ESL Podcast 748 - Writing a Letter of Inquiry

laid off - fired; told that one no longer has a job

Hundreds of people were laid off and then the company decided to close the factory.

to pound the pavement - to spend a lot of time walking along streets, especially going to many homes and businesses

This year, the school's fundraiser involves asking the students to pound the pavement and try to sell magazines to their neighbors.

to turn up - to appear; to suddenly show up or be present

Ozzie thought he had lost his dog, but one night, it turned up on his front porch.

to take the bull by the horns - to do something without hesitation, especially when it appears challenging or difficult

Kenji isn't scared of anything! He always takes the bull by the horns and does whatever needs to be done.

inquiry - a question; the act of asking about something or whether something exists

Some publishers want authors to send in a letter of inquiry before sending in a complete book manuscript.

job opening - a vacant position; an opportunity to work somewhere; a role that a company is trying to fill by hiring someone for a position

More than 300 people have applied for the job opening, and we just posted it last week!

personnel officer - a person whose job is to hire and train employees and handle other aspects of staffing for a business or organization

The personnel officer keeps files and records on everyone's job performance.

qualification - a trait, characteristic, knowledge, education, or experience that a company is looking for while hiring someone for a job; something that makes an individual seem like a good person to hire for a particular position

Here's a job description for a graphic designer, but the listed qualifications include three software programs I've never used before.

extensive - covering many topics or a long period of time; thorough; broad

The New York Times published an extensive review of the play.

to enclose - to put something inside something else, especially to put another document in an envelope with a letter

Please send us the completed form and enclose a copy of your driver's license and a $25 check.

résumé - a 1- or 2-page document summarizing one's professional experience, education, and skills, used mostly when one is applying for a job

What should I put at the top of the résumé? My professional experience or my education and leadership positions?

consulting - related to projects where an expert or a company is paid to provide a specific service over a defined period of time, but not hired as additional staff

The students wrote a business plan for a local nonprofit organization as a consulting project in one of their MBA courses.

consideration - thought; time spent thinking about something, especially while making a decision about someone's proposal or request

Please put your proposal in writing and send it to the managing director for her consideration.

to hesitate - to delay or to wait to do something, usually because one doubts whether it is appropriate or a good idea

This is a great business opportunity! If you hesitate, someone else might take advantage of it first.

legwork - work that involves a lot of traveling, especially if the work is difficult or boring

Benny put in a lot of legwork, hanging posters of his missing cat all over town.

to have no intention of - to not plan to do something

Christopher broke up with Molly, but she has no intention of staying home and crying about it.

to twiddle (one's) thumbs - to hold one's hands together while moving one's thumbs in small circles around each other; an expression meaning to waste time by doing things that are not important

How can you sit here just twiddling your thumbs when there's so much work to be done?