UNIT - 6
EMPLOYMENT COMMUNICATION
Introduction:
When you compose a message, you must know who you are sending it to, what the subject line should be, and, of course, what you will write in the message.
If you are a new graduate or you are in search for a better career, you should know how to write a good job application letter. This is different from a resume because an application letter is usually in paragraph form, unlike resumes which are typically in bullet form. It is important that you write an appropriate application letter based on the position you are applying for.
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Job application letter is to persuade employers to read the attached Resume.
Features to be kept in mind, while writing application letters are as follows :-
- Make your individualistic
- Catch the readers' attention
- Highlight your educational / professional qualification
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One should also not write the same application letter to different companies or the letter will be general, as if you are too lazy to draft something which is suitable for the company.
Benefits :
Writing an application letter has a lot of benefits. It shows that you are the type of person who takes job seeking seriously because you find time to write an application letter. Most applicants just submit their resume without an application letter. It is definitely a plus to include an application letter.
A job letter also gives your employer an idea of what kind of person you are. Are you serious, funny, friendly, goal-oriented, diligent, or formal? The reader will be able to see these things with the way you draft your letter and the kind of words that you used.
- Carefully read and understand the job opening.
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The opening is the ad posted online or in print. If you cut out or print the ad, make sure to write down the important information in the ad such as the job description and qualifications.
Some companies also include their company background in the job posting to give their applicants an idea about the nature of the company. It is also important to do your own background research about the company and about the job position.
- Start writing your job application letter with the salutation.
Who should you address the letter to? If you are unsure about this, make sure that you write the name of the person and make sure that you spell the name correctly.
If unsure of the title, just write a generic title.
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You do not want to mess up with the name and address because this can be offensive to some people or they will think that you are not very careful when it comes to details.
- After the greeting, start the letter with an opening paragraph.
This tells the employer how you found out about the job posting and how you want to be a part of their company.
You should also state why you are qualified in the position as briefly as you can. You can expound on this in the body of the letter.
Contd......
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The rest of the job application letter should include your education background, skills, and experience. These are the same details as in your resume but in paragraph form.
Depending on the post one can alter his wordings, a bit of humor added if you are applying as a comic artist or as an advertiser but not if you are applying for a position in a financial institution.
- Make sure that you close the paragraph emphasizing on how you are waiting for their reply. Include your correct contact information such as phone number and email address. This will ensure that the employer will be able to contact you in case they are impressed with your job application letter.
Never use slang words even if you are writing in a casual and friendly tone. Greeting your interviewer 'Hey y'all!' is not a good idea. You might end up not having an interview at all. Finally, use a polite tone of voice when writing your job application to show humility and respect.
QUALITIES OF A WELL WRITTEN APPLICATION LETTER/MESSAGE:
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- An application letter/ message should reflect the personality of the candidate. The tone should be pleasing and confident.
- LENGTH-is another important quality. It is best to keep the application letter concise.
- Addressed to a person not to the title.
- Knowledge of employer's activities.
- Knowledge of job requirements.
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- Reader benefit information.
- Organisation.
- Style.
- Mechanics.
Curriculum Vitae
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A curriculum vitae, commonly referred to as a CV, is longer (two or more pages), more detailed than a resume. It includes a summary of your educational and academic background, as well as teaching and research experience, publications, presentations, awards, honors, affiliations, and other details.
The primary differences between a resume and a curriculum vitae (CV) are the length, what is included, and what each is used for. A resume is a one-page summary of your skills, experience, and education.
While a resume is brief and concise - no more than a page or two, a curriculum vitae is a longer (at least two page) and more detailed synopsis.
When should a CV be used?
- When an employer asks for applications to be received in this format
- When an employer simply states "apply to ..." without specifying the format
- When making speculative applications (when writing to an employer who has not advertised a vacancy but you hope may have advertised)
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What information should a CV include?
PERSONAL DETAILS
- Normally these would be your name, address, and date of birth (although with age discrimination laws in force this isn't essential), telephone number and email.
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EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
- Your degree subject and university, mention grades unless poor!
WORK EXPERIENCE:
- Use action words such as developed, planned and organized (working in team.)
- Try to relate the skills to the job.
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A finance role will involve numerical, analytical and problem solving so focus on these whereas for a marketing role you would want a bit more more emphasis on persuading and negotiating skills.
"All of my work experiences have involved working in a team-based culture. This involved planning, organisation, co-ordination and commitment e.g., in retail, this ensured sales targets were met, a fair distribution of tasks and effective communication amongst all staff members
IINTERESTS & ACHIEVEMENTS:
- It should be short and to the point: As one grows older, the employment record will take precedence and interests will typically diminish greatly in length and importance.
- Bullets can be used to separate interests into different categories: sporting, creative etc.
- Don't put many passive, solitary hobbies (reading, TV, stamp collecting) or the candidate may be perceived as lacking people skills.
- Show a range of interests to avoid coming across as boring.
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- Hobbies that are a little out of the ordinary can help you stand out from the crowd.
- Any interests relevant to the job are worth mentioning: current affairs if you wish to be a journalist; a fantastic portfolio such as Bull bearings if you want to work in finance.
- Any evidence of leadership is important to mention. Eg:"As captain of the school cricket team, I had to set a positive example, motivate and coach players and think on my feet when making bowling and field position changes in tense situations"
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- Anything showing evidence of employability skills such as teamworking, organising, planning, persuading, negotiating etc.
SKILLS:
- The usual ones to mention are languages (fluent conversational English, Hindi, French, basic Spanish).
- Computing (e.g. "good working knowledge of MS Access and Excel, plus basic web page design skills" and
- Driving ("full current clean driving licence").
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If the candidate is senior or has a lots of relevant experience to offer, a skills based CV may work.
RERENCES:
- Many employers don't check references at the application stage so unless the vacancy specifically requests references, it is fine to omit this section completely if you are running out of space or to say "References are available on request".
- Normally two referees are sufficient: one academic (e.g. a tutor or a project supervisor) and one from an employer (last part-time or summer job).
What makes a good CV?
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- It is targeted on the specific job or career area for which the candidate is applying and brings out the relevant skills he/she has to offer
- It is carefully and clearly laid out: logically ordered, easy to read and not cramped
- It is informative but concise
- It is accurate in content, spelling and grammar (if you mention attention to detail as a skill, ensure that the spelling and grammar is perfect)
Tips to be considered:
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- carefully and clearly laid out .
- each page should be on a separate sheet of paper(not back to back).
- Be concise, positive & honest in revealing the truth.
FONTS:
- TIMES NEW ROMAN, ARIAL is the standard windows font. A safe bet - law firms seem to like it!
- A more interesting serif font might be GEORGIA. A sans serif choice might be VERDANA which has wider letters than other fonts.
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GROUP DISCUSSIONS
Group Discussion is a process where exchange of ideas and opinions are debated upon.
A typical GD comprises of a group of candidates. Each group is then given a topic for discussion.
The topic can be general or specific. It is the most important and popular techniques being used in a number of placement tests.
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It is a method to screen the candidates as well as their potential. It is also designed as a situation test where a sample of candidate's group worthiness and potential to be eligible comes out. It is one of the best tools in studying behaviour & attitude response of the participants.
One should take a stand in a discussion. It is not necessary that you conclude by a positive or a negative viewpoint, but to summarize the discussion well and remain neutral gives you an edge over others. The candidate is given a time limit for discussing this topic.
Each participant has to give his or her views about the topic. The panelists are there to judge the discussion and once the time limit is over, the best candidate from the group is selected. The same process is followed for other groups.
Tips for group discussion
- Adequate matter/ Subject matter is essential.
- Make Sure you Read Widely.
- Choose Magazines that are Rich in Content.
- Be Aware of Topics that are Repeated.
- Work on your Communication Skills.
- Listen to the Topic Given During GD Carefully
- Try and Maintain a Balance in your Tone.
- Listening Skills are Essential.
- Body Gestures are very Important.
- Be the first and also the Last to Speak or to wind up.
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Group Discussion is not a debate in which each participant either opposes or supports the topic. There are no clear cut positions or stands required.
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LEADERSHIP:
In a GD all participant are supposed to be equal. No one is officially chosen as leader. All the participants are supposed to have equal opportunity to express their views.
GD PROTOCOL:
GDs are "formally informal”.
DISCUSSION TECHNIQUES: it is a continuous discussion and outgoing interaction in which participants examine an issue or problem from different angles and point views.
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Good analytical abilities, critical assessment of arguments and strong verbal and non-verbal skills of communication give one a competitive edge over others.
LISTENING: listening too is a participative act. Participants should listen thoughtfully to what others have to say with the goal of assimilating and analysing rather than contradicting or refuting others, instead better try to join the conversation tactfully.
Essentials of a GD:
- Group structure- size and ethnicity & gender.
- Group task( purpose & time limit).
- group preparation & participation.
- Group accountability.
- Planning & organisation.
- Rules -let everyone participate.
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- Be critical of ideas not people.
- Agree to disagree.
- Restate what some one said if not clear.
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- Role playing.
- Mutual evaluation.
FOUR CS OF EFFECTIVE GD:
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- Cohesion.
- Co-ordination.
- creativity.
- Consensus.
Advantages of GD:
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- Better quality of decissions.
- Ensures better compliance of decisions.
- Ideas can be shared, tired out and generated.
- GD has many professional applications.
- Increases knowledge, comprehension & understanding.
- Capacity building with more resources.
- Develops communication skills.
- Develops personality.
- Provides opportunity.
- Fulfills various psychological needs.
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Disadvantages:
- Time constraints.
- Wastage of time.
- Interaction does not guarantee learning.
- Not good for dispensing information
- Effectiveness of GD is a dependent factor.
- Possibility of dominance of negative roles.
- Not suitable for large groups.
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INTERVIEW
Interview plays an important role in the selection and recruitment. Interview can be defined as an oral tool to assess candidate's traits for employment or admission to an institution of learning.
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" An interview is a conversation between two people (interviewer & interviewee) where questions are asked by interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee”.
Interview is an essential element of selection. No selection process is complete without one or more interviews where the information collected through the application letter or application forms and tests can be checked in an interview where a candidate demonstrates his/her capabilities and strength in relevance to academic credentials.
Selection in an interview serves three purposes:
- Obtaining information about the background, training, work history and interests of the candidate.
- Giving information to the candidates about the specific job and human resource policies.
- Establishing friendly relationship between the employer and the candidate so as to motivate the successful applicant to work for the organisation.
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Classification of interview:
- STUCTURED INTERVIEW : Also known as standardised interview.
- The aim is to ensure that each interview is presented with exactly the same questions in the same order.
- UNSTRUTURED INTERVIEWS: Here the questions can be changed or adapted to meet the responses, intelligence, understanding or belief.
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- This method is more useful for developing an understanding of an "as-of-yet not fully understood or appreciated culture, experience or setting”.
- SEQUENTIAL INTERVIEWS: Also known as 'one-on-one' interview where there are different interviewers and each interviewer interviews every candidate separately on a one-to-one basis. Here each interviewer has specific goals.
- STRESS INTERVIEW: It focuses on marketing competence of a candidate.
OTHER TYPES
- Job
- Information
- Persuasive
- Exit
- Evaluation
- Counseling
- Conflict-resolution
- Disciplinary
- Termination
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Job Interviews : Here, the candidate wants to learn about the position and the organization, the employer wants to learn about the applicant's abilities and experience. Both hope to make a good impression and to establish rapport. In the initial round, interviews are usually formal and structured.
Information interviews : The interviewer seeks facts that inform a decision or contribute to basic understanding. Information flows mainly in one direction : one person asks a list of questions that must be covered and listens to the answers supplied by the other person, e.g. doctor patient, boss subordinate.
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Persuasive interviews : One person tells another about a new idea or service and explains why the other should act on his or her recommendations. Persuasive interviews are often associated with, certainly not limited to selling. These persuasive interviews require drawing out and listening to others as well as the ability to impact information.
Exit interviews : The interviewers try to understand why the interviewee is leaving the organization or transferring to another department or division. The interviewer tends to ask all the question while the interviewee provides answers. Encourage the employee to focus on events and rather than on personal grips.
Evaluation Interviews : Supervisor periodically gives an employee feedback on his performance and discusses progress towards predetermined standards or goals to evaluate the area that require improvement.
Counseling interviews: A supervisor talks with an employee about personal problems that are interfering with work performance. The interviewer is concerned with welfare of both the employee and organization.
Conflict resolution interviews: Two competing people or groups of people with opposing point of view explore their problems and attitudes. The goal is to bring two parties closer together causing adjustments, in perception and attitudes and create more productive climate.
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Disciplinary interviews : A supervisor tries to correct the behavior of an employee who has ignored the rules and regulation of the organization. The interviewer tries to get the employee to see the reason for the rules and agree to comply. The interviewer also reviews the facts and explores the person's attitude.
Termination interviews: A supervisor informs the employee for the reason of termination of labor or loss of job. The interviewer tries to avoid involving the company in legal action and tries to maintain as positive relationship as possible with the interviewee.
DO ITR YOURSELF
Adithya Business Solutions requires smart, young graduates with good communication skills in English for their customer support team. Aspiring candidates must be willing to work in night shifts. Previous experience is optional.
a) Prepare a resume appropriate to this job advertisement.
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b) Write a suitable cover letter for this resume.
For more information visit: FirstRanker.com
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