This work analyses, in a contrastive approach, the cooperative efforts proposed by Grice (1975) between the participants of a communicative event in the professional field. More specifically, the objectives are focused on the observance and/or violation of two special categories of the Cooperative Principle: the maxims of quantity and relation. These aspects are verified through the linguistic content of Job Application Letters (JAL) written by Brazilian and English candidates in relation to: (a) the general expectations of Brazilian and English companies in terms of number and relevance of information given in a JAL; (b) the specific instructions and qualifications required in the job advertisements published by four Brazilian and English companies.