business writing workshop_concise material
TRANSCRIPT
Material for Business Writing Workshop
| Business Writing workshop outline
1. E-mail Etiquette (How to write formal emails)
2. How to build a professional resume
3. How to write a cover letter
4. Dos and don’ts when using Linkedin
5. Using software to build rapport
| Why do we need to learn E-mail etiquette?
1. Easier communication
2. Being professional
3. Leaving great first impression (Resume)
4. Save your time and others’
| How to write a professional e-mail?
1-Subject Line
1. Clear
2. Brief
3. Describe the content
Ex: Meeting with HYS team
2- Start with a salutation
1. Don’t know the person well (Dear Mr Ahmed, Dear Ms Mona, )
2. Working relationship (Dear Ahmed, Dear Mona)
3. Know the person well (Hi Ahmed, Hello Mona)
4. Don’t know the person you’re writing to (To whom it may concern, Dear Sir/Madam)
3- Thank the recipient
Ex:
Thank you for contacting Hone Your Skills
Thank you for your prompt reply
Thanks for getting back to me
4- State your purpose
Ex:
I am writing to inquire about …
As per our call, I am confirming that….
5- A call to action
Ex:
"Could you send me those files by Thursday?"
"Could you write that up in the next two weeks?"
6- Add your closing remarks
1. Thank you for your patience
2. follow up, “If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to let me know”
3. Show enthusiasm, “I look forward to hearing from you”
4. appropriate closing with your name. “Best regards”, “Sincerely”
5. Signature
Do’s
1. Be polite (Say thank you and please)
2. Be brief (2 to 3 short paragraphs)
3. Edit and proofread before sending
4. Use bullets for clarification
5. Stick to one topic per mail
6. Add a signature block
Name
Job position /title
Phone number
Website (if you have any)
7. Reply promptly to serious messages
8. In need of delay, respond explaining the reason and the time needed for replying with a
decision.
9. Check your mail on a daily basis
10. Always capitalise (I) and acronyms (HYS-BBC-USA)
Don’ts
1. Avoid abbreviations (I’ve- I’d)
2. Avoid chat abbreviations (LOL-ROFLOL)
3. NO YELLING THROUGH CAPITALISATION
4. No unclear subject lines (Delay/Important)
5. No spelling/grammar/punctuation mistakes
6. Don't use emoticons :D ;) , :p or colorful fonts and backgrounds
7. Don’t over use Italics or bold fonts
| How to write a resume
1- Your full name
1. The middle, on the top of the page
2. Initials are CAPITAL
3. BIG FONT
2- Contact information
1. The middle, on the top of the page
2. Phone number
3. PROFESSIONAL e-mail
3- Photo
1. Personal
2. Professional
4- Objectives
1. Short & precise (one sentence)
2. Avoid plagiarized paragraphs
Ex: seeking an engineer position
5- Education
1. Most recent certificates first
2. Most important certificates first
3. Graduation year
4. No complete sentences
(Faculty of Law, Cairo University, 2015 graduate)
5. Ranks/ GPA/ Grades (Good and above)
6. School (latest and highest score if not a graduate
6- Skills
Personal skills:
Patient, persistent or working under stress.
Computer skills (be precise):
Excellent in MS Word, PowerPoint and Excel, Photoshop or other software/hardware technical skills
Soft skills:
A team player, interpersonal skills, presentation skills, communication skills ...etc
Language skills:
Fluent in English
(no fair in French)
Be honest about what you can do.
They will disregard you if you are a liar.
7- Courses & Certificates
Courses and certificates RELATED to the position you are applying for
The most recent and the date
Which organisation you got the certificate from
Name of trainer
Add courses audited from MOOC such as Harvardx, Coursera, Udemy (Autonomous learning)
8- Conferences & Events
Attendee or a speaker (especially if you did both)
Learn and gain experience from different sources.
Add a date, start with the most recent
Write a short description
Relate to the position
9- Experience
Add the jobs that lasted for more than 6 month
Write only the jobs related to the position.
Write most recent first, (start and end date), short description of the tasks you did
If you are a fresh grad. , add any volunteering work you did
10- Awards
If you have them, add this point.
If you don’t, then don’t add it.
If you have them: add date, reason for the award and from where you got it.
You can add any awards you got from volunteering work.
11- Interests
Add what you like to do in your free time
Write useful interests like reading, sports (doing sports not watching them on TV), learning
musical instruments or languages
NO WATCHING TV or any lazy activities
Do not lie…Do not embarrass yourself
THINGS NOT TO INCLUDE
Age
Marital status
Height, weight, etc
Race
Religion
Reasons for termination
Casual Photos
Don’t forget to
1. Choose a professional font in a size 11 or 12
2. Don’t use more than 2 fonts
3. Use Georgia, Arial
4. Header and the introduction to a section may be a size 14 or 16
5. Convert your resume to a PDF file
| How to write an effective cover letter
1. Find out to whom you’re writing.
2. Using the recipient’s name is better than (To whom it may concern / Dear Sir/ Madam)
3. The first paragraph is a self-introduction, write
Who you are
Where your expertise lies
Where you found the job posting
Why you want to apply for the job
4. The second paragraph should respond directly to the job description written by the hiring
manager.
Describe how your previous job experiences, skills, and abilities will allow you to meet the
company’s needs.
Do research about the company, and try to find out what they are doing — and why — given
the current state of their industry.
Explain how you can fit into that schema, and help push the company forward and achieve
their goals.
The final paragraph is called the “call to action” portion of your cover letter.
Inform them that you’d love to get interviewed.
Give them your contact information. Tell them that you’ll be in contact with them in a week
if you don’t hear back.
Thank them for spending the time to read your cover letter.
| Dos and don’ts when using LinkedIn
1. Personalize connection requests
2. Have a profile picture
3. Personalize your recommendation requests
4. Keep it professional at all times
5. Respond promptly to messages
6. Don’t over post
7. Don’t ask people you don’t know for recommendations
8. Don’t criticize or comment negatively in groups
9. Don’t ask people to like your Facebook page
10. Don’t treat LinkedIn like Facebook or Twitter
| About Hone Your Skills
Hone Your Skills is a customized professional training service provider for corporates and
individuals.
It's a multi-theme training company that aims at developing the skills of its audience in different
areas of interest. To reach this, our products are not limited to offline workshops only, we provide online
courses and short articles.
You can find HYS online through:
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/HoneYourSkills
YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/HoneYourSkills
If you have any comments or inquiries, do not hesitate to contact us at:
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone Number: 01007453641
| About the facilitators of Business Writing workshops
Basma Abd Elhamied
https://www.linkedin.com/in/basmaabdelhamied
Mohamed Abo El-Enin
https://eg.linkedin.com/in/maboeleninrabee