For this assignment, you will be preparing your own cover letter and résumé! Even if you may not be planning to apply for a new job anytime soon, use this activity to begin planning for the future.
If you are unsure of your career plans, go to the Student Success Center and search to “Explore Careers”. Then, from the search results, select some career fields to explore. For this assignment, you will need to choose a specific job in a specific career field.
Step 1: Find a job announcement.
Find a job announcement related to your career field. It should be a real job that you would legitimately consider or actually are applying for either now or in the future. For this job announcement:
You may use any job board to find a job announcement.
You may use an internal vacancy announcement with an organization at which you are currently employed.
You may use a job description for a military position to which you plan to be promoted in the future.
You may use a job description from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook. (Use the “What They Do” section of your chosen career as your “job announcement” for this assignment.)
Your cover letter and résumé must be tailored to match the qualifications of this job announcement and thus persuade the audience that you should be hired for this job!
Step 2: Submit your cover letter and résumé for reviews. (Due Thursday of Week 5 in Weeks 5/6 Peer Review Forum)
Submit your cover letter and résumé for a peer review in the Weeks 5/6 peer review forum discussion. Follow the instructions there for the peer-review process.
Step 3: Submit your cover letter and résumé. (Due end of Week 6)
After receiving feedback from your peers (and Career Services) and doing your own self-review based on the peer-review experience, REVISE your cover letter and résumé.
Submit here THREE separate files:
1. Job Announcement
2. Cover Letter
3. Résumé
Use all principles of writing studied so far in the course (Six Cs of Communication, positive emphasis, “you” approach, message formatting and organization, etc.). Remember, the name of each attached file should be descriptive and short!
Plagiarism and Borrowed Material Note
You will be able to see your Turnitin.com report for all submitted files. If content in the cover letter and résumé is similar to other sources, REVISE and RESUBMIT before the due date!
Similarity might happen if using a list of job duties, a cover letter or résumé template, or a cover letter or résumé generator. As discussed in the Week 5 learning materials, be concrete and clear by sharing specifics and quantifiable amounts that do not just describe your job duties but explain your job accomplishments.
Although key words related to the job should be used to make your résumé scannable, no full sentences or phrases in your résumé should be identical to those found in other résumés. To achieve the purpose of “selling yourself” in a persuasive way, your cover letter and résumé must be original.
If using a résumé tool, or sample résumé as a guide, be sure to edit the content to make it unique and specific to your experiences. Do NOT copy/paste content directly from job descriptions or AI or résumé-building tools, including the ones provided in this class. Imagine if everyone applying for the same job used the same tool as you did and submitted similar résumés. Adapt the content to “sell yourself” and stand out!
For example:
Job Description: Conduct monthly job performance, goal setting, and career development counseling.
Résumé Generated by AI or Other Tool: Counsel employees in performance of job duties, establishing objectives, and professional development.
Personal, Unique, and Specific Résumé: Conduct over 20 monthly job performances, setting goals for technical training and performance improvement while providing career counseling that led to promotions for more than 50% of staff.
I HAVE ATTACHED EXAMPLES. I WORK IN COMMUNICATIONS (RADIOS/TRANSMISSIONS) IN THE MARINE CORPS. THE JOB I AM LOOKING FOR IS IN THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY.
