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Formal Words

Introductions

- I was interested to see your advertisement for (position) in (paper) / on (site).
- I noticed with interest your advertisement for (position) in (paper) / on (site)
- I am applying for the position of (position), which was advertised (date) in (paper).
- (Name) advised / informed me of a (position) that is available at your company.
- I was referred to you by (name), who informed me of a (position) that is available at your company.
- (Name) informed me that you are / your company is / (name of the company) is looking for someone with (skills).
- (Name) suggested I contact you regarding the position of (position).
- Perhaps I am the person you seek in your advertisement in today's / yesterday's (paper).
- When I read your advertisement for (position) in (paper) / on (site), I could not help noticing how well your requirements align with my - - - - - - -experience / education / background / skills / career interests / ...
- The position seems to fit very well with my experience / education / background / skills / career interests / ...
- I am very interested in applying for the position (of ...)
- My experience / education / background / skills / ... make me an ideal candidate for the position.
- I have the experiences / skills / ... you desire (in your advertisement).
- From my enclosed CV / Resume you will find that my experiences / skills / ... meet the requirements you have outlined for the position.
- I believe that my enclosed CV / resume will demonstrate that I have the experiences / skills / ... you seek.
- While my enclosed CV / resume provides a good overview of my experiences / skills / ..., I have also listed some specific skills that meet your requirements for the position.

Details

Refer to the requirement given in the job description and demonstrate that you meet the requirements. Emphasise on experiences that are relevant for the job.

- According to your advertisement, your position requires (skills). These skills I have developed during ... (experience).
- I understand the position requires (skills). I ... (details why you meet the requirements).
- I recently graduated from (university) with a degree in (field).
- Since 2002 / For 2 years I have been working for (company).
- Following my training as a (job title), I spent (time) working for (company).
- As (current job) for (company), I have developed my skills and experience as (job title)
- Prior to my current position, I was working for (company), where I ... (jobs, tasks, skills).
- Throughout my career I have acquired a thorough knowledge of ...
- I have solid experience in ...
- I have more than ... years of ... experience.
- My experiences / skills / ... will provide your company with a highly productive (job title).
- I have always had a strong interest in ...
- I am very competent in ...
- I very much enjoy both ... and ...
- My experience in (field) have convinced me that (future position) is a career option I would like to explore.
- My high degree of motivation has been appreciated by my previous employers.
- Thanks to my high degree of motivation I was quickly promoted to positions of greater responsibility.
- The enclosed CV / resume elaborates on the details of my skills and experience.

Conclusion

- I would like very much to talk with you concerning a position at your company / (name of the company).
- I am eager to talk with you about the contribution I could make to your firm.
- I would appreciate the chance to meet with you to discuss how I could be a vital part of your company.
- I am confident that I can perform the job effectively, and I am excited about the idea of working for your firm.
- I would welcome the opportunity to discuss these and other qualifications with you.
- If you would like to schedule an interview or otherwise discuss my interest in this position, please call me at the number listed above.
- If you are interested, please contact me at (number).
- You may reach me at the above phone number or email address.
- I am sure my services would be useful to you.
- I will call you in a few days / next week / in early July / ... to discuss an interview.
- Should you have any questions before that time, feel free to call me at the number listed above / to contact me via the email address listed above.
- Should you wish to contact me before then, you may / can reach me via phone (number) or via email (email address).
- I look forward to our meeting.
- I look forward to meeting you.
- I look forward to talking with you.
- look forward to hearing from you soon.
- I look forward to meeting with you to discuss the ways my skills may best serve your company.
- Thank you for your time and consideration.
- Your consideration is greatly appreciated.
- Thanking you most sincerely for your time and consideration.

Conjunctions

but / still / however
especially / mainly / particularly
before
as / because / since
so that
then / after that
that's why / so
either ... or
after all
after
of course
though / although / even though
or
as soon as
as long as
finally / eventually
in spite of / even so / all the same
perhaps ...
above all
neither ... nor
because
first of all
for example / for instance

Curriculum Vitae, CV, Resume

A CV contains in brief all information about you that is relevant for the job: personal information, education, work experience etc. The CV shows what qualifications and experiences you have that make you an ideal candidate for the position.

- Structure and Content
- Personal Information
- name, address, phone number, email, nationality, date of birth
- Summary of Qualifications (where appropriate)
- Work Experiences (current experiences first)
- period of time, company name and address, position, brief description of your responsibilities and achievements
- Education and Training (current experiences first)
- period of time, name of institution, qualifications
- Further Information
- other skills (e.g. foreign language skills), additional information that may support your objective and qualifications
- Important Tenses
- Simple Past (past responsibilities and achievements)
- Present Perfect (experiences)
- Simple Present (present responsibilities)

Tips

Put work experiences before education/training - Employers often just skim CVs, so it's better to put important things first. For the same reasons you may even want to include a summary of qualifications at the beginning of your CV.

Marital status and place of birth are irrelevant for applications in the UK or USA - Neither should you give information on your primary or secondary school education if you already have plenty of work experience.

CV or Resume?

Sometimes the terms CV (Curriculum Vitae) and resume are synonymous, although people in the UK normally use the term CV, not resume. In the USA, a resume (1-2 pages) is not as long and detailed as a CV, which is usually required when applying for a position in an academic field.

General Information on Spoken Texts

In general, the same rules apply for spoken texts as for written ones:

use simple language
keep subordinate clauses short
prefer verbs to nouns (not: The meaning of this is that ..., but: This means that ...)
avoid slang and techy language

As listeners cannot take up as many information as readers, do also keep the following rules in mind when preparing a text that is to be presented orally:

Keep your sentences short and simple.
Avoid participal constructions. (In written texts they are often used to increase the density of information in a sentence. In spoken texts, however, they make it more difficult for the listeners to follow.)

Listeners' attention

You surely know that it is not always easy to follow a lecture or presentation. On the other hand, imagine how a speaker must feel if nobody is listening. With just a few tricks, however, you can win your audience's attention:

- Speak clearly and slowly. Use simple words and short sentences.
- Have little breaks in between the sentences to allow your audience to reflect on what has been said.
- Communicate freely (don't read the whole text from a piece of paper).
- Outline to the audience how your paper is structured. (e.g. I will first explain ... / Then I will ... / After that ... / Finally ...) and indicate when you come to another sub-topic (I will now talk about ...). This way your audience can follow your presentation more easily.
- Use pictures and graphics as an illustration.
- Use a rhetorical question or hypophora from time to time. Your listeners will think that you've asked them a question and thus listen more attentively.
- Use enumerations starting first / second / third. This also draws your audience's attention.
- Tip: Depending on the topic or your audience, you can also hand out questions that your listeners have to answer during the presentation, or you announce that there will be a quiz in the end. That will definitely make your audience listen very attentively.
- For an even more sophisticated presentation, use some of the stylistic devices typical for spoken

Presentation

Reason

A presentation proves that you are able to communicate on a topic of your choice with just a few key words as reminders. In some countries, a presentation is part of the English exam at school (e.g. Eurokom in Germany).

Preparation

Choose a topic that interests you. First, read about the topic in your native language for necessary background information. At that point you should already plan how you want to organise your presentation. When writing the presentation, you should work with English texts only (that's easier than translating the document in the end). Take short notes only from the English texts, then make your own sentences (short ones if possible).

Structure and Content

Introduction: General information on the topic
Give your listeners an introduction to the topic (some general information) and explain what exactly you are going to talk about in your presentation.

Actual Presentation

Subdivide your presentation into several sub-topics, e.g.:
Presentation on an event: history, present, special customs
Presentation on a sport: history, rules, important events
Presentation on a stay in an English speaking country: chronologically

Conclusion

Find a good conclusion (otherwise it would look as if you simply stopped in the middle of your presentation). A good conclusion could be for example:

How does the event influence our daily lives?
How important is the event for you personally? / What's your opinion about it?
What might the future bring?
a quotation that summarises your presentation

Important Tenses

Which tenses to use depends on your topic. Above all you'll probably need the following tenses:

Simple Present
Simple Past
Present Perfect

Note

If you cannot think of a topic for your presentation, check out the sections countries, literature and animals/sports on www.ego4u.de. Maybe you'll find something that catches your interest.

The online encyclopaedia www.wikipedia.org provides lots of information on a variety of topics in several languages. Do also use the search engine www.google.com to find information on your topic.

Collect pictures and graphics if possible. They'll help you getting through your presentation without losing the thread. Furthermore, pictures always make a presentation more interesting for the listeners.

Usually you are expected to talk about the topic without reading every sentence from a piece of paper. So practise at home until you can hold the presentation with just a few key words (or pictures) as reminders.