Intro to Business Documents: Personal Business Letters and Memo’s Computer Applications 1 Objective 3.01: Understand Business Documents

Personal Business Letter Correspondence between an individual and another individual or corporate entity Correspondence between an individual and another individual or corporate entity Can be sent as a hard copy or attachment Can be sent as a hard copy or attachment Examples: Examples: Formal Thank You Note Formal Thank You Note Letter of Complaint Letter of Complaint Letter of Application to Accompany a Resume Letter of Application to Accompany a Resume Any communication you wish to express in a formal manner representing yourself, not your company Any communication you wish to express in a formal manner representing yourself, not your company

Personal Business Letter Formatting: Uses the same guidelines as a business letter Uses the same guidelines as a business letter Includes the return address of the author at the top of the document Includes the return address of the author at the top of the document

Letter of Application Personal Business Letter sent to a potential employer Personal Business Letter sent to a potential employer Accompanies your resume Accompanies your resume The letter is address to a person, not “Personnel Director” The letter is address to a person, not “Personnel Director” Also known as a Cover Letter Also known as a Cover Letter

Paragraph Organization Paragraph 1: Paragraph 1: Introduces applicant to the prospective employer Introduces applicant to the prospective employer Describes what position he/she is applying for Describes what position he/she is applying for Tells how he/she learned of the job opening Tells how he/she learned of the job opening Paragraph 2: Paragraph 2: Details his experience and education Details his experience and education List skills that differentiate you from other applicants List skills that differentiate you from other applicants Paragraph 3: Paragraph 3: Requests an interview Requests an interview expresses interest in the company expresses interest in the company tells how you wish to be contacted tells how you wish to be contacted

Memo A form of communication used within an office, business or organization A form of communication used within an office, business or organization Used for interoffice communication that deals with subjects of permanent record Used for interoffice communication that deals with subjects of permanent record Examples: Examples: Policy notice Policy notice Change in office procedures Change in office procedures s are considered temporary communication s are considered temporary communication May be sent as a hard copy, an or an attachment May be sent as a hard copy, an or an attachment

Components Date Date May be keyed at center point, left margin, or in Heading section (see below) May be keyed at center point, left margin, or in Heading section (see below) Spell the date out Spell the date out (ex. April 16, 2009) Headings Headings To: Addressee (s) To: Addressee (s) From: Senders From: Senders Date: omit if above Date: omit if above Subject: brief summary of content Subject: brief summary of content Margins: Uniform white space Margins: Uniform white space Body message Writers name & signature (optional) May be used to authenticate the memo, or Author may authenticate by writing his/her initials beside their name in the headings section Special Notations (optional) Enclosure Notation Copy Notation

Guidelines for Memo Headings keyed in ALL CAPS and bold Headings keyed in ALL CAPS and bold (To, From, Date, Subject) Information to the right of the heading is vertically aligned (1-2 tabs after heading) Information to the right of the heading is vertically aligned (1-2 tabs after heading) With multiple recipients/authors, vertically align names With multiple recipients/authors, vertically align names Body is double space below last heading Body is double space below last heading Writers name or initials may be keyed double space below the last line of the body (optional) Writers name or initials may be keyed double space below the last line of the body (optional) Paragraphs singe spaced within, double spaced between Paragraphs singe spaced within, double spaced between Paragraphs may be blocked or indented Paragraphs may be blocked or indented

Memo Example TO:Computer Applications Students FROM:Barbara Tish Honea DATE:September 17, 2009 SUBJECT:Independent Practice Please complete the following assignments for Independent Practice today: IP: Personal Business Letter-p. 165 IP: Memo-p. supplemental (This is a handout-not in your folder)