Writing Good Business Letters

When you write personal correspondence either in letter or email form, you know you don’t have to worry quite as much about how you say things. You always want to have good spelling and decent grammar, of course, but your personal friends and family are not going to nitpick and disown you because of a few mistakes. However, when it comes to writing business letters, you want to make sure they are perfectly worded and completely without error. On top of that, they must be clear, to the point, and as brief as possible.

Business letters are all about business. You don’t want to send anything that sounds too personal, but you also don’t want to sound too stiff with someone with which you have been doing business with for a long time. Always start and end with the proper terms like “dear” and “sincerely,” though there are other terms that are acceptable. Look up the proper formatting for business letters, and never stray from that formula for the best outcome each item. There are a few different formats that work, but the most formal works the best, even when you feel the business is more on the casual side.

When it comes to the contents of business letters, you want to make sure your point is clear and that you have said what needs to be said in as few words as possible. Skip over flowery descriptions, as they may alienate some people. When you are writing a letter for business about a particularly touchy subject, you want to write a few drafts, and then put it away to look over again in a few hours or even the next day if that is possible. You will always want a fresh perspective so you are sure you have said what you need to say in the best possible way.

Lastly, check, recheck, and then triple check for spelling and grammar. If you aren’t sure, look it up. The few moments that it takes to do that can mean a huge difference in what happens after your business letters arrive at their destinations. Spell check on the computer is great, but it will not catch everything. If you have to, read the letter backwards, sentence by sentence, so that you can catch any problems. Even better, have someone else read it over. They will have fresh eyes and will catch problems that you did not.

Examples of Cover Letters

No matter what career you choose, there will come a time when you have to write cover letters. Though there are many who are good at making up and editing their resumes so that they are an ideal candidate, the cover letter is often much harder to do. This is because it has to be special made for each job opening, whereas the resume can be the same for the most part. When you get stuck on writing the letter to go with your resume when applying for jobs, your best bet for help is to find good examples of cover letters that you can use as reference when writing your own.

The hard part about using examples of cover letters for your own project is deciding which would go well with the career path you have chosen. Don’t make this part too hard though, as there are times when we think too hard about what we need to say. If you find enough examples of cover letters, you are going to find that the right one will jump right out at you. If you read though enough, you may find many that work, and you can mix and match your favorite parts of them to make something that will truly make your letter stand out above the rest.

Don’t make the mistake of using examples of cover letters word for word when you are using them to help you out. You do have to take one that works well and you then have to make it your own. If your cover letter sounds too generic, it is going to look like you put no thought into it at all. Most companies like people who are detail oriented, and a generic looking and sounding cover letter will not give that impression. Instead, use your cover letter examples as a loose guide to the skeleton of your own letter.

When searching for examples of cover letters, you can find many free ones online. However, you may not find what you need. You can find books that are full of them, and though you will have to pay for them, they will prove to be a valuable investment when they have helped you land the interviews or job of your dreams. This type of resource is going to work for more than examples of cover letters, as they can help you construct other types of business letters as well. Even better, a good cover letter example will be timeless as long as it is edited for personal slant. Once you buy a good resource, you can use it for a long time to come.

Funding Adult Education Courses

The American education system needs an overhaul, beginning with funding adult education courses

In a recent world survey, the United States received a D minus in public high school education! Besides being a disgraceful embarrassment, this fact bodes ill for the future of America. If high school graduates are so ill prepared to qualify for skilled jobs and don’t have the grades to get in to college, America will surely become a third world country of workers in the future. It’s abundantly clear that this issue must be addressed, and soon. Funding adult education courses may be one of the best first steps to getting our educational system back on track.

While the public high school curriculum also needs a vigorous overhaul, we need to do something about the kids who have dropped out of high school, as well as adults who barely made it out of high school. These kids are barely employable in minimum wage jobs, due to a lack of the basic skills required for a minimum wage job. If you can’t even count change correctly, you’ll soon lose your job. Such people often drift from one job to another. With jobs already tight, what happens to these young adults? Eventually, they are locked out of the job market altogether. They’ll either end up on welfare, become homeless, or turn to dealing drugs. A few remedial adult education courses can help reverse this trend. We need to provide funding for adult education courses for those who cannot afford to pay. The consequences of not doing so are costing so much more to every taxpayer and society as a whole.

By providing funding for adult education courses to people already living a life of poverty, we can turn these disadvantaged members of society into productive, taxpaying citizens, with dignity and hope for the future. This single initiative will ultimately reduce crime and provide a better future for the next generation.

In addition to providing access to adult education courses, we should supplement the funding to extend to tutoring, on an as-needed basis. Funding should also be provided to administer aptitude tests to unskilled, poorly educated adults to determine what natural talent they possess. It’s a fact that medical technician jobs go begging, for want of qualified applicants. These skills may often obtained through a short term certification program. These types of adult education courses can turn an adult on welfare into a well paid working taxpayer. Again, their children, the next generation, will reap the benefits, with better opportunities for their future. There are also many adult education courses available in distance learning programs.

Hopefully, the new political administration will take steps to mandate higher standards in our public high schools. A simple switch to the standard high school curriculum of the 1960s would be a massive step forward. We need to attract better teachers with a better rate of pay. Today, a starting teacher’s pay barely exceeds that of a minimum wage job!

It’s easy to crunch the numbers and see that investments made to revamp high school curriculum and provide funding for adult education courses is a drop in the bucket when compared with the cost of maintaining this disgraceful quality of education and the consequences to society.

The future of this country depends, in large part, on our kids acquiring skill levels to meet those required in professional fields.

Leigh Steinberg And A Greener Globe

I recently read with great interest about Leigh Steinberg and his efforts to help create a greener globe. I remember growing up in the Bay Area in the 70s. Mr. Steinberg was the “golden boy”, who took sports agency, then in its infancy, and turned into the incredible machine that it is today. He represented some of the greatest athletes of the time, including: Joe Montana, Warren Moon, Steve Young and Steve Bartowski. The movie Jerry Maguire was fashioned after this legendary man.

The article was announcing Leigh Steinberg’s 23rd Annual Super Bowl Party. But, more importantly, the article talked about how Mr. Steinberg is promoting the “greening up of sports”. He’s participating with and communicating through The Sporting Green Alliance, which is promoting the use of sustainable technologies in arenas and stadia around the world.

Sports events, in general, don’t seem to ever run out of steam. Yes, event tickets drop off every now and then, but there is a fascination with sports that transcends logic. I think it could very well be that we put athletes on a pedestal. They achieve super human feats that are, in our minds, unimaginable. Yet, they seemingly perform these feats with ease.

After reading this article, I started doing a little more research into Leigh Steinberg. I found a number of fascinating information about Mr. Steinberg. He’s clearly a man of great integrity, with a passion for giving back to the world. One gentleman that I actually spoke with knew Leigh when he first signed up Steve Bartowski. Leigh was a visionary even at that time … recommending that anybody he represented donate money to their alma mater or to their community. I read someplace that the amount of charitable donations now exceeds $250 Million. Take that back to the Wall Street.

The whole notion of giving and sustainability is, of course, part of the grander scheme of life. Most people during economic downturn will turn inward and refuse to participate. Mr. Steinberg seems to have accelerated his efforts in these areas. In fact, many corporate sponsors pulled out of the Super Bowl event, including Playboy Enterprises and Sports Illustrated canned their annual parties.

The invitation only affair will sport a number of events where the proceeds will go directly to worthwhile charities. He’s also sponsoring a live video conference between our troops in Iraq and a one on one with as of yet, unannounced, celebrities. How cool is that?

American Business Culture

The American business culture is different than almost any other industrialized country. Americans are known to be hard working people, always on the go, working long hours and rushing from one activity to another. While a good work ethic is an admirable characteristic, the down side of our type A personalities is that we end up so stressed out, we end each day in an exhausted state, not knowing if we’re coming or going. Some of us have forgotten how to relax! BTW, plopping on the couch in front of the tube doesn’t count as relaxation. Our doctors warn us of the health problems that may ensue unless we stop driving ourselves so hard. Not many heed this advice and actually take steps to slow down. The principles of American business culture are far too well ingrained. Even our kids pick up on how busy one’s schedule should be.

One element of American business culture may be observed at your very first job interview. Business people don’t like to waste time and they don’t have time to waste anyway. You may wait a few minutes before being called by the interviewer (busily completing the task prior to your interview). Once you shake hands, you sit down and get right down to business. Should your prospective boss be the incorrigible type A personality and you’re not, you might feel downright uncomfortable. You might not even get the job if the interviewer sees you as too laid back!

Now let’s compare American business culture with European business culture. An American looking for a job in Europe absolutely must get up to speed on European business protocol in order to avoid an embarrassing situation which could prove to be irrecoverable. Don’t expect your first meeting with a prospective employer to be an interview, in the sense of a typical American interview. The French, in particular, are sticklers on this point. Your first meeting is full of polite conversation and should be conducted in French, if possible. This shows that you are interested enough in their culture to have a basic, if imperfect grasp of the language. You can bet the interviewer speaks English as well as you do, but this is not American business culture turf.

The purpose of this first meeting is to assess your personality and style. There may not be a single word exchanged about the position. Should you ask or remark on something that relates to the job or work, it is considered pushy and rude! A French businessman feels it’s essential that you be a likable person, one who will fit in to the organization like a family member. You may be invited to lunch, which is simply more of the same. No discussion of business takes place. Once you’ve been accepted, on a personal level, then you may be invited to dinner. That’s when business is discussed. That’s when you may receive an offer.

If you’re going to Japan on business, be prepared for culture shock. Japanese business culture is so very different from American business culture, you’ll need to thoroughly educate yourself on the expected protocol of the business meeting. For example, there a number of rituals which must be performed before you ever sit down. There is the business card presentation ritual. You’ll be embarrassed and lose points and favors if you don’t know what’s happening and what your role in the ritual is. You may be offered foods that you cannot identify, but must eat. If you refuse, no matter how graciously, you’ve delivered a terrible insult, disgraced yourself and probably won’t get the job!

We Americans are so into our American business culture, we just hate to waste time. It’s just the way we are. However, the French get 5 weeks paid vacation each year. Hmm. That’s something to think about.

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