Example Resume 5:
Computer Service and Sales Representative—Annotations

Heading. The heading portion of a business letter includes the writer's address and date. To add some professionalism to your application letters, consider creating a letterhead-style heading in which you put your name and address in an attractive design using an interesting font. (Otherwise, you don't include your name in the heading of a traditional business letter.)

Inside address. The inside address provides the full name, title, and address of the recipient of the letter. If you do not have a specific name, call the company or use some other strategy to find a name. An department name (which is used in this example) or a position title will work just fine.

Salutation. In this portion of the letter, you can use the same strategy as in the inside address if you do not have a specific name. A department name or a position title will work just fine. Also, be sure and punctuate the salutation with a colon, not a comma (which is for informal, friendly, nonbusiness letters).

Introduction. The introduction to any business letter should be brief—four or five lines at the most. In this application letter, the writer states the purpose of the letter (to apply for an employment opening), cites the specific job title, mentions how he heard about the opening, and emphasizes his qualifications for the job. It's usually a good idea to find some brief way to entice the reader of an application letter to keep reading, such as this writer has done.

Newspaper, magazine, and book titles. Use italics (or underscores) for newspaper names, as well as for magazines and books. (Use quotation marks for titles of chapters or articles within newspapers, magazines, and books.)

Experience. In this section, the writer summarizes those aspects of his work experience that directly related to the job he is applying for. He emphasizes how that experience makes him a good candidate for the job, not leaving it to readers to make those connections for themselves.

Details, details, details. One of the keys to writing effective applications letters is to work in ample specific detail—numerical information, proper names of products, organizations, and people, brand names, version numbers, and so on. If your letter is filled with generalities, readers won't pay attention to it, won't remember it, and may not even believe it.

Education. This writer also draws the connection between his college coursework and the job he is applying for. This section comes after the experience section because it doesn't have nearly the impact that the experience section does.

Wrap-up. This final portion of the application letter contains the concluding paragraph and the signature block. Writers typically include information about contacting them, such as phone numbers, dates, and times. When you write an application letter, don't forget to sign in the open area above your typed name. Also don't forget to indicate the enclosure of the resume.