Magazine“Office management and document flow at the enterprise” September 2013

Covering letter for documents

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Kozhanova Evgenia | specialist in preschool educational institutions and personnel records management

In addition to regular correspondence, we send various documents to contractors every day: contracts, protocols, invoices, presentation materials... The rules of business etiquette and basic caution in handling documents require writing a cover letter in these cases. What does this give and how to apply for it? What are the deadlines for its implementation? How to store it later?

WITH a covering letter is a type of business letter that is needed to describe a package of documents sent to the addressee if these documents do not contain the address part.

Thus, information load covering letter does not, but performs three important functions:

confirms the fact of sending;

provides a list of sent documents and instructions for handling them;

Thanks to registration data, it allows you to determine the deadline.

Like most business letters, the cover letter is on letterhead and receives the sender's reference number. We have discussed the rules for preparing official letters in detail more than once in the magazine, so now we will focus on the features of the cover letter.

A detailed analysis of a service letter with many examples of its composition is in the article “We draw up a service letter»

Speech patterns

The basis of a cover letter is a list of attachments. The text of the document is short and conditionally divided into two parts:

message about sending documents,

request for a timely response (reading, approval, return of a signed copy, etc.).

The first part usually starts like this:

“In fulfillment... we direct you...”,

"We are sending you..."

“We present to you...”

Next, you can indicate the purpose of sending documents: "for approval", "for information", "for signature", "for filling"(if we are talking about a survey form or questionnaire). We recommend using the cliche “we send you” or “we send you”, because... You can submit something only for information, but not for signing or approval.

The second part may contain the following words:

“Please sign, seal and send one copy to our address...”

"We ask you to established by law deadline to consider and send to our address...",

“Please send to our address one copy of a duly executed…”.

Requisites “Mark about the presence of applications”

As we have already determined, the main thing in a cover letter for documents is the attachments. That's why Special attention We will focus on the issue of designing this particular prop. Regardless of how the application is formatted, business practice requires a complete listing of the documents attached to the letter, indicating the number of copies and the number of sheets in each of them. Without this information, the cover letter will lose all meaning.

So, when the documents being sent are already reported in the body of the letter, there is no point in listing their names again. It is enough to indicate the number of sheets and copies. See Example 1.

Example1

A fragment of text and a note about the presence of an application (the name of the application is indicated in the text of the letter)

If the application is not indicated in the body of the letter, in addition to quantitative data, you must indicate its name. If a package includes several documents, the attachments are numbered. See Example 2.

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Example2

A fragment of text and a mark indicating the presence of the application (the name of the application is indicated in the mark indicating its availability)

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Although GOST R 6.30-2003 states that when listing multiple applications in a mark about their presence the generalizing word before the colon is in the singular “Appendix:”; in such cases, we still recommend writing it in the plural “Appendices:”, as we showed in Example 2.

Firstly, this is correct from the point of view of the rules of the Russian language. And secondly, the developers of this GOST themselves later “corrected themselves” when they began to give explanations regarding its application in their methodological recommendations. See quotations from these two documents below. But many people stubbornly continue to write the word “Application:” in the singular, even if it is followed by a list of several documents. Don't do this and we've explained why.

Document fragment

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GOST R 6.30-2003 “Unified documentation systems. Unified system of organizational and administrative documentation. Requirements for document preparation"

3.21. ...If the letter has an attachment that is not named in the text, then indicate its name, the number of sheets and the number of copies; If there are several applications, they are numbered:

Document fragment

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Organizational and administrative documentation. Documentation requirements. Guidelines for the implementation of GOST R 6.30-2003

3.16. ...If the letter has an attachment that is not named in the text, then indicate its name, the number of sheets and the number of copies; if there are several attachments, they are numbered:

There are also discrepancies regarding how to write the word “attachment” in the body of the letter: with a small or capital letter, with or without the “No” sign. The fact is that you can indicate the name of the attached document in the text of the cover letter in different ways; compare for yourself by looking at Example 3: in the second case it is appropriate to indicate in brackets that the document is an application, and in subsequent cases we show how this can be done in different ways. All options are correct, it’s just important to maintain uniformity in the letter. And it’s even better to choose and fix one option in your organization’s office management instructions (or other local regulations on similar issues), then there will be uniformity in all documents and there will be less confusion for performers.

Example3

Various ways to indicate the name of the application in the body of the letter

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For a bound application, the number of sheets need not be specified (Example 4).

Example4

Description of the bound application

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When there are so many attachments that it is more convenient to list them on a separate sheet (it will be called “Inventory of attachments to the letter dated... No...”), it will be enough to refer to such an inventory in the letter (Example 5).

Example5

If there are so many applications that it is more convenient to list them in a separate inventory

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If you attach to your letter another letter that has its own attachment, you need to inform the addressee about this (Example 6).

Example6

The letter attachment has its own attachment

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Finally, if your letter is addressed to several organizations at once, and the attachment is addressed to only one of them (others receive the letter only for review), this should also be mentioned (Example 7).

Example7

The attachment is sent to only one email recipient out of several

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A note about the presence of attachments is placed below the text of the letter and above the signature. Usually these distances (indents) are made identical and equal to approximately 2-3 line spacing (this is clearly shown in the example of the design of an entire letter in Example 9).

As a general rule, if a document has attachments, then a mark indicating their presence is placed on it below the text and above the signature, and on the attached documents (each in the upper right part of the first sheet) it is written which document they are an attachment to (indicating the attachment number , if there are several), as in Example 8.

Example8

Application number and main document data on 1 sheet of application

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But the covering letter has the accounting function of the documents being sent, acting as a kind of inventory of the attachments in the envelope; in reality, the documents named in such a letter as attachments are sent. If the letter had a different function (for example, it was an offer, making an offer to sign an agreement and listing the terms of the proposed cooperation), then the “key” document in its meaning would be the letter, and the attached documents would only help it fulfill its function. But we are talking about a cover letter, and in this case you should not “spoil” the documents being sent with information about the “inventory of contents in the envelope” - i.e. There is no need to put such a mark on them!

The ability to write a resume correctly is of great importance, but equally important is how to correctly write a cover letter for it. Ready-made examples, useful recommendations in terms of compilation - all this can be seen in the article.

No work experience

Accountant

Sales Manager

Lawyer

Secretary

Expert opinion

Chadova Svetlana

Even if you are confident in your own literacy, you should still carefully read the text of the letter at least once. “Clumsy” presentation, spelling, punctuation and other errors are not allowed.

Main purpose

Cover letter for resume performs a number of important functions:

1. Prefaces reading the summary and contains all the necessary comments.
2. Allows you to stand out from other applicants thanks to the ability to add a few more offers. This is especially true in cases where the resume is compiled in the form of a questionnaire, the form of which is offered by the employer himself. Then it is the cover letter that will carry a touch of individuality.
3. It allows you to interest the reader, convinces him of the need to familiarize himself with the resume and ultimately forms a certain impression about the applicant, namely about his ability to self-present and “sell” himself.
4. Finally, the letter can briefly mention information that would be out of place in a resume.

Types of cover letters for resumes

Among the variety of such business documents, two large groups can be distinguished:

1. Short letter performs a purely technical task: it really “accompanies” the resume and sets up the reader to open the main document to get acquainted with the applicant’s candidacy in absentia. As a rule, it consists of 2-3 sentences, for example:

“Hello, Viktor Nikolaevich! My name is Ekaterina Borisovna. I am interested in the vacancy of an active sales manager, all necessary information I’m sending you my resume.”

In such cases, it is obvious that there is no point in duplicating the information of the main document or trying to compose particularly long texts. Before talking about yourself, you should say hello and briefly introduce yourself.

1. Detailed cover letter, as a rule, is used in the case when the applicant wants to fill a managerial vacancy, commercial director and other management positions. These situations also include cases where the applicant applies for “non-standard” creative professions. Obviously, it is necessary, already at the stage of writing a resume, to demonstrate your communication skills and show your individuality in order to form a favorable first impression.

Expert opinion

Chadova Svetlana

Leading HR specialist, lawyer, labor law consultant, website expert

You should not think that the accompanying text is written on a full page or more. In fact, it should consist of 3-4 points (3-4 paragraphs) and can be easily read in literally 30-40 seconds.

Structure of accompanying text for a resume

A cover letter for a resume has a clear structure: it must be written taking into account all the necessary points:

1. Greetings.
2. Main part.
3. Parting.

Greetings

Anyone can be greeted in a convenient way: “Hello” or “Good afternoon.” It is important to take into account several features:

1. If you know in advance who exactly you will be contacting, you should mention this person. It is allowed to call it exactly as you read about it in the corresponding advertisement - by name or patronymic name.
2. If you don’t know who exactly you should contact, you can simply write “Hello!” or “Good afternoon!”
3. If you have already communicated with this person on the phone, you can briefly mention this fact - this will make it much easier for the employee to remember you. For example:

“Good afternoon, Maria! As a continuation of our telephone conversation today, I am sending you my resume.”

Main part

This is the body of the accompanying text. Your thoughts should be presented concisely, specifically and logically. It is not allowed to move from one point to another, to violate the logic of the story. The following sequence of presentation can be taken as a basis:

1. First, they traditionally talk about what position they are applying for. She should be called exactly the same as she was mentioned in the department, for example: “active sales manager of the sales department.”
2. Then you need to talk in an interesting, non-clichéd way about why this particular vacancy attracted your attention. It is best to be sincere and avoid categorical formulations, for example: “Since childhood I have dreamed of...”, “I really love...”, “I am irreplaceable...”, “My unique qualification allows...”, etc. This may be true - i.e. a person really can have a calling. But it’s better to put yourself in the reader’s place: no one can completely believe a person in absentia, just because he wrote a well-written letter presenting his talents.
3. Next, you need to describe your own professional experience. Moreover, it is important to keep in mind that you are not describing experience in general, but precisely that which can be useful in a given position. If you have no experience at all, you can write about it like this:

“I am a graduate….so this job may be my first.” That is, you shouldn’t write categorically, “I don’t have any experience, but I’ll learn everything.”

At the end of the main part, just before saying goodbye, you can once again mention why you are so interested in this vacancy. Of course, this needs to be done in other words - so that the reader finds it interesting.

Parting

You need to write politely and moderately original. There are 2 options:

1. You can follow the standard path: “Sincerely” and your contact information.
2. You can hint that you are expecting an answer, i.e. create a certain image of the future, but again without categoricalness, for example:

“I will be glad to hear your response to the letter and hope for fruitful cooperation.”

“I am waiting for a response to the letter, I will be glad to see your offer.”

On the other hand, you should not demonstrate any extreme feelings, for example:

“I’m really looking forward to your answer, you are my last hope”

“I’ll be looking forward to hearing from you, hopefully soon.”

Writing a cover letter for your resume: TOP 5 useful tips

And finally, the 5 most important advice, which can also be considered the most common mistakes made by applicants. The ability to write a cover letter for a resume is important both at the stage of absentee consideration of a candidate and during the interview. Essentially, this is an opportunity to make a first impression. Therefore, it is better to know in advance what mistakes should not be made when drawing up this document.

1. Brevity is the sister of talent

A succinct, specific presentation is one of the most important requirements. The evaluation criterion is very simple: it should take no more than a minute to read the entire text. At the same time, you need to read thoughtfully, and not slip between the lines.

2. To the point and to the point

The style of presentation is exclusively formal and businesslike. The content of the document is filled exclusively with facts: what vacancy you are interested in, where you found out about it, what exactly you were interested in, what is your experience in similar activities.

3. Create an atmosphere of trust

The purpose of the letter is to “sell” the first meeting. And without establishing a trusting environment, this will be difficult to do. You can create such an atmosphere with unconventional wording. Surely the phrases “I am interested in mutually beneficial cooperation”, “I have a sufficient level of competence”, I treat any business with the utmost seriousness and responsibility” can “scare off”. The reason is their stereotyped nature and a touch of categoricalness. The same clichés can be replaced with phrases containing objective, specific facts:

“If we suit each other, I expect to work in your company for at least 2 years.”

“Hold a similar position in the company “...” for more than 5 years.”

4. Creativity: boundaries of what is acceptable

A humorous, ironic manner of presentation is inappropriate in the vast majority of cases. This is perceived negatively, since full contact has not yet been established between you.

On the other hand, there are a number of professions in which the ability to joke and express oneself aptly is not only the norm, but also an essential requirement for the employee’s skills. Therefore, in the case of, for example, journalists, DJs, and musicians, a non-standard manner of expressing thoughts can only be welcomed. However, in any case, you need to have a good sense of proportion.

5. Appearance matters

See how well your text is perceived visually. Make all paragraphs approximately the same, eliminate long sentences with complex speech structures. The text should be well perceived as a whole picture. It will be good if the reader can easily find the information he is interested in right away, and not “wander” his eye over the “sheet” of the text.

Thus, writing is always better than not writing, since correcting a finished version is more simple task than creating it from scratch.

Not all applicants know what a cover letter for a resume is. But some organizations (especially those whose structure is Western-style) take this document very seriously. There are cases when, out of two resumes from approximately equal applicants, the employer gives preference to the one who does not neglect the cover letter.

The main task of the cover letter– provide the employer with additional information that for some reason is inappropriate, as well as an explanation of some not obvious points.

Sometimes heads of organizations, looking through numerous resumes, first of all read the accompanying note, considering it a kind of “announcement” to the main document.

Despite the fact that all the information the employer needs is already contained in the main document, the cover letter may duplicate such information. This allows you to establish a personal touch with the person hiring you.

Before writing a cover letter for your resume, it is recommended to remember all the unpleasant aspects that may negatively affect the employer’s opinion of you.

Usually such " dark spots“They try to hide it, but in some cases these points will still become known to the employer. For example, in your cover letter you can mention that despite your honors diploma, you have not worked in your specialty for several years.

The cover letter is drawn up in any form, but its structure should be something like this:

• Contact the manager or HR manager (depending on the size of the organization);
• Introduction (your name and the position you are applying for);
• Goal of request;
• Information valuable to the employer, which will contain a description of the reasons for choosing you for the specified position;
• Gratitude;
• Contact details.

How to write a cover letter for a resume

Before considering the simplest cover letter sample, it is necessary to examine in more detail each of the points of its structure. The message in the cover letter can be addressed to the responsible employee of the HR department, the HR manager, or even the manager. It depends on what data you have, and if you know the manager’s name, it’s better to contact him.

On the other hand, very often in large companies with a staff of several thousand people, the general director does not even know by sight the vast majority of people working in the organization, and he is not involved in staff recruitment issues at all. In this case, it is better to write a letter addressed to the HR manager.

The view does not need to list all the information that is in the . There is no need to describe everything in detail, but some key and important points from your point of view are worth clarifying. For example - your education, and, if possible, achievements, if in the past you managed to achieve success and career growth in the same position that you want to get.

For example, a cover letter for an accountant's resume may contain information that you worked as a senior accountant, and at the same time quit due to at will looking for more promising work(obviously, there is no need to talk about dismissal for various offenses or professional incompetence in the cover letter).

Next, you need to indicate the source from which you learned about the employer’s offer. Mention that you are well versed in the aspects of the organization's activities and know the requirements that apply to candidates. List your valuable qualities that will be useful to the organization.

List all your potential advantages over other candidates. In some cases, it will be appropriate to briefly describe a situation or problem that was solved thanks to you. Ideally, you held a leadership position during this period, and the problem was solved thanks to your initiative.

At the end of the letter there should be a thank you for the fact that the employer took the time to read your letter. After thanking us, be sure to include all your possible contact information. However, this does not mean that you need to list all your email addresses, additional phone numbers and various instant messengers. A main phone number and one email address are enough.

You have already indicated this information in your resume. But, firstly, this is an additional opportunity to hint that you are waiting for a call or letter, and secondly, a correctly composed cover letter for a job application should be written in such a way that the reader becomes interested in your candidacy without even reading the resume itself . There is a small chance that the recruiter will contact you at this stage.

Cover letter for resume example

The simplest example of a cover letter for a resume is a short letter with a minimum amount of unnecessary information:

“Hello, Alexander Vladimirovich.

The vacancy of a manager, which was published on behalf of your company on the advertisement site, interested me. I consider myself a worthy candidate, since at my last job I performed the same duties as described in your advertisement.

I am familiar with all the processes and features of the work that I will have to perform, and more detailed information about my skills, education and professional qualities is contained in the resume, which is attached in a separate file.

I look forward to your decision and thank you for reading this letter.

Sincerely, Petrov A.M.

Telephone

Email".

This cover letter is an example of a laconic, targeted appeal to the manager. But more detailed example– cover letter for an accountant’s resume:

To the Director of Orient LLC

Semenov D.A.

Hello, Dmitry Alekseevich.

I sent you my resume, which is attached to this letter.

My name is Olga Anatolyevna Sitseva, and I was interested in the vacancy of a chief accountant, which I learned about from the newspaper on October 12, 2015. Having familiarized myself in detail with the requirements for candidates, I can say with confidence: I can cope with the assigned tasks without any preliminary preparation. It will take me no more than a week to adapt to the new team, take over the cases and study the peculiarities of your accounting department.

At my previous place of work at IP Chekunov, I held a similar position. I decided to change my job at my own request, since the company’s activities lie in an area in which my professional and personal development is not possible.

Despite the fact that the salary indicated in your advertisement is much higher than at the previous place of work, this is not the main motivational point for me. One of the reasons why I decided to submit my resume is the opportunity to work more effectively at Orient LLC, since the field of activity of your company is thoroughly familiar to me (this is due to my second education).

More detailed information about me is contained in my resume.

Thank you for your attention, if necessary, you can contact me using the contact information below.

Telephone

E-mail".

This letter is written in more detail, in general there is no unnecessary information, but the candidate could have used shorter expressions. Cover letters that are too long turn off employers who think they are just duplicate information from your resume.

Here's a better example:

"To the managerHR department Natalya Ivanovna Mironova.

Hello.

My name is Evgeniy Semenovich Roizman.

The purpose of my letter is to explain that I am submitting a resume for the position of chief engineer in your company.

I have extensive experience working in one place (more than 20 years) as an engineer (later - chief engineer) at the Baltic Shipyard.

I have gratitude and state awards, but I was forced to resign due to a change of residence.

If you are interested in my candidacy - more detailed information You can find out from the attached resume.

Goodbye.

Roizman E.S.

Telephone"

Indeed, such a cover letter for a job application is written very competently. With a minimum volume it contains maximum amount potentially interesting information for the manager. A good example can be considered as follows:

"Good afternoon. My name is Alexander Valentinovich Pekov, and the purpose of this letter is to draw your attention to the resume that I sent you today. I am interested in working as a system administrator in your company - this vacancy was published in the newspaper on December 14, 2015.

I have higher education in the fieldIT technologies, for the last five years he has worked as a system administrator at the Alpha company.

My tasks included connecting and removing hardware, installing new software, troubleshooting, monitoring and protecting local network companies, record keeping and some other additional functions.

The reason for the dismissal was the closure of the Alpha company.

If you are interested in my candidacy, you can contact me using the details below. If necessary, I am ready to come for an interview at any time.

Sincerely, Pekov A.V.

Telephone

E-mail".

Nuances, features and pitfalls

As you can see, all of the above examples are cover letters written different people in different styles. And, despite the lack of a strictly regulated form of cover letters, it is worth understanding what these people did wrong. Here is a list of rules that should be followed when drawing up such a document.

• A cover letter is not an autobiography, but brief theses that serve as arguments in your favor, but since some people simply cannot write briefly and to the point, then the second point follows.
• Please read your completed cover letter carefully. Long sentences can always be avoided. Just set boundaries for yourself in advance. For example, write no more than five hundred words. Anything that does not fit into this framework should be shortened or rephrased.
• Text proofreading It is also necessary in order to avoid spelling errors, which are very often stupid and annoying. Surprisingly, many adults still cannot master such rules as writing “-tsya”-“-tsya” at the end of verbs, and also make other similar mistakes. A cover letter is a document. Reading it and encountering an error already in the first paragraph, the employer may stop reading there, especially if it is important for your vacancy to have good command of speech and the Russian language.
• Banal characteristics of oneself- Not needed. The employer can find out that you are “stress-resistant, sociable, ready to work overtime” and other things from the main resume in the column “ Additional Information».
• Notice how all these people wrote the pronoun “You”: two with a capital letter and two with a small letter. There is a difference between these options. “You” is appropriate in this case, since the address is addressed to a specific person who is senior in the hierarchy. But “you” is an address to an abstract reader or to two or more persons at the same time.
• It is impossible to say exactly what size such a letter should be: sometimes all the information in it can really be important. But try to adhere to the Western standard, where such a document is usually about a third of an A4 sheet.

Remember that a well-written cover letter is also an indicator, because the employer first of all sees this document and can already form his first impression from it, and only then begins to study it himself.

This article will focus on a letter to accompany a resume, in other words, a cover letter. I will tell you in detail what a cover letter is and what it should be! I will point out the common mistakes of many applicants. By the way, I made the same mistakes once. :-) Until I got into the topic, it certainly didn’t happen right away. This is probably why many companies didn’t even call me back at first, even though the resume was immediately beautiful and good, sensible, but still.

Today, almost everyone, when sending a resume, writes some kind of nonsense in a letter. This is not right. What does it look like? For example, you want to send your resume to an employer. In the “to” field write your email address, in the “subject” field write your resume or something like that, then attach your resume and in the message write “Hello.” It looks something like this:

Hello,

Sincerely, tyry-pyry-trawl-wali

So this is not correct. Because such a letter is not respectful to the HR manager. Your resume, along with your hopes, goes into the trash.

It should be

When sending a resume, the body of the letter must contain accompanying text. There are many options for writing such a text (maybe later I’ll write some options when I’m not lazy or upon request). You can write a cover letter, so to speak, both in an official style and in a friendly conversational style.)) Even so! The main thing is not to overdo it and follow certain rules.

Cover letter rules (important points):

Please indicate the name of the vacancy you are applying for. Why is this being done? Everything is very simple. When the HR manager receives your resume. He doesn’t have to think, guess on the tea leaves for which vacancy your resume came in or what vacancy you would like to apply for.

Send your resume from a serious address. You must show that you are an adult, adequate person, job seekers. It's stupid to send from an address like " [email protected]», « [email protected]" Agree this is very stupid. Create a mailbox for job search, for example, “Last [email protected]” or even better Gmail.com or ukr.net (good, reputable mail services). The ideal version of the mailbox, as I wrote above, but most likely it is busy, which means something like this:

• [email protected]
• [email protected]
• [email protected]

At worst, this option will work:

• [email protected]

When contacting an employer, be sure to include the name of the manager in the letter. It will be brighter this way, as if you treat the person to whom you are sending your resume with respect.)) When I was looking for a job, I noticed that in almost all vacancies the manager indicates his name. (I really remember the name Olga). Ahhhh... yes... Another trick, if the contact person is not specified in the vacancy, you need to call the company and ask what the name of the mysterious HR manager is. No one will do this, I know from experience, but I suggested this option to you, it works!

You need to show that you are interested in the company. Read on their website what they do, read about the company, what kind of company it is and what it does or produces. Maybe you don’t need to go there, you’ll just be wasting your time. Show interest in the employer. If you are unemployed, it means you have a lot of time.

Also, don’t write nonsense like- “well, please take me”, “take me”, stupid “hello”. Well, such a letter needs to end beautifully. I usually always end with “Thank you for your attention!”, “Thank you for your time.” Well, I’ll leave a phone number or email address at the end for emergency contact.

To summarize (example):

All my cover letters consist of paragraphs. The first paragraph is always short, usually two or three sentences, that is, write what position you want, write how you found out about it, and so on. You must interest the employer in reading your resume.

Dear Mr. (full name or first name)!

As an experienced specialist in (a particular field), currently completing (such and such educational institution), I would like to request information about possible vacancies in your company. I am interested in the job (write here as well). My enclosed resume states that I have extensive work experience and always welcome new opportunities to prove myself.

Next are a couple of paragraphs. In them, you more specifically describe your qualifications for the vacancy you are trying to apply for. If you don’t know what to write, select information from your resume and describe it in detail. In general, you interest the employer.

Important to me practical experience combined with acquired academic knowledge. I am proud of the fact that I pay for my education myself, working part-time in my specialty. The professional experience I gained helped me better study my area of ​​specialization, and so on.

“Where does it say that we must write a cover letter for the documents being sent?” You will have to answer this question honestly: “Nowhere.” Drawing up a cover letter is an unwritten rule of office work and a business custom, but not a requirement contained in binding documents. However, if you look at it, it becomes clear: the cover letter is needed primarily not by the recipient, but by the sender.

BENEFITS AND APPROPRIATENESS OF A COVERING LETTER

How can a cover letter be useful to the sender? Covering letter:

It has the “Date of document preparation” attribute, which means, if necessary, it can serve as proof that the documents were sent on time;

Contains full list sent documents (the “Note on the presence of an application” detail), so that if some important document gets lost, no one can say that it was not sent;

It is subject to registration with the addressee, in contrast to the documents sent with it, and since the execution date is counted from the registration date, the sender can refer to this date if he wants to receive a response.

The covering letter for the documents, like all other incoming correspondence, is subject to registration with the secretary of the recipient organization. But if you know from experience that problems may arise with this, it is better to avoid an unpleasant conversation and simply send the entire package of documents by mail, receiving notification of delivery of the letter. Having a notification in hand, the sender no longer has to worry about whether the letter was registered, and leave it up to the conscience of the recipient.

WE COMPLETE THE DETAILS OF A COVERING LETTER

Rules for registering details can be found in the following documents:

GOST R 6.30-2003 “Unified documentation systems. Unified system of organizational and administrative documentation. Requirements for document preparation";

Organizational and administrative documentation. Documentation requirements. Guidelines for the implementation of GOST R 6.30-2003 (hereinafter - Guidelines for the implementation of GOST).

■ Letter form. The ready-made letter form, designed in accordance with GOST 6.30-2003, already contains the necessary details.

Mandatory details of the form include:

OKPO, OGRN, INN/KPP;

Name of company;

Background information about the organization.

The organization's emblem or trademark (service mark) is an optional property.

The cover letter can be prepared on letterhead (see Example 1), letterhead structural unit(see Example 2) or on an official’s letterhead (see Example 3).

■ Text. The text of the cover letter is often formal in nature and only informs about the direction of documents. The most important part of the information is contained in the application descriptions. However, cover letter texts can vary in level of complexity.

Elementary. The simplest text of a follow-up letter might look like this:

As you can see, this text only contains a message that certain documents have been sent to the recipient.

With justification. If the sending of a package of documents attached to the letter is prescribed by a regulatory legal act or an agreement between organizations, then the text of the covering letter begins with the words “In pursuance of...” or other wording containing a reference to the standard:

With instructions. The text of the cover letter of the next level of complexity also contains an indication of what the recipient should do with the documents sent to him:

Thus, the text of the cover letter can be divided into two parts:

Notification about sending documents (mandatory);

Instructions for handling sent documents (optional).

■ Marking the presence of the application. The peculiarity of a cover letter is that its semantic center is not the text at all, but the list of attached documents. In this regard, let us remember the general rule for the design of this detail: in cover letters, a note about the presence of an attachment is placed under the text of the letter from the border of the left margin (Appendix No. 11 to clause 3.3.2 of the Rosarkhiv Methodological Recommendations) (see Examples 1-3).

We will pay special attention correct design this requisite in special cases.

The first case is simple. If the attached document is already named in the text of the letter, in the “Note on the presence of an attachment” it is enough to indicate only the number of sheets and copies of this document, for example:

The second case is complex. If there are several application documents, then each of them receives its own serial number followed by the number of sheets and copies. Documents are listed either in random order or from the main document to the secondary ones. In the text of the letter, the attached documents are not named, for example:

The third case is printing. When sending a catalog, brand book, methodological manual, produced in a printing house, that is, any bound document, the number of its sheets is not indicated:

Case four is electronic. Neither the Methodological Recommendations of Rosarkhiv, nor GOST 6.30-2003, nor the Methodological Recommendations for the Implementation of GOST contain rules for attaching external information media to letters. At the same time, the practice of sending flash cards or CDs to each other by organizations is quite widespread. You have to invent your own design rules, guided by elementary logic. Thus, it makes no sense to indicate the number of sheets and copies of an electronic document. Its name, format (so that the recipient knows in advance whether the file will open on his computer) and, perhaps, volume will be enough. Don’t forget to indicate the type of media, for example:

Case five is combined. There are complex letters that are both informational and accompanying. If one letter is sent to several addresses, and all recipients receive information, and some also receive attachment documents, then the details are formatted as follows:

Case six is ​​descriptive. If there are so many attachments that listing them would take more than one page, it is advisable to make an inventory of them and issue it as the only attachment to the letter. This is done so that the employee responsible for carrying out the assignment for the letter receives an inventory of them along with all the attachments, because the cover letter and its attachments almost always take different routes in the organization. The inventory will be called “Inventory of attachments to the letter dated... No...”.

The text and mark about the presence of the application will look like this in this case:

■ Other details

The remaining details of the cover letter are drawn up in the general manner prescribed by GOST 6.30-2003 and Methodological recommendations Rosarkhiva.

Required details include:

Document date;

Document registration number;

Destination;

Title to the text;

Signature;

Note about the performer.

Optional details in this case are:

Document approval visas, which usually remain on a copy of the document with the executor.

TRACKING THE ROUTE OF THE COVERING LETTER

Cover letters travel through the organization along exactly the same routes as everyone else. business letters of various types.

2. Together with visas and a package of applications (this is mandatory!), the draft letter goes to the signature of to CEO or other authorized official.

3. The signed project turns into a full-fledged document with legal force and goes through the registration procedure in the office or with the secretary of the signatory manager.

4. Delivery of the cover letter and all documents attached to it to the addressee is organized.

5. In the office of the recipient organization, the received cover letter and its attachments undergo an initial review procedure. The purpose of this procedure is to ensure that all delivered applications correspond to those listed in the “Application Availability Mark” attribute.

6. If everything is in order, the letter is registered (what to do if not everything is in order is described below).

7. A registered incoming letter is submitted for consideration to the first person of the organization or another authorized manager, as a general rule - along with attachments. But the organization may have its own rules in this regard. For example, if the letter is standard and it is known exactly who officials will be appointed as the executor under it, the secretary can agree with the director and transfer the applications to the executor immediately, without waiting for the resolution. In extremely rare cases, if a standard letter contains “non-standard” information, the attachments are promptly delivered to the manager for review.

8. With or without attachments, the cover letter is submitted for consideration to the management of the recipient organization.

9. The manager appoints an executor by issuing a regular resolution and returns the document to the secretary.

10. The secretary transfers the task to the executor according to the rules accepted in the organization. At this point, most often the cover letter and its attachments are separated: the performer is interested in the latter, not the letter, and he most likely knows what to do with the attachments. If the letter contains any special instructions for working with the attached documents, then the executor receives a copy from the secretary, and not the original letter. The original remains with the secretary (in the office) and is filed in the file.

11. Meanwhile, the application goes its own way, which is determined by the type of document and can be as long as desired.

If something went wrong. If, during the initial examination in the office, even upon delivery, it turns out that the attached package is missing one or more documents stated in the covering letter, a report about this is drawn up (see Example 4), and the letter is returned to the sender.

WE KEEP COVERING LETTERS

Cover letters are stored separately from the applications with which they are sent to the organization. In the electronic document management system, when registering these applications, a link is placed to the registration card of the incoming letter, but this is not necessary: ​​the covering letter completes its function exactly at the moment when the contractor picks up the documents attached to it to begin working with them.

As for the storage periods of cover letters, they fall under the articles of the List of standard management archival documents generated in the course of the activities of state bodies, local governments and organizations, indicating storage periods (approved by order of the Ministry of Culture of Russia dated August 25, 2010 No. 558; hereinafter referred to as the List 2010):

Correspondence with government bodies of the Russian Federation, government bodies of the constituent entities

Russian Federation, local government bodies in the main (core) areas of activity - 5 l. EPC (Article 32 of the 2010 List);

Correspondence with a higher-level organization on the main (core) areas of activity - 5 sheets. EPC (Article 33 of the 2010 List);

Correspondence with subordinate (subordinate) organizations in the main (core) areas of activity - 5 l. EPC (Article 34 of the 2010 List);

Correspondence with other organizations in the main (core) areas of activity - 5 sheets. EPC (Article 35 of the 2010 List).

As we can see, cover letters are stored for 5 years, after which their value must be examined and either their storage period extended or destroyed. Destruction is also carried out in accordance with the general procedure.

SUMMARY

1. The main purpose of the cover letter is to confirm that the documents attached to it were sent and delivered to the addressee.

2. A cover letter is drawn up according to the same rules as other business letters; Particular attention should be paid to the design of the “Appendix Availability Mark” requisite.

3. If an incomplete package of documents is delivered with a covering letter, a special report is drawn up about this.

4. The document flow of cover letters is carried out according to general rules working with incoming documents accepted by the organization.

5. The covering letter and the documents delivered with it are stored separately from each other for the period established for them.