Page 157 - How to write effective business English your guide to excellent professional communication by Fiona Talbot

146 How to Write Effective Business English

Do:

● ● Show you’ve done some research on the company and refer to
something relevant on its website, such as its values and goals,
expressing how yours align.
● ● Answer the question ‘Why should you get the job?’ by
highlighting the special skills you can bring.
● ● Think of your potential employer (and their likely customers
and suppliers), as much as yourself when you write. You’ve got
to persuade and build bridges to get that job!

● ● Make sure ‘brand you’ shines out, to set you apart positively
from the rest.

● ● Show what you expect from a prospective employer as much as
what they can expect from you.

● ● State your availability.
● ● Run a final spellcheck and grammar check; after all, if English is
required in the job, make sure yours is perfect in your application!
Ask someone’s advice if necessary.

Depending on culture and personality, people tend even in their
native language either to understate their suitability for any va-
cancy being advertised or in some cases to over-embellish it. The
following non-native English writers’ descriptions of their suitabil-
ity as job candidates definitely fall into the second category:

An accountant: ‘I dispose of untouchable integrity and
corresponding success and my brilliance is impressive.’

A marketing manager: ‘My knowledge, ratio and outstanding
attributions decide that my future will be with your company.’