PROOFREAD please? job application letter

Question

Hello,I'm from Holland, and although I do speak English quite well, I'm not fully confident when it comes to writing a job application letter. I'm pretty much content with what I have now, but there's some bits that I feel may not quite 'sound natural', or even be completely wrong. Would any native English speaker please proofread the letter  below and give their comments or suggestions for improvements?Thank you very much!MartinP.S. for various reasons, I prefer to use US spelling conventions.To: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxSubject: application for position of computational linguist (ref. nr. xxxx)Dear Mrs. xxxxxxxxxx,In reaction to the job opening posted on your website, I would like to apply for the position of computational linguist (vacancy nr. xxxx, open until 21-2-2005). You will find my CV in the email attachment.In 2003, I have completed my Master of Arts degree in Language, Speech & Information sciences at the Radboud University Nijmegen. I have worked as a research assistant (Ph.D. student) at the Université catholique de Louvain (Belgium) for one year, in the field of second language acquisition research. This has been a valuable experience, but I have now decided to focus more on the computational side of linguistics.The topic of my M.A. thesis was the possible use of a syntax parser, developed at the Radboud University Nijmegen, in a text-to-speech system. In this project I have gained experience with practical and theoretical aspects of natural language processing. In my job as lab assistant at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, I have had the opportunity to gain experience conducting scientific experiments, and to learn from the theory behind them. Also, I have worked with, and contributed to, specialized software tools for analysis of the results. Finally, I have worked temporarily for the lexicon management team of the Corpus of Spoken Dutch project.As language technology progresses, semantic annotation is added to (automated) POS-tagging, presenting its own challenge. I would like to contribute to this effort in the international context of the eContent and LIRICS projects, and I'm confident my computational and corpus linguistics experience would be of value to it.I would welcome the opportunity to further explain to you my interests in the LIRICS project.If you are interested, or if you have any questions, you can always contact me by email or by phone.Sincerely yours,Firstname Lastnameaddressemailphonenr.

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]Hello, I'm from Holland, and although I do speak English quite well, I'm not fully confident when it comes to ... use US spelling conventions. From: xx> To: xx Subject: application for position of computational linguist (ref. nr. xx)[/nq]
The above is a correct memo style, but what you are writing is a cover letter. I would recommend using a letter-style format:

Mr John Jones,
Director of Employment (use correct job title)
ABC Corporation

123 Main StreetAnywhere, Any Country
Dear Mr Jones:
There are variations that can be used in this heading format as far as spacing and location of the date. Look up some web references for a style you like.
[nq:1]In reaction to the job opening posted on your website, I would like to apply for the position of computational linguist (vacancy nr. xx, open until 21-2-2005). You will find my CV in the email attachment.[/nq]
"Reaction" is the wrong word for this use. If you want the above paragraph, I'd suggest "response". There's no set style for the opening paragraph, but I'd write:
I would like to apply for the position of Computational Linguist (xx) that is described on your website. I have enclosed my CV as an attachment to this for your review.
..the dates are not needed.
[nq:1]In 2003, I have completed my Master of Arts degree in Language, Speech & Information sciences at the Radboud University Nijmegen.[/nq]
I completed my Master of Arts degree in Language, Speech & Information sciences at the Radboud University Nijmegen in 2003.

...all paragraphs snipped are just fine as written.
[nq:1]I would welcome the opportunity to further explain to you my interests in the LIRICS project. If you are interested, or if you have any questions, you can always contact me by email or by phone.[/nq]
I would write:
I would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you and learn more about this opening and provide any further details about my experience and qualifications for this position. I can be contacted by email or telephone. Thank you for your consideration.
[nq:1]Sincerely yours, Firstname Lastname address email phonenr.[/nq]
I prefer to treat job positions as proper nouns and capitalize them. Thus, "Computational Linguist". That may not be the custom where you are. I think that the capitalization clearly designates the term as a position and not just a description.
The concept of sending a letter by email is fairly new, so there is no established style. My personal feeling is that if the content is intended as a letter, then use letter style. If the content is intended to be a memo - which is less formal - then use memo style. If the email is printed out, you want it to appear in the format intended.
I would also strongly suggest that you follow-up this email with a "hard" copy of this same information sent by post. Email offers the opportunity of a quick reply, but a hard copy has more substance. If it's sitting there on the desk, it's more likely to have attention paid to it.

Usenet · Answer

Tony, thank you very much for your suggestions!
[nq:1]The concept of sending a letter by email is fairly new, so there is no established style. My personal feeling ... - then use memo style. If the email is printed out, you want it to appear in the format intended.[/nq]
I agree. The only possible exception might still be the header, as the standard email header already contains the information that would go into the letter header.
When it gets printed out, I think many people will have the email headers printed automatically...
[nq:1]I would also strongly suggest that you follow-up this email with a "hard" copy of this same information sent by ... "old fashioned"!. But I'll just do both, like you suggested - that has also worked for me in the past.[/nq]
thanks again for your help,
cheers,
Martin

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]The above is a correct memo style, but what you are writing is a cover letter. I would recommend using a letter-style format: Mr John Jones, Director of Employment (use correct job title)[/nq]
Point of order here, Coop. In AmE business letter usage, one would not put that comma there after "Jones". In fact, some would argue that the "Mr." is a bit much given that you also have the guy's title, but for something like that we ask Liebs.
I've seen the old-fashioned-looking style where you go

Mr. Anthony W. Cooper,

1199 Golf Course Road,Orlando Glens, FL 32899
but that's just silly. Ask Liebs. If you take out the commas and periods it might work in BrE, but they're eccentric.
[nq:2]In 2003, I have completed my Master of Arts degree in Language, Speech & Information sciences at the Radboud University Nijmegen.[/nq]
[nq:1]I completed my Master of Arts degree in Language, Speech & Information sciences at the Radboud University Nijmegen in 2003.[/nq]
I'd definitely use "and" instead of "&". The "s" in "Sciences" (the first one) should be capitalized. Perhaps there should be a comma before "Nijmegen".
[nq:1]...all paragraphs snipped are just fine as written.[/nq]
[nq:2]I would welcome the opportunity to further explain to you ... you can always contact me by email or by phone.[/nq]
[nq:1]I would write: I would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you and learn more about this opening and provide any further details about my experience and qualifications for this position. I can be contacted by email or telephone. Thank you for your consideration.[/nq]
That's not bad, although that first sentence is a bit long with one too many "ands", perhaps.
[nq:1]I prefer to treat job positions as proper nouns and capitalize them. Thus, "Computational Linguist". That may not be the custom where you are. I think that the capitalization clearly designates the term as a position and not just a description.[/nq]
Depends on the context. If it's a specific advertised position, I can see where you might want to go with that.
[nq:1]The concept of sending a letter by email is fairly new, so there is no established style. My personal feeling is that if the content is intended as a letter, then use letter style.[/nq]
WHRHR.
[nq:1]If the content is intended to be a memo - which is less formal - then use memo style. If the email is printed out, you want it to appear in the format intended.[/nq]
And it usually doesn't hurt to err on the side of formality, although perhaps not for this sort of position.
[nq:1]I would also strongly suggest that you follow-up this email with a "hard" copy of this same information sent by ... copy has more substance. If it's sitting there on the desk, it's more likely to have attention paid to it.[/nq]
Perhaps. There are some organizations that will tell you that if you send an email job-seeking letter you should not also send a hard copy.

Steny '08!

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]The above is a correct memo style, but what you ... Mr John Jones, Director of Employment (use correct job title)[/nq]
[nq:1]Point of order here, Coop. In AmE business letter usage, one would not put that comma there after "Jones".[/nq]
Where is "AmE business letter usage"?
[nq:1]In fact, some would argue that the "Mr." is a bit much given that you also have the guy's title,[/nq]
It's seldom an error in a letter of application to be overly respectful.
[nq:1]but for something like that we ask Liebs.[/nq]
Why? I have a great deal of respect for Bob's expertise in many areas, but he is a lawyer. That's not exactly the fountain I'd drink from if I was thirsty for knowledge about business letters. The word "pursuant" wasn't even in the poster's letter.
[nq:1]And it usually doesn't hurt to err on the side of formality, although perhaps not for this sort of position.[/nq]
Right, Mr Fontana.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]but for something like that we ask Liebs.[/nq]
[nq:1]Why? I have a great deal of respect for Bob's expertise in many areas, but he is a lawyer. That's not exactly the fountain I'd drink from if I was thirsty for knowledge about business letters. The word "pursuant" wasn't even in the poster's letter.[/nq]
Hey, it was Liebs who got me to stop using full justification. The guy's had as much influence on me as you have had on this newsgroup, about which I have written.

Steny '08!

PROOFREAD please? job application letter

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