SCIENTIFIC & TECHNICAL WRITING Business Letters Prof. R.L. Boxman Tel Aviv University R.L. Boxman, 9/2000, 2/2016

Business Letters Form used to communicate concisely Short, and to the point! ט"ז/תשרי/תשע"ח

Structure of Business Letter Letter Head Date Reference Numbers (optional) Inside Address Subject Salutation Body Signature 6 Nov 2013 - USYD

Letter Head Contains: Organization Name, Logo Your name? All relevant communications data: 1. mailing address 2. fax 3. telephone 4. e-mail 5. home page? Some of this information can be in footer 6 Nov 2013 - USYD

Structure of Business Letter continued Date Reference Numbers (yours, their) (optional) Inside Address Mr. N.C. Person Full Mailing Address Include postal code if known Include country, if sent abroad Subject 6 Nov 2013 - USYD

Salutation Dear (Title – Prof., Dr., Mr., Ms, etc.) (Family Name). Example: Dear Prof. Boxman, no initials or first name with family name! e.g., not: Dear Prof. R. Boxman, or Dear Prof. Raymond Boxman Dear Sirs, Dear (First Name) (only if you are on first name basis) 6 Nov 2013 - USYD

Body Short (usually 1 page), and to the point! Typical Letters: Request for information state what information you need, and briefly, why you need it (i.e. application) Job (or fellowship) application – 1-2 pages. make the best case you can why you would be most suitable candidate for the position which is open Cover letter to journal submission one sentence for initial submission (Enclosed please find....), detailed list of revisions for a revised m/s 6 Nov 2013 - USYD

Signature Sincerely yours, (sign here) First Name, M.I., Last Name Job Title Sincerely yours, Raymond L. Boxman Professor of Electrical Engineering 6 Nov 2013 - USYD

Fax Almost same ‘rules’ as business letter Inside address “sent by fax to +1 860 423 2233”, either following the full “snail” mail address, or instead of it. 6 Nov 2013 - USYD

E-mail Conventions still evolving For business e-mail (in contrast to personal), suggest following same principles as business letter, except No inside address (“to” field sufficient) Subject line built-in (don’t duplicate) Date built-in (don’t duplicate) 6 Nov 2013 - USYD

E-mail continued Body: short and to the point If the contents are long: Put details in an attached document Use the body of the e-mail message as a cover letter Summarize the content of the attached file Include the “Bottom Line”, i.e. conclusions and “action items” 6 Nov 2013 - USYD

E-mail continued Signature Conventional to use “Regards” (instead of sincerely yours) No need for handwritten signature Prepare automated signature file (instead of letterhead) additional communications details (phone, fax, URL, physical address, etc.) Logo? 6 Nov 2013 - USYD

E-mail continued Consideration for the recipient: be careful hitting: “reply” and “reply to all” Ensure subject is correct Delete string of past messages if not relevant Ensure all recipients are relevant 6 Nov 2013 - USYD

CV’s and Resumes Basic document in job hunting and personnel actions Industry –resume Academia – CV Very similar – present education and experience at a glance 4 Feb 2016 - INP

CV’s & Resumes – common elements Full name Date Communications details: telephone numbers address Email Immigration status if applying for position where you are not native born citizen 4 Feb 2016 - INP

CV’s & Resumes – common elements continued Education start with the most recent, end at college/university level for researchers dates, institution, major, degree Military experience (if relevant) dates, military branch, final rank, significant assignments Work experience start with the most recent dates, employer, job title, significant assignments 4 Feb 2016 - INP

CV’s & Resumes – common elements continued Honors, awards, and distinctions (if any): dates, granting organization, name of honor, short explanation (a few words) Professional certifications, licenses (if any) e.g. teaching certification, profession engineer’s license Professional activities (if any) e.g. leadership or organizational roles in professional societies, editorial position on a journal, or other volunteer activities which advance the profession or public awareness thereof dates, activity, and brief explanation if not obvious (a few words) 4 Feb 2016 - INP

CV’s & Resumes – common elements continued Languages: language, degree of proficiency Personal Data Put after communications data NOT in U.S.A. to comply with anti-discrimination policies 4 Feb 2016 - INP

Résumés – additional items Objective Immediately after name 1-2 lines statement of job sought. immediate objective, i.e. for the specific job being sought eventual career objective tailor to the job sought Communal activities, hobbies, interests 4 Feb 2016 - INP

CV’s– additional items List of Publications Journal Papers Conference Presentations Book Chapters Books Patents Theses 4 Feb 2016 - INP