Resume and Cover Letter

Purpose of the assignment:

• Introduce principles of reader-centered technical writing;
• Teach visual design and reading processes
• Learn to understand and write for the complexities of audiences and reading situations
• Prepare you for the job application process.

Assignment:

1.Find an actual job/internship in your field that you could apply for when you graduate.

• Limit the job to something that a recent college graduate in your field or someone with your experience/ background will apply for. The job does not have to be available or open now; it just needs to exist. You can find the job through traditional ways such as the newspaper and personal contacts. Obviously, applying for an internship is also a possibility, and I encourage you to find the appropriate information channels for an internship (professors, the internet, as well as the career and placement services in Garcia annex are good venues to find internships and jobs). Also, check with your major professors and use the Internet (see TCT page 410 for a list of websites). The more precise the job advertisement, the better off you are: often it's difficult to create a resume and cover letter for a job ad that's not specific, so find one that is very specific. After getting the advertisement, do a rhetorical analysis of your audience and their requirements for the job. This will lead you to present yourself in a particular way in your resume and cover letter.

NOTE: The potential job advertisement must be included with your final resume and cover letter.

2.Prepare your resume as appropriate for this job.

• Your peers will comment on your resume and cover letter drafts during peer review. With regards to potential quandaries over whether you should presume that you have your bachelor's degree: you can give your expected graduation date, and include courses on your resume that you can reasonably be expected to have taken before graduation. This means that you can present yourself as someone who is going to earn their bachelor's degree in the near future. If you have courses that you can reasonably expect to take given your major, list them. However, do not lie or make up experiences you didn't have. Though some people have plans after their bachelor's degree, assume that you will be applying for a job straight after earning your bachelor's degree. Though I realize that's not where some of you are intending on going, the exercise of professionally presenting yourself and your educational experiences will be valuable.

NOTE: In presenting yourself, be as honest as possible about your professional/educational experiences just as you would in a regular job application. That means that you should not make stuff up.

3.Prepare a cover letter for this job, addressed to the specific person who would hire you.

• If this information is not provided in the job advertisement, you need to contact the company and obtain the individual’s name, title, and mailing address. Also remember to do research on the company so you can use this information in your cover letter (for example, their goals as a company and how these intersect with your professional interests).

4. Have your resume and cover letter, together with the job ad, reviewed by a peer.

• Your peers will comment on your resume and cover letter, as well as the job advertisement during peer review. Be sure to bring a copy of the job advertisement so that your peers understand the job qualifications and rhetorical context of your application.

5. Prepare a final version of your resume and cover letter

• After peer review, prepare a final version of the resume and cover letter, and submit them with your drafts (complete with notes and comments from the peer reviews) and the job advertisement in your folder.

Grading Criteria:

I will be looking at the following elements:

1. Are there any typos, spelling errors, that might detract from what you're trying to convey in both of these documents?

2. Do the cover letter and resume convey through their content that you are the right person for the job?

3. Do both the cover letter and resume display clear choices in visual and textual design (i.e. are they balanced visually and textually, look neat)?

4. Is the resume in the correct format, given your experience (i.e. archival versus functional resume)? Is the content of the resume complete (i.e. are all sections covered)? Is the resume rhetorically effective (i.e. lists appropriate jobs, experience, courses for the job?)

5. Is the tone of the cover letter rhetorically appropriate (i.e. is it confident and positive without coming across as overconfident or pleading)? Is the cover letter appropriately formatted as a letter?

6. Do the resume and cover letter meet the guidelines for this assignment?

I am also assuming you will apply all of the knowledge we gained from the readings and class discussions.

Please let me know if you have any questions about this assignment.