Layout of minutes

Minutes of meetings usually include:

Minutes of the last meeting
Matters arising from the last minutes
The agenda of the meeting itself
Any other business (AOB).

Minutes also show who is responsible for carrying out action. In a column on the right-hand side, you can put the person’s initials in bold to show that he or she will perform the action.

Reporting what was said

When you take minutes of a meeting, it is useful to report the ideas, rather than every sentence. To do this, you need to use a variety of speech verbs.

Here’s a list that you might find useful:

suggested = “CA suggested raising the budget.”

promised = “MB promised to find out more.”

discussed = “Three issues were discussed.”

decided = “It was decided to delay action until the next meeting.”

agreed = “Everyone agreed on the proposal.” “LS agreed to get further information.” “Everyone agreed with the chairman.”

brought up = “The issue of pay was brought up.”

mentioned = “RJ mentioned the possibility of extra funds.”

reported = “The Sales Manager reported on the results of the trade fair.”

asked = “The Chairman asked to see a copy of the report.”

wondered = “DM wondered if there would be extra funding.”

recommended = “Five strategies were recommended.”

explained = “SB explained the reason for the delay.”

emphasised = “TA emphasised the necessity of a new product range.”

stressed = “RR stressed his commitment to the project.”

complained = “TM complained about the delays.”

Have you ever been in the situation where you’ve received an email, but you don’t understand the message? Maybe you just don’t understand the English, or maybe you don’t know what to do after the email. Does the sender want you to do something, or to reply, or to just keep the email as information? Maybe the sender has written something in such a way that you don’t know if he / she is happy, unhappy, or being sarcastic. In any of these cases, you can spend – or waste – a lot of time just trying to work out what the email is about.

Here are eight guidelines to writing clear and effective emails, so your readers always know how to respond.

1. Use a clear subject line.

Say what the email is about in a few words. Instead of writing “Urgent”, write “Meeting at 10am about pay rise”.

Use a subject line each time you reply to an email, to avoid subject lines starting Re: or R:R:

Be careful to avoid general subject lines, such as “Hello” or “Hi”, as some email providers automatically delete these as spam.

2. Keep your emails short.

Try to keep to only one point in each email. If necessary, you can send more emails on different points. If you write a descriptive subject line for each email, it is easier for the reader to understand the content of your email.

You don’t need to quote all the previous messages in the one you send. You can selectively quote (only including the previous question, for example) by using the angle brackets < < quote here >>.

3. Use simple English.

Keep your emails grammatically simple. This means that a) you’re less likely to make grammatical mistakes, and b) your reader is more likely to understand them.

Here are some ways of writing simple English:
- use active forms instead of passive forms
- write short sentences rather than long ones (remember the word order Subject Verb Object Manner Place Time)
- don’t use idioms or phrasal verbs
- use common words rather than technical or jargon words if your reader is not in the same field as you

4. Make sure your reader knows what to do next

Use direct language to help your reader act on your email. For example, if you want your reader to find some information for you, write “Please can you find me the sales figures for 2006″ instead of the vaguer “I’m going to need the sales figures for 2006″.

Common ways of making requests are by using the modals “Could”, “Would” and “Can”.

5. Reduce the amount of email you send!

Most people receive more – rather than less – email every day. Here are some ways you can reduce the number of emails you send to people:

- make a phone call rather than send an email. This is particularly effective if you only want a quick piece of information
- only send an email to the people who need to see it. Don’t automatically click “reply to all” if only one or two people need to read your message.
- don’t take part in chain emails (when you have to forward something on to five of your best friends, for example)
- don’t reply to spam

6. Don’t send heavy attachments.

If possible, send a zip file, or give web addresses where your reader can find information.

7. Be careful of your email content.

Try to make your emails informative and polite, and use a neutral tone. Remember that your reader could forward your email to other people, so only write what you would be happy for other people to read. (No gossip, no personal comments, no confidential information and no ambiguous English such as sarcastic humour.)

Avoid using emoticons and smilies in business emails, or too many exclamation marks.

8. Check your email before you send it.

Use a spell check to eliminate spelling mistakes. Read your email aloud to check for grammar and punctuation errors. Ask yourself these questions:
“Is this clear?”
“Does my reader know what to do next?”
“Is this polite?”

Many recruitment professionals will advise you to rewrite your CV each time you reply to a job advertisement, making sure that you use the key words from the advertisement. Tailoring your CV in this way will help you match your skills and achievements to the requirements of the job and the employer.

For example, if a job asks for “proven leadership skills”, you can emphasise any positions of management or team leadership in your CV. For example, you could write in your personal profile “Team leader with five years’ experience in sales supervision” or in the career history section “Directed a sales team to achieve 50% growth in client base”.

Organising the information in your CV

Tailoring your CV to each job you apply for also means that you can vary the order of sections in your CV to make the most important information stand out. For example, if the job advertisement emphasises a particular professional skill, you can put a Key Skills section first.

How you plan your CV also depends on your own experience. For example, if you have been working for a number of years, your work experience is probably much more relevant than your educational background. But if you have only just left University, your educational grades will be more prominent.

Generally, a CV includes the following information:

contact details
career objective
personal profile
key skills
career history
education and qualifications
interests
references
You can choose to omit the sections on interests or references, or merge the personal profile with the key skills. What you include depends on the job you are applying for, as well as your job history.

Chronological or functional?

A chronological format lists the jobs you have had in chronological order, starting with the most recent. It is particularly useful if you want to show career advancement and promotions in one particular sector. If you are applying for a similar job to the one you have now, a chronological CV shows a potential employer how your experience and skills can benefit the company.

A functional format focuses less on job titles and dates, and more on your skills and achievements. It is a good choice if you do not have much work experience or if you are trying to change direction in your career and so do not have much experience in your new chosen area.

How to write your CV

Keep your CV concise and use positive, “active” vocabulary to highlight your skills, experience, achievements and strengths. For example, instead of writing “I can manage multi-million dollar projects” you could write “Successful track record of managing multi-million dollar projects”.

Some examples of powerful, descriptive language:

manage, supervise, lead, organise, advise, negotiate, delegate
increase, expand, develop, achieve, build, strengthen
deliver, generate, establish, analyse
create, solve, design, produce, streamline, devise
Remember to feature any achievements that relate to the job you are applying for, and to show how what you did benefited the company. For example, instead of describing your job responsibilities, say what you did that was good. Perhaps you saved the company money, or you grew the business, or you got new clients.

The different sections of your CV

Career objective

This tells the employer at a glance whether you fit the vacancy. Try to be as concise and informative as possible and relate your objective to the job.

For example:

Career objective: to develop marketing skills in the food industry.

Personal profile

This section can contain a couple of sentences that describe you and your working style.

For example

Marketing executive with over five years’ experience in retail. Specialised in e-commerce and web optimisation.

Key skills

In this section, list your key professional or technical skills.

For example

- identifying and analysing new markets
- developing and implementing marketing strategy
- maximising web presence
Career history

Your most recent job should come first. Also include any relevant experience as well as anything that taught you a useful skill. You should also give the names of the companies you worked for, along with the dates you were there. Try to fill in all the gaps. If you were unemployed at a certain time, you can write something like “Personal projects”.

Education and qualifications

Put your most recent education first. You don’t need to put high school (secondary school) exams and grades unless they are particularly relevant, or required by the job. You should give the dates of your studies, as well as the institutions and the qualifications you gained.

For example

1987 – 1991 University of London
BA Hons French and German
Some academic abbreviations:
BA (Bachelor of Arts)
BSc (Bachelor of Science)
Hons (Honours)
MA (Master of Arts)
MPhil (Master of Philosophy)
PhD (Doctor of Philosophy)
In the education and qualifications section, you should also give the details of any relevant training courses you have completed. Include the name of the diploma or certificate that you gained after completing the course.

For example

1991 – 1992 London Institute of Marketing
Diploma in Marketing Management
Additional information

This section could include any additional skills that you have, or particular interests relevant to the job. For example, “I am familiar with most Microsoft programs. I also speak French and Spanish fluently.”

References

Many potential employers like to see references from previous employers. However, candidates for a job might prefer not to include references at this stage, but to write something like “References available on request”.

Correct tense use

For previous experience or educational study, you will need to use the Past Simple tense.

For example

1987 – 1992: Secretary to the Managing Director, Unicorp Ltd
I managed all correspondence…
To describe your present job or experience that exists up to now, you should use the Present Perfect or the Present Simple tense.

For example

From 1998 to present day: Office supervisor, Unicorp Ltd
My responsibilities are to…
I oversee a team of accountants…
Since 1996, I have managed the administration department.

Tips

1. Your CV should look attractive and it should also be easy to read. You can use bullet points to emphasise key points and to help your reader to find information quickly. Using bullet points will also help you avoid starting every sentence or paragraph with “I”. Instead, you will be able to use nouns to focus on activities and achievements. Leave space on either side of the text to allow the reader to make notes.

Use a font that is easy to read. Remember you can use bold font to make information stand out. Don’t forget to use headings and sub-headings.

2. Your CV should fit onto one or two pages of normal sized office paper. Across the top you can put your name, address and contact details.

3. Keep your CV relevant. Ideally each CV you send out should be tailored to the job you are applying for. For every requirement mentioned in the advertisement, think about how your experience, qualifications and achievements will help you meet that requirement.

Check that you have included all the information required. For example, if the job advertisement requires you to live in London, make sure that this information is prominent on your CV.

Explain any gaps in your work history and avoid making claims that are untrue or misleading.

4. Check for spelling mistakes and correct use of tenses and grammar.

5. Always send a covering letter with your CV.