Discussion board | Applied Sciences homework help

1. Suppose I were to disagree with your advice. What would you say and do?

753

• Sample Employment Interview The following transcript is based on a real interview. As you read it, pay attention to both the interviewer’s questions and the applicant’s responses. In both cases, notice the strengths and the areas needing improvement. Which parts of this interview would you like to incorporate into your interviewing style? Which parts would you handle differently?

[The interview begins with an exchange of pleasantries …] Interviewer: Monica Hansen? I’m Chris Van Dyke. Welcome. Applicant: It’s good to meet you. 392 [… and small talk.] Interviewer: Did you have any trouble finding us? Applicant: The directions were perfect. And thanks for the parking pass. [The interviewer briefly previews the approach of the interview and the anticipated amount of time.] Interviewer: Oh, yes. That’s a necessity. The garage costs $12 per day if you don’t have one. We’ll have about a half-hour this morning to talk about the personnel administrator’s position you’ve applied for. I’d like to learn about you. And, of course, I want to answer any questions you have about us. Applicant: Great. I’m looking forward to it. [Body of interview begins with an open question about employment history.] Interviewer: Good. Let’s begin by having you tell me about your most recent position. Your résumé says you were at ITC in Springfield. Is that right? [Interviewee uses answer to showcase the skills acquired in Applicant: That’s right. My official job title was personnel assistant, but that really doesn’t describe very well the work I 754 past job that could help in the one being offered here.] did. I recruited nonexempt employees, processed the payroll, oriented new employees, and maintained the files. [Follow-up questions explore areas of interest in the new job.] Interviewer: Were you involved with insurance? [The applicant uses this answer to point out another skill that she brings to the job.] Applicant: Yes. I processed workers’ compensation claims and maintained the insurance reports for our health care plans. I learned a lot about dealing with government regulations. Interviewer: And you said you were involved in hiring? Applicant: Yes. I was responsible for recruiting and interviewing all clerical and administrative support people. [Another open question, this time exploring the applicant’s ability to analyze her own performance.] Interviewer: How did that go? 393 [The applicant fails to use this answer to showcase her abilities …] Applicant: It was tough in Springfield. There’s actually a shortage of talented support people there. It’s an expensive town to live in, and there aren’t a lot of people who can afford living there on an administrative assistant’s salary. It’s not like Atlanta, where there’s plenty of good help. [… so the interviewer follows up with another question.] Interviewer: What did you learn about hiring from your experiences at ITC?

Applicant:

755 [This answer is better because it describes insights and skills the applicant brings to this job.] I learned to look further than the résumé. Some people seem great on paper, but you find there’s something wrong when you hire them. Other people don’t have much experience on paper, but they have a lot of potential. Interviewer: How did you get beyond paper screening? Applicant: Well, if someone looked at all promising, I would phone the former employers and talk to the people the applicant actually worked for. Of course, a lot of former employers are pretty noncommittal, but they usually would give clues about what they really thought about the person I was investigating—giving an indirect opinion without saying it outright. Interviewer: What would you do if this was the person’s first job? [The applicant demonstrates resourcefulness here, spelling out her skill in the last sentence of her answer.] Applicant: I found that almost everyone had done some kind of work—part-time or volunteer. And I could check up on that. Or I would even ask for the names of a few teachers and phone them, if the person was just graduating. I learned there’s almost always a way to find what you’re looking for, if you get creative. Interviewer: Didn’t that take a lot of time? [This is a subtle way of saying, “I have good judgment.”] Applicant: Yes, it did. But it was worth it in the long run because we got much better employees that way. We almost never had to dismiss someone whom we’d done a phone check on. Interviewer: You were promoted after a year. Why? 756 394 [Again, the applicant’s answer introduces a trait that would be valuable in the new job: the desire for self- improvement.] Applicant: I was lucky to be in the right place. The company was growing, and we were very busy. I tried to take advantage of the situation by offering to do more and by taking classes at night. Interviewer: Which classes did you take? [Presumably the skills acquired in these courses would be useful if the applicant is hired. In any case, she demonstrates the desire to learn skills useful in the business world.] Applicant: I took an applied human relations class last spring. And before that, a couple of computer classes: one in database management and one in desktop publishing. Our department was thinking about starting an employee newsletter, and I wanted to see if we could produce it in-house. Interviewer: It sounds like you’ve done very well at ITC. Why do you want to leave? [The response begins with a provocative statement and then goes on to supply a solid reason for seeking a new job.] Applicant: In some ways I don’t want to leave. The people are great—most of them—and I’ve enjoyed the work. But I’m looking for more challenges, and there isn’t much chance for me to take on more responsibility there. Interviewer: Why not? Applicant: Well, my boss, the personnel director, is very happy in her job and has no plans to leave. She’s young, and there’s very little chance I’ll be able to advance.

Interviewer:

757 [The interviewer seeks specifics to elaborate on the broad statement “I’m looking for more challenges” …] I see. Well, that is a problem. And what kind of responsibilities are you looking for? [… and the candidate supplies answers.] Applicant: I’d say the biggest one is the chance to help make policy. In my past jobs, I’ve been carrying out policies that other people—management—have made. That’s been fine, but I’d like to be involved in setting some policies myself. [Again, the interviewer follows up by seeking more specifics …] Interviewer: What kinds of policies? [… and the candidate is prepared with detailed responses.] Applicant: Oh, there are several. Designing benefits packages. Coming up with a performance review system that people will take seriously. Teaching our supervisors how to interview and hire more systematically. 395 [The interviewer makes a smooth transition to a new topic.] Interviewer: I see. Well, the position you’ve applied for certainly does have those sorts of responsibilities. Let me ask you another question: What do you enjoy most about personnel work? [The stock answer “I like to work with people” is so broad that it has little meaning …] Applicant: Well, I really enjoy the chance to work so much with people. Of course, there’s a lot of paperwork, too, but I especially like the chance to work with people.

Interviewer:

758 [… so the interviewer seeks clarification.] When you say “people,” what kinds of work are you thinking of? Applicant: I guess the common denominator is making people happy. Lots of employees get involved with the personnel department—once they’ve been hired, that is—because they have problems. Maybe it’s an insurance claim or a problem with their performance review. It makes me feel good to see them leave feeling satisfied, or at least feeling better after they’ve come in so upset. Interviewer: Are you always able to help them? Applicant: No, of course not. Sometimes a person will want the impossible, and sometimes there just won’t be any answer. [Again, the interviewer uses a situational approach, seeking specifics.] Interviewer: Can you give examples of these times? [The applicant does a good job of describing a situation that illustrates her previous answer.] Applicant: Well, one example of an impossible request comes up a lot with health insurance. At ITC, we could choose from two plans. With one plan, you could use any doctor you wanted. You had to make a co-payment with that one. With the other plan, you had to choose a doctor from a list of preferred providers, but there was no co-payment. If an employee chose the preferred- provider plan and later decided he or 759 she wanted to use a doctor who wasn’t on the list, we just couldn’t do anything about it. Interviewer: We’ve had that problem here, too. How did you handle it? 396 Applicant: Being sympathetic helped a little. Even if I couldn’t give them what they wanted, at least saying I was sorry might have made it seem less like a total rejection. I also pointed out that they could switch plans during the open- enrollment period, which comes every year. I’ve also suggested to my boss that we do a better job of informing people about the restrictions of the preferred- provider plan before they sign up and maybe even get them to sign a statement that says they understand them. I think that would reduce the surprises that come up later. [With this new topic, the interviewer shifts from fact to opinion questions.] Interviewer: That’s a good idea. Monica, what qualities do you think are important for a personnel officer? Applicant: Knowing the job is definitely important, but I’d say getting along with people might be even more important. Interviewer: And how would you describe your ability to get along? Applicant: Sometimes I think I deserve an Academy Award for acting the opposite of the way I feel. 760 Interviewer: Really? Tell me about it. [The applicant offers a specific example to illustrate her provocative statement about acting the opposite of the way she feels.] Applicant: Every so often people will come in with an attitude problem, and I try to calm them down by acting more pleasantly than I feel. For example, we’ve had people who think they’re entitled to take six months off for a worker’s compensation claim, when the doctor has said they’re ready to come back after a few weeks. They come in and yell at us, and it’s tough to be pleasant at times like those. But I don’t think there’s any point in being blunt or rude. It just makes them more angry. [This indirect question really asks, “What kind of manager might you be?”] Interviewer: I see what you mean. Let’s shift gears, Monica. If you were to pick a boss, what are the important traits that he or she should have? Applicant: Let me see … certainly lots of follow- up—letting people know where they stand. The ability to give criticism constructively and to compliment good work. Giving people a task and then leaving them alone, without nagging. 397 Interviewer: But still being there to help if it’s needed, right? Applicant: Sure. But also giving me the space to finish a job without staying too close. Interviewer: Anything else? Applicant: Being available for help, as you said. Being consistent. And being willing to train employees in new jobs, letting them grow. And considering employees’ personal goals. 761 [The interviewer turns to a new topic area.] Interviewer: In personnel work, there’s a need for confidentiality. What does that mean to you? Applicant: That’s an important area. You see lots of personal information, and it’s easy to make offhand remarks that could upset someone. Interviewer: What kinds of things do you have to be careful about? Applicant: Oh, even something as simple as a person’s birthday. Most people wouldn’t care, but some people might be offended if their birthdays got out. I’ve learned to be constantly on guard, to watch what I say. I’m a private person anyway, so that helps. [This question explores the candidate’s personal attitudes.] Interviewer: Monica, I’ve been asking you a lot of questions. Let me ask just one more; then it can be your turn. What are the factors that motivate you? Applicant: Well, I like to be busy. If things aren’t busy, I still work, but I like to be stimulated. I seem to get more work done when I’m busy than when there’s plenty of time. It’s crazy, but true. I’m also motivated by the chance to grow and take on as much responsibility as I can handle. [Almost every employment interview includes a chance for the interviewee to ask questions.] Interviewer: Monica, what questions do you have for me? What can I tell you about the job or the company? 762 [The applicant wisely begins by asking about the company, not focusing on personal questions such as compensation.] Applicant: What kind of growth do you see for the company? 398 Interviewer: Well, we have 155 employees now. As I think you know, we’re five years old, and we started with 5 employees. Our sales were up 14 percent last year, and it looks like we’ll be expanding more. Applicant: How many employees do you think will be added? Interviewer: Well, we hired 20 new people last year, and we expect to hire almost the same number this year. Applicant: And what’s the turnover like? Interviewer: That’s a good question for a personnel person to ask! We’ve been growing so much, and people have been able to move into more responsible jobs, so they’ve been satisfied for the most part. Our turnover has been pretty low— about 15 percent annually. [This question focuses on responsibilities of the job.] Applicant: Will the person you hire be involved in making policy? Interviewer: Yes, definitely. We’re still trying to catch up with ourselves after growing so fast. A big project for this year is to put together an employee handbook. Too many of our policies are verbal now, and that’s not good. Developing that 763 handbook would mean working directly with the president of the company, and that definitely involves developing policy. [Finally, the applicant asks about compensation and benefits.] Applicant: Of course, I’m interested in learning about the benefits and salary. [The interviewer appropriately defers a complete answer until the company has a clearer idea of the candidate’s desirability.] Interviewer: Of course. Here’s a copy of our benefits summary for you to study. We can talk about salary later. Right now, I’d like you to meet a couple of our managers. After you’ve spoken with them, we can get back together to discuss salary and other matters. [The interviewer wraps up the conversation by describing when the hiring decision will be made.] We will definitely be making our decision within the next 10 days, so I promise you you’ll have an answer before the first of next month. It’s been a real pleasure talking to you, Monica. You certainly express yourself well. I’ll talk with you again soon. Applicant: Thanks. I’ve enjoyed the talk, too. I’ll look forward to hearing from you. 399 764 appendix II Business Writing Entire books and academic courses are devoted to the study of business writing. This appendix is no substitute for a thorough study of this important topic. It does, however, provide some guidelines about creating the most common types of written business messages. Many organizations have their own styles, which may vary in one or more ways from these basic rules. When you are writing on behalf of an organization, you will want to learn and follow its conventions.

• Writing Well Just as your style of dress and grooming create a first impression when you meet others in person, so the appearance of your written messages makes a powerful statement to readers, who are likely to consider them a reflection of your other qualities. Besides creating a good impression of yourself, well-designed and well-executed business writing makes your message easier to understand. Likewise, a shabby e-mail, report, letter, or memo has the same effect as stained clothes, bad breath, mumbling, or rambling on disjointedly.

Adapt to Your Audience Put yourself in the shoes of the person or people who will read your message, and write in a way that addresses their concerns, knowledge, and interests. Ask yourself: What do they want or need to know? How much detail is necessary? Why should they care about my topic? What will motivate them to do what I’m asking? 765 Once you have identified what your readers care about, write in a way that demonstrates your concern. Make the receiver’s needs the subject of your first sentences. Instead of writing “We received your request for a refund and will begin working on it,” write “You should receive your refund within 4 days.” When responding to a complaint, do not say, “The long wait you experienced was due to a temporary staffing shortage.” (The reader is not likely to care about your staffing problems.) Instead, say, “You are absolutely right: Customers shouldn’t have to wait for service.” Build Goodwill The best way to build goodwill is to demonstrate you have the reader’s best interests in mind. Emphasize positive concepts rather than negative ones. State what can be done, rather than what cannot be or has not been done. For example, when proposing a meeting, instead of saying you are busy next Tuesday, say, “I can meet anytime next Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday.” Adopt a helpful and respectful approach. Blaming others and using “you” statements often create defensiveness. “You didn’t turn in your time sheet before the June 1 deadline” is an accusatory “you” statement that blames the reader. You minimize the chance of a defensive reaction by saying the same thing just as clearly and less aggressively: “Because we received your time sheet on June 4, your check will be processed with others submitted that week and will be ready June 15.” 400 Organize Carefully First and foremost, business writing must be organized. Start by listing all of the items you need to cover and then group them into logical categories. Finally, arrange the categories into a clear organizational pattern according to your purpose. One general rule is to list items from most to least 766 important. Another is to consider what the reader needs to know first to understand what comes next. The organizational patterns in Chapter 9 can also be used in many written messages. Writing experts recommend putting good news first whenever possible: “Your order will be shipped today.” If you are delivering bad news, begin by expressing agreement, appreciation, or explanation: “I was very pleased with the quality of your crew’s work on the recent job. The only question I have is about the $250 listed as ‘extra charges.’” Your message will be clearest if you build coherence into each paragraph as well as into the overall design by using parallel structure and transitions, as demonstrated in Chapter 9. Be Accurate, Clear, and Professional Whenever possible, use precise terms, describe in detail, and quantify facts rather than give opinion or evaluations. Use concrete statements rather than abstract ones, and avoid jargon, slang, clichés, and idioms. Proofread carefully. Do not rely on your spell-checker to catch your misspelling of principle when you meant principal or it’s when you meant its. Spell-checking is no help with most names, so you will have to be sure the letter to Ms. MacGregor does not leave your desk addressed to Ms. McGregor. Use precise terms that give specific details. “We will contact you soon” leaves the reader asking, Who will contact me? How will contact be made? Letter, phone, in person? When will I be contacted? Next week? Next month? Instead, write “Our sales manager, Nahid Ravi, will phone you by June 6.” Use the active voice for livelier and more direct writing. “The memo was sent by the director” is written in the passive voice. “The director sent the memo” is written in active voice. Use names and titles consistently. If you are referring to everyone in a group by first and last names, do not add a title (“Mrs.” or “Dr.”) to only one person’s name. If you are referring to everyone with a title and a last name, do not refer to lower-ranking, female, or minority 767 participants by first name. Stay fair and consistent. Use “Ms.” to refer to all women, unless you are certain someone has a personal preference for “Mrs.” or “Miss.” Refer to an individual’s age, race, or different ability only if necessary. If you need to refer to ethnicity or race, use the term the group or the individual prefers (see the discussion of ethnicities and disabilities in Chapter 2). Always refer to a person before a condition. Use “persons with HIV,” not “HIV patients or victims.” Use “persons who use wheelchairs,” not “crippled persons” or “persons confined to wheelchairs.” Do not label groups of people by a condition (epileptics, amputees). Avoid jargon. When writing for external audiences, avoid jargon and acronyms that your readers may not understand. Avoid slang and pop culture terms. Using slang (“dude,” “awesome”) will make you seem more adolescent than professional. Save informality for nonbusiness messages. 401 Be Concise Time is precious for most businesspeople. There are several ways to tighten up your writing so your message can be read and understood quickly. Omit needless words and phrases. If one word will do, use it and eliminate the others. Some phrases are too cumbersome for business writing. For instance, “at the present time” can more succinctly be stated as “now.” Other common phrases can be shortened:1 Lengthy Phrase Shortened Version The question as to whether Whether In the month of May In May We are in receipt of We received Please do not hesitate to call Please call Please be advised that I will arrive at 8:00. I will arrive at 8:00. 768 A distance of 3 feet 3 feet Eliminate “who is” and “that are.”2 The sentence “Jeannette, who is the paralegal, declined to comment on the case” could be stated more simply: “Jeanette, the paralegal, declined to comment on the case.” Do not overuse intensifiers (“really,” “very,” “so”) and superlatives (“fantastic,” “best”). Avoid excessive and unnecessary adverbs (“absolutely,” “positively”). Avoid “fumblers.” Phrases like “what I mean is” and “what I’m trying to get at is” imply “I don’t think I’m being clear” or “I don’t think you can understand what I mean from what I wrote.”3 Pay Attention to Appearance The appearance of your message will determine the reaction it creates as much as its content. One consultant put it this way: “In memos and reports, intonation and body language are not available to you. That is what formatting is for—to substitute for them.”4 The first decision when formatting a business document is whether to type it or write it longhand. The culture of an organization usually offers clues about when handwritten notes are acceptable, so pay attention to how the successful people around you communicate. Three occasions when handwritten notes are definitely appropriate— even preferable—are for thank-you notes and personal messages of congratulations or condolence. In addition, it may be acceptable to jot a quick note to a colleague or boss in longhand. In virtually every other situation, though, it is professional to type. 402 Documents should be laid out on the page or screen so they are easy to read and understand. One trick for making documents look professional is using “whitespace”—a term that refers to blank space on a page or screen. For instance, margins should be wide enough to keep the document from looking cramped—at least 1 inch all around on a printed page. Blank lines should be inserted between single-spaced paragraphs or between sections. 769 Another trick for increasing readability is to left-align your documents. A ragged right edge is easier to read than a justified document that has a straight right margin. For most documents, choose a font size between 10 and 12 points. The font you use also sends a message. In business documents, avoid shadow, script, outline, or radically different fonts because they can be difficult to read and may call more attention to the medium than the message. Keep fonts consistent for easier reading.

• Routine Business Messages Along with the writing practices described so far, some forms of business writing call for specific considerations.

E-mail Messages and Memos Memos—e-mails and the printed variety—are the most common form of internal business correspondence. They range from short messages to longer documents. Regardless of their subject or length, the same considerations will shape these messages. Paper or Electronic Format? For centuries, paper was the only medium for memos. Now you can choose whether to deliver your message electronically, in hard copy, or both. Here are some factors to consider when deciding which format is most appropriate. Choose e-mail when: The message is informal. You want the message delivered immediately. There are multiple recipients, especially when they are distributed over different geographic locations. You want a record that can be stored electronically and circulated easily. Use paper when: You want to make a formal impression. 770 Legal requirements demand a printed format. You want your message to stand out from a flood of e-mails. The recipient prefers hard copies. The proper format for printed memos (like the one in Figure A2.1) differs slightly from the format for memos sent as e-mails (see Figure 6.2, p. 159). FIGURE A2.1 Memo Format 403 Memo Tips Do not include a salutation (“Dear Joe”) or a complimentary close (“Sincerely,”). Do not sign the memo at the bottom. You may write your initials next to your name on the “FROM” line. The body of a memo is single spaced, with blank lines separating paragraphs. Style for Memos and E-mails As the example in Figure A2.1 shows, how you express a message can be as important as the ideas behind it. Keep these factors in mind as you compose your thoughts. 771 Keep it short. The most important stylistic guideline in crafting a useful e-mail message or memo is to make it as concise as you can. Whenever possible, limit your message to two or three paragraphs— one screenful of text. Make the essence of your message clear in the opening paragraph. For example, you might state, “We need to decide on a logo for the new product within the next week” or “I’m writing to see whether you would be interested in serving on a community outreach committee.” Use formatting to make your points clear. Single-space your message, with a double space separating paragraphs. Use bullets and numbered lists to make information more readable and accessible. Be wary of using the informal style you might use outside of work. Shortcuts (“wanna,” “sorta”), emoticons, and chat acronyms (LOL for “laughing out loud”) can create problems, especially with strangers. Avoid using all-capital letters, as this practice creates the effect of shouting. All-lowercase letters are unprofessional and inappropriate, too. Capitalization, grammar, and spelling are important. Profanity, off-color remarks, and gossip never belong in company e-mail. 404 Elements of E-mail Messages and Memos Every e-mail and paper memo should include the date, your name, other people receiving the message (usually labeled “cc”), and a subject line. Beyond these basics, consider the following: Make your subject line brief and descriptive (e.g., “Agenda change for Friday’s meeting”) to help the receiver identify your topic. Messages with vague subject lines (e.g., “Update” or “Hi”) run the risk of being ignored, misfiled, or deleted. If you need to correspond about several topics, consider separate messages for each one. This makes it easier for the recipient to keep track of and respond to each message. 772 Consider sending a blind copy (“bcc”) if you do not want the primary recipients to know that others are seeing the correspondence. This approach is not necessarily devious. For example, you might send your boss a blind copy of your e-mail to an irate customer, saying, “This is how I resolved the problem we discussed last week.” Best Practices for E-mail Messages and Memos When composing and sending memos and e-mails, follow this advice: Do not use company channels for personal business. Use your own personal e-mail account for private correspondence, chatting with friends, and other nonbusiness exchanges. One expert advised thinking of e-mails as “giant, moving billboards, exposing our every thought to the cyberworld.”5 Your personal e-mails most likely would not be the best advertising for your company. Do not impose on others. Most businesspeople are already overwhelmed with e-mail and paperwork, so send messages only on a “need-to-know” basis. Avoid the temptation to send unnecessary messages to others or forward ones the recipient will not appreciate. Be cautious about putting delicate topics in writing. Do not write about topics that would better be handled by phone or in person. Written channels usually are not the best way to send difficult messages such as negative appraisals, firings, and resignations. E- mail has the potential to be misunderstood, so avoid using it in a hurry or to convey sarcasm or humor if the receiver is likely to misunderstand the message. Think before sending problematic messages. Stop, think, and wait before you send a message if you are angry or frustrated. The scathing note you wrote in anger to one person may be forwarded to many colleagues. Once a message is sent, it is irretrievable and the impact on your career could be disastrous. Never send information you are not sure is accurate (e.g., canceled meetings, changed deadlines, budget figures). Treat every message as a public, permanent document. Despite what you might assume, e-mail is not private: It has the potential to be forwarded (purposely or accidentally) without your permission or 773 knowledge. Even if you delete a message, it can remain available to employers, other businesses, and courts for years. In fact, e-mail has the same weight as a letter or memo sent on company letterhead.6 405 Double-check your addressee list. A misaddressed message can lead to embarrassment and humiliation. Use “cc” when others need and expect copies and when you want the recipient to know you are sending them. In reply to a customer’s complaint, you might want that customer to see you are sending your response regarding safety to all technicians who were part of the problem. Include relevant copy from earlier messages when you forward them or reply to the sender. This practice provides all the relevant information in a single document. Be mindful about using special formatting. The fancy fonts and images you use may appear differently on your recipient’s computer screen or portable device. Honor the chain of command. E-mail can be a way to level hierarchies and reach important people, expedite projects, and reduce time otherwise spent in meetings. Despite these advantages, it is often important to follow the regular chain of command. Pay attention to your organization’s culture and your communication goals. Sending an e-mail to your CEO suggesting a new procedure for your division without first checking with your immediate supervisor could spell disaster for your career. Consider using salutations. Salutations (“Dear Mr. Nakayama,” “Hi Gina”) are an optional, but often useful, element of e-mail messages. As one expert pointed out, “Blunt is not businesslike.”7 (Salutations typically are not used in printed memos.) Bulk or broadcast e-mails or those to groups can begin with salutations like “Good morning” or “Dear Computer Policy Committee Members.” Append a signature block. You can set your e-mail program to append a signature block to the end of each e-mail message, which lists your name, title, organization, phone, fax, e-mail and physical 774 addresses, and website link. This information allows others to reach you easily, regardless of where they are picking up your message. Cute quotations and graphics in your signature are not advisable for business, unless it is your company slogan or a tagline indicating the work you do. Letters Even in an age of electronic communication, there is still a place for traditional letters. Letters are appropriate for formal occasions, when the correspondence may be displayed, when a signature on paper is a legal requirement, or when the recipient prefers to have a paper version. Perhaps the most common layout for business letters is the block format. For an example, see Figure A2.2. As this name suggests, each element and paragraph is set flush with the left margin. 775 FIGURE A2.2 Letter Format Beyond the elements in Figure A2.2, some letters need to contain additional information. This information might include a status (e.g., Urgent, Confidential), attention line, list of recipients receiving copies, postscript, and second page headers. 406 News Releases and Media Advisories In Chapter 12, we discussed the use of news releases and media advisories to invite journalists to a press conference. A news release (or press release) is a form of written communication released to the media with the purpose of turning an announcement into a news story. Oftentimes, a news release is edited only slightly before being published as a story in the newspaper or read on air during a news program. For this reason, it is 407 important to make sure that your press release is free from spelling, grammatical, and typographical errors; includes a catchy headline and photos; and meets the Associated Press (AP) Stylebook guidelines. For more on the AP Stylebook, visit https://www.apstylebook.com/.

A news release contains the following elements, as demonstrated in Figure A2.3:

776 FIGURE A2.3 News release format Contact information: Phone number, e-mail address, physical address, and social media handle. Header: When the story should be published. Headline: 60- to 80-character title previewing the content of your story. Dateline: Information regarding the origin (city/state) of the news release. Lead: Written in third person, the opening sentence answers the five W’s: who, what, when, where, and why. 777 Body: Written in third person, it tells the story and incorporates quotes from relevant individuals. Search engine–optimized (SEO) keywords: Hyperlinks to content that allows the journalist to seek more information. Videos, photos, infographics, logos, and other graphics. Boilerplate: A description of the organization, usually including its mission statement and where to get more information. A media advisory alerts the media to an upcoming news event in hopes that journalists will attend that event. This type of document is usually one page in length and contains the following elements, as illustrated in Figure A2.4: 778 FIGURE A2.4 Media advisory format Contact information Headline Background information pertaining to the event A description of the five W’s (who, what, when, where, why) in outline format A description of the availability of individuals for interviews and/or photo ops

• Writing for Employment Chapter 6 describes several paths to seeking employment. At some point, most job seekers will send out a job application letter and a résumé. The résumé remains a mainstay of the employment process, and now Internet options can enhance both the résumé creation process and the final product.

Résumés A résumé is a marketing document—an advertisement in which you sell yourself to potential employers. A résumé summarizes your background and qualifications for employment. Résumés serve as a screening device, helping prospective employers decide which candidates’ applications are worth further consideration. A résumé will not automatically get you hired, but it can put you on the short list of candidates to be considered or cause you to be dropped from the running. As you read in Chapter 6, in competitive hiring situations, screening candidates is a process of elimination as much as selection. The people doing the hiring likely have more applications than they can handle, so they naturally look for ways of narrowing down the pool of candidates to a manageable number. A good résumé can keep you in the running. It can also be useful for presenting yourself to potential employers who might hire you for a job that has not yet been announced or even created. 779 408 409 410 Besides listing your qualifications, a résumé offers tangible clues about the type of person you are. Are you organized and thorough? How well can you present your ideas? Is your work accurate? After you have left the interview, your résumé will remain behind as a reminder of the way you tackle a job and of the kind of employee you are likely to be. Résumé Fundamentals No matter what the job or the field, all good résumés incorporate the same fundamental principles. Customize to fit a particular position You may keep a generic résumé on hand when a new networking contact unexpectedly asks for your résumé or to use as a template to adapt when specific openings occur, but the most effective résumés are tailored to the interests and needs of a particular position and employer. For example, a medical technician should stress laboratory skills when applying for a job in a lab; conversely, when a job opening is in a clinic, the same technician should emphasize experience that involves working with people. A résumé that encourages job offers focuses on the employer’s needs and how you can help the employer. Be sure your résumé looks professional Like every important business document, your résumé should be impeccable. Any mistakes or sloppiness here could cost you the job by raising doubts in an employer’s mind. Even small errors can be fatal: According to the Society for Human Resource Management, more than 75 percent of employers reject applicants whose résumés contain spelling errors or are grammatically sloppy.8 Because the design of résumés can be complicated and the stakes are high, many candidates hire professional services to create them. Whether you create the résumé yourself or have it professionally done, the final product should reflect the professional image you want to create. Although you want to make yourself stand out from the crowd, be cautious about using unusual fonts or paper. A novel approach might capture the fancy of a prospective boss, but it might also be a complete 780 turn-off. The more you know about the field and the organization itself, the better your decisions will be about the best approach. In companies and positions looking for creativity, some novel ideas may work. A third-place winner of an Enterprise Rent-A-Car creative résumé contest had submitted a pizza box résumé to a pizza corporation and her photo on a milk carton (to alert the company of its “missing” worker) to another.9 Internet start-up company Intern Sushi has abandoned paper résumés altogether. Instead, applicants use digital media storytelling to showcase their creativity and credentials.10 Although you may be remembered because of your creative and unusual résumé, these gimmicks will not work in most traditional employment situations. The résumé is a business document and needs to look professional. Be positive, dynamic, and specific Figures A2.5 and A2.6 illustrate several characteristics of effective résumés. Use the word “I” sparingly. The words “fired” and “unemployed” do not belong on your résumé.11 Begin sentences with positive verbs (created, 411 developed, analyzed), as in Table A2-1. Most importantly, be absolutely honest about everything you include. 781 FIGURE A2.5 Chronological Résumé Featuring Education and Work Experience Table A2-1 Dynamic Verbs in Résumés Demonstrate Accomplishments Communication/People Skills Technical Skills Organizational Skills Collaborated Assembled Arranged Communicated Calculated Compiled Consulted Constructed Executed Directed Engineered Maintained Drafte

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