Foundation Course

Dr Prince Dawar
Department of English and Humanities, PIET
 Resume and Job Application/Cover
Letter
A persuasive message that sells the applicant‘s talent to a prospective
employer. It persuades the reader to believe in his /her suitability
for a particular practice.
Purpose:
Introduces the applicant to the hiring organisation
Introduces applicant's resume
Highlights the applicant's positive personal traits and achievements
Shows how the applicants' special talents will benefit the organisation
Emphasis how the applicant is right for the job by matching the
requirements of the job with his or her qualifications
Asks for an opportunity to be interviewed by the organisation
Therefore, the applicant should evaluate his her academic and
professional qualifications, learned and intuitive skills, special traits
and strengths, experiences and career goals and interests.
 Key elements in cover letter
• Gaining the reader's attention
• Building reader’s interest in the applicant ‘s
candidature
• Convincing the reader that the applicant is the
best candidate
• Motivating the reader to act
• The opening states the reader’s attention, a body
builds the reader’s interest and convinces the
reader that the applicant is the best candidate,
and a closing motivates the reader to act.
 Cover Letter Design
• Opening: The way an application letter opens of the employer’
business depends on whether the applicant is writing in
response to job advertisements/ announcements or he or she is
exploring possible openings in a firm company, department or
institution .
• Solicited application letters: in order to open a letter of
application for a job that has been advertised any of the
following strategies:
✓ Mentioning Source of Information: Your advertisement for a
Material Manager in the May 5, 2015 issue of The Times of India
(new edition) caught my attention because with a Diploma in
Material Management and four years experience in the
procurement of raw materials , I could serve JBM well.
✓ Matching Credentials to Employer Needs : An strategy to open A
solicited letter of application could be to focus on the applicant’s
qualification that meet needs of the prospective employer.
✓ Using references: Making use of a references is a popular
strategy to open solicited application letters. It strengthens the
application because most of the employers prefer to hire known
people rather than strangers.
➢ Unsolicited application letters: When a job is not advertised
and the applicant is writing to explore possible openings,
more persuasive strategies should be used to open a letter of
application . It includes:
✓ Using stimulating questions that highlight your strengths :are
you looking for professional who have sufficient experience in
installation/ commissioning and operations of thermal plants
with hands – on experience on various processes and controls
for efficient and trouble free operations of the power plant
with optimal utilisation of resources ?
✓ Using facts that show understanding of the employer's
business : Using facts that reflect an appreciation,
understanding or knowledge of the employer’s business could
be effective for unsolicited application letters.
✓ Using startling statements: Surprising or unexpected
statements or statistics that surprise can be used. Sometimes,
this could be very effective in capturing the attention of the
reader.
 Steps to be followed
• Qualifications and experience
• Highlight your strengths
• Describe capabilities
• Refer to the resume
• Restate interest in the company of reinforce suitability for the
position
• Give the letter a professional look
• Use a positive tone
• Show confidence
• Show genuine interest
• Use specific details
• Be factual and objective
• Organise the letter well
• Follow consistent style
Sample (Cover Letter)
 Resume
• It is a selective record of an individual’s
background. It is a basically employment
seeking document that presents a summary of
an individual’s education, professional
training, experience, skills, abilities,
achievements, and references.
• Resume design includes: How can the
employer contact the candidate? What are
his/her career objectives/. What is work
experience? etc.
 Parts of a resume
• Heading
• Position sought
• Career objective
• Professional summary
• Education
• Work experience
• Special skills , abilities and aptitudes
• Activities and interests
• Achievements/accomplishments/honours
• References
 Additional tips
• Give the resume a professional look
• Be factual , complete and objective
• Use appropriate writing style
• Use specific details
• Organise the resume properly
• Take care of grammar, usage, vocabulary ,
spelling and punctuation
Sample Resume
Thank You
 Communication
• Effective Communication is all about conveying your
messages to other people clearly and
unambiguously. It's also about receiving information
with as little distortion as possible. Doing this
involves effort from both the sender of the message
and the receiver. And it's a process that can be
fraught with error, with messages muddled by the
sender, or misinterpreted by the recipient. When this
isn't detected, it can cause tremendous confusion,
wasted effort and missed opportunity. In fact,
communication is only successful when both the
sender and the receiver understand the same
information as a result of the communication.
 Continued…
• The word Communication describes the process of
conveying messages (facts, ideas, attitudes and
opinions) from one person to another, so that they
are understood.
• Communication is the process whereby speech, signs
or actions transmit information from one person to
another. This definition is concise and definitive but
doesn‘t include all the aspects of communication.
There are other definitions, which state that
communication involves transmitting information
from one party to another.
 Continued…
• Communication is a process of transmitting
and receiving verbal and non verbal messages
that produce a response. The communication
is considered effective when it achieves the
desired reaction or response from the
receiver, simply stated, communication is a
two way process of exchanging ideas or
information between human beings.
 Continued…
• Communication can be defined as the process through
which two or more persons come to exchange ideas
and understanding among them. Communication is the
understanding, not of the visible but of the invisible
and hidden. These hidden and symbolic elements
embedded in the culture give meaning to the visible
communication process. Communication among
people does not depend on technology but rather on
forces in people and their surroundings. It is a process
that occurs within people.
 Continued…
• No matter the type or mechanism of communication,
every instance of communication must have a message
that is being transferred from sender to receiver. In
order for communication to be successful, the sender
and receiver must have some signs, words or signals in
common with each other so the sent message can be
understood.
• The ideal definition of communication is a 2-way
interaction between two parties to transmit
information and mutual understanding between
themselves. The interchange of information from one
party to another is best communicated when a
discussion is available so the receiver can ask questions
and receive answers to clarify the message.
 Barriers to Communication
• Inadequate language base: Weak language proficiency, lack of technical vocabulary,
combined with fear and shyness, will hinder the progress of learning a new subject.

• Partial Listening: Partial listening occurs when people happily indulge themselves in
multitasking and allow themselves to be distracted easily.

• Disinterestedness : Due to disinterestedness in the subject, during a conversation, the

listener may focus on other interesting subjects.

• Pre-judging the Speaker/the Speech: The listeners form biased opinions by looking at the
speaker’s look, dress and mannerism. The bias against the speaker can be formed due to
one’s own gender and colour preferences. Even the status of the speaker, depending on
whether it is high or low, can affect the logical thinking of the listener.

• Negativity towards the Speaker: The major cause of poor listening is due to the listener’s
emotional, mental and psychological mind-set. If there is any dislike for the speaker and
disapproval to his/her ideas, the listener will certainly reconstruct distorted and negative
message.
DIFFIDENCE : Some listeners suffer from a
defeatist attitude. Hence, underestimate their
self-capabilities and decide in advance that they
cannot understand what they are going to hear.
Mostly, new students and participants in a
conference suffer from this kind of self-
diffidence and affect the listening process.
OVER-ENTHUSIASM/INTOLERANCE :
• There are listeners who often become over
enthusiastic and intolerant and start supplying gaps
in the speaker’s ideas. This generally comes out of
impatience from the listener’s side who finds the
speaker slow to communicate his/her ideas.
• So the listener advances the questions and interferes
quickly preventing the speaker to finish the talk on
his/her own pace. In the process, the listener
assumes the speaker’s flow of thoughts in advance
and impedes his/her own mind from active listening.
• DEEP-ROOTED BELIEFS : Sometimes one tends to
become close minded due to one’s own deep rooted
beliefs and convictions. Socio- culturally embedded
beliefs and convictions become so strong and firmly
rooted in one’s minds and act as barriers to new
thoughts and fresh ideas.

• For instance, if one has a deep rooted conviction on

caste system based arranged marriage, then the
person will not be able to openly listen to a talk on
the benefits of inter-caste love marriage. Such deep-
rooted beliefs lead to superficial listening and cause
disagreement with the speaker’s stance and view
point.
 Barriers to Communication
• Wrong assumption
• Varied perceptions
• Differing background
• Wrong inferences
• Blocked categories
• Categorical thinking
• Limited vocabulary
• Clash of verbal and non-verbal messages
• Emotional outburst
 Continued…
• Communication selectivity
• Cultural variations
• Poor listening skills
• Noise in the channel
• Too many transfer stations
• Fear of superiors
• Negative tendencies
• Use of inappropriate media
• Information overloaded
THANK YOU
 Effective Oral and PowerPoint Presentations

• Preparation
• Know Your Audience: Tailor your content to their interests and level of
understanding.
• Define Your Purpose: Clearly state the objective of your presentation (inform,
persuade, entertain).
• Research Your Topic: Gather relevant data, examples, and anecdotes to support
your points.

• Content Organization
– Introduction: Know your audience, introduce the topic, and state your
purpose.
– Body: Organize main points logically (e.g., chronological, thematic). Use
subheadings for clarity.
– Conclusion: Summarize key points and restate the significance. End with a
strong closing statement or call to action.
 Continued…..

• PowerPoint Design
• Keep It Simple: Use minimal text; aim for key phrases and bullet points.
• Visuals: Incorporate relevant images, charts, and graphs to enhance
understanding.
• Consistent Style: Use a uniform font, color scheme, and slide layout
throughout.
• Limit Slides: Aim for one slide per minute of presentation time.
• Delivery Techniques
• Practice: Rehearse multiple times, preferably in front of a friend or family
member.
• Body Language: Maintain eye contact, use gestures, and move confidently.
• Vocal Variety: Vary your pitch, tone, and volume to maintain interest.
• Pace Yourself: Speak clearly and at a steady pace; pause for emphasis and
to allow comprehension.
 Continued…..

• Engagement Strategies
• Ask Questions: Encourage audience participation by asking
questions throughout.
• Use Stories: Share anecdotes or case studies to illustrate your
points.
• Interactive Elements: Consider polls or quizzes to engage the
audience.
• Technical Considerations
• Test Equipment: Ensure your laptop, projector, and remote
are functioning before the presentation.
• Backup: Have a backup of your presentation on a USB drive or
cloud storage.
 Making Effective Use of Visual Aids
Visual aids can significantly enhance your presentation,
making it more engaging and easier for your audience to
understand.
Types of Visual Aids
Slides (PowerPoint, Google Slides): Use slides to highlight
key points, images, graphs, and charts.
Handouts: Provide additional information or summaries for
the audience to take home.
Props: Use physical objects to illustrate concepts or ideas.
Videos: Incorporate short clips to demonstrate processes or
provide context.
Charts/Graphs: Visual representations of data make complex
information more digestible
 Continued…..

Design Principles:
Keep It Simple: Limit text to essential points; avoid clutter.
Use bullet points for clarity.
Consistent Style: Maintain a uniform font, color scheme, and
layout throughout your presentation.
High-Quality Images: Use clear, relevant visuals. Avoid low-
resolution images.
Color Contrast: Ensure text contrasts well with the
background for readability
Group Discussion: Effective Strategies and Techniques

Group Discussion can be highly effective when structured and

managed well.
Preparation:
• Set Clear Objectives: Define the purpose and goals of the
discussion.
Rules
• Encourage Respect: Foster a safe environment for all opinions; no
interruptions.
• Stay on Topic: Remind participants to focus on the agenda to avoid
digression.
• Be Time-Conscious: Stick to the allocated time for each topic to
ensure all points are covered.
 Continued…..
• Open with a Question: Start with an engaging question to prompt
conversation.
• Encourage Participation: Invite quieter members to share their
thoughts; use prompts if necessary.
• Active Listening: Show genuine interest in contributions;
acknowledge and paraphrase to clear understanding.
• Balance Participation: Ensure dominant voices don’t overshadow
quieter participants.
• Handle Conflicts: Address disagreements constructively; mediate to
find common ground.
• Use Proper Body Language: Keep in mind when participating that
Proper body language should be used.
THANK YOU