who have basic knowledge in copywriting, sales letter writing might not be as hard as what most people think it is. This is because there are actually proven formulas that work in almost types of business letters. One of these formulas is the AIDA principle. The AIDA principle is an acronym for basic guidelines in copywriting. AIDA stands for (A) attention, (I) interest, (D) desire and (A) action.

Attention

The very first thing that the reader would do upon receiving your sales letter is to scan the entire content. Most sales letters are quite long, and the customers wouldn’t really take so much of their time to read the whole content of your letter not unless it catches their attention upon scanning it. Having said this, the letters should be eye-catching enough so as to draw the attention of the reader to the letter.

This can be done by using a catchy and colorful heading. The heading should also be on different font size as the body of the letter. Using bullets and subtitles would also help in catching the attention of your reader. Interest Upon catching your customer’s attention, it is important to keep the customer interested about the succeeding lines of the sales letter. The first paragraph is basically as important as the heading and so as the second and the last paragraph. Each paragraph should achieve the purpose of keeping the reader interested in reading the next paragraph.

One way to keep the reader’s interest is by asking questions. Questions are proven to arouse interest as the reader would be pushed to think upon reading the question. It is important however, that the question is relevant to the product that you are selling.

Desire

In the certain part of the body of the letter, second and third paragraph perhaps, it is necessary for you to stimulate the desire of the customer to invest on the product. This part is crucial as this would provide the selling point of the product. This could be done by citing the benefits and advantages of owning the product.

If you are promoting a laundry shop, for example, you may mention that the laundry shop is conveniently located in front of a coffee shop wherein the customers can have coffee while waiting, or that the laundry shop has its own Wi-Fi network that would allow internet access inside.

Action

Finally, the last paragraph should encourage the customer to take immediate actions of owning the product. At this point, it is vital that you would convince him to do whatever that is that you ask him to do. This can be done by mentioning the benefits that he or she could get if he or she would own a product now. In the case of the laundry shop example, you may say like there is a discount for the first 100 customers.

Applying the AIDA principle does not only facilitate your sales letter writing tasks, it also helps increase the number of customer responses to your sales promotion letter. Get more tips on sales letter writing tips.

7 Tips For Writing Better Business Reports

Writing a report can be one of the most difficult writing tasks we face, whether it’s for work or at school.

In my various professional incarnations over the years, as bureaucrat, administrator and private consultant, I have been required to write literally (no pun intended) hundreds of reports of just about every description you can imagine. In fact, when I did my MBA in the mid-1990s it was like a total immersion course in report writing; they seemed to be never ending.

So, to help people with their report writing I have put together a few tips that I have picked up over the years.

People often cringe at the thought of writing a “business report”. Granted, these are somewhat more complicated than business letters, but if approached in the right way, writing a business report can be a straightforward and reasonably painless process.

There are a number of different generic types of business reports including: general business report, business plan, business proposal, marketing plan, strategic plan, business analysis, project report, project analysis, project proposal, project review, financial plan, financial analysis, and others.

Although the technical content and terminology will vary from report to report, depending on the subject and industry context, the actual “report writing process” will be essentially the same. Whether it’s a short 10-pager, or a major 100-plus pager, that “process” will involve the same fundamental steps.

The following seven points are what I consider to be the essential steps for writing any business report. Follow these steps carefully and you won’t go wrong.

1. Confirm Exactly What The Client Wants

This is a very important initial step. Whether the client is you, or someone else, be sure that everyone is talking about the same thing in terms of final outcome and expectations. When determining this, always think specifically in terms of the final deliverable (usually the final report). What issues must it address? What direction/guidance is it expected to give? What exactly will it contain? What bottom line are they looking for?

2. Determine What Type Of Report Is Required

This is another very important initial matter to clarify. There are a number of different types of business reports. Although there is usually overlap between the different types, there are also important differences. For example, do they want: a business plan, a business proposal, a strategic plan, a corporate information management plan, a strategic business plan, a marketing plan, a financial plan, or what? Know exactly what type of final report is expected from the outset.

3. Conduct The Initial Research

Once you know exactly what the client (or you) wants, and the specific type of report they are looking for, you are ready to conduct your initial pre-report research. This stage may be as simple as collecting and reading a few background documents supplied by the client, or it could

involve developing questionnaires and conducting detailed interviews with the appropriate people. It will vary with each situation. The Internet of course, can really simplify and shorten the research process, but don’t forget to double and triple check your sources.

4. Write The Table Of Contents First

In my experience, drafting the Table of Contents (TOC), before you start writing the actual report is the single most important key to developing a successful business report. This document can normally be done before, or in parallel with, the first phase of project information gathering. This should be more than just a rough draft TOC. It should be a carefully thought out breakdown of exactly what you imagine the TOC will look like in the final report. Although this takes a certain amount of time and brain power up-front, it really treamlines the rest of the process. What I do is to actually visualize the final report in my mind’s eye and write the contents down. This really works! This TOC then becomes a step-by-step template for the rest of the process.

Sidebar:

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If you are writing the report for an external client, it’s a good idea to present the draft Table of Contents to them at this point in the process and get their approval. This will force them to think it through and confirm what they really want at this point. Once they have agreed to a TOC you will have their “buy-in” for the rest of the process, therefore significantly reducing chances of any major changes or reversals at the final report phase.

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5. Do Any Additional Research

After thinking through the TOC in detail, you will know if any additional research is required. If yes, do this extra information gathering before you sit down and start to actually write the report. That way, once you begin the writing process you will have all of the information needed at hand and you will not have to interrupt the writing process to conduct any further research.

6. Create The Skeleton Document

A trick I always use when working with MS-Word is to create a skeleton document first. That is, before you actually write any of the text, enter the entire Table of Contents that you have already developed into MS-Word (see Point 4), heading by heading, including sub-headings. At this point, the document is essentially a sequential series of headings and sub-headings with blank space between them. Then, have MS-Word generate an automatic Table of Contents that exactly matches your planned TOC. You’re then ready to start filling in the blank spaces after each heading and sub-heading in the body of the document, with text.

7. Write The Report By Filling In The Blanks

That’s right, by filling in the blanks. Once the TOC skeleton framework is in-place as per the previous step, writing the actual report becomes almost like filling in the blanks. Just start at the beginning and work your way sequentially through the headings and sub-headings, one at a time, until you get to the end. Really. At that point, with all of the preparation done, it should be a relatively straightforward process.

If you follow the above steps in the “report writing process” you will be amazed at how quickly your reports will come together. Give it a try – it really works.