Overview
Most of us obtain jobs through a multi-stage process. First you research the types of jobs you are qualified for and the types of employers you would like to work for. Then you try to convince specific employers to consider you for a job. Your first communication with your future employer is likely to be through a resume and application letter. These documents must persuade him or her to continue the conversation.
Details
Your resume and application letter must be adapted to reflect your specific skills for a specific position. Find a detailed job advertisement for which you are at least mostly qualified (or will be upon graduation). You will analyze the job ad and the organization that published it in order to emphasize your qualifications for the position.
Documents required:
An application letter addressed to the prospective employer. The letter should highlight the aspects of your experience that are relevant to the job.
A resume that emphasizes your qualifications for the job. This resume will differ, perhaps significantly, from your generic resume.
A cover memo written to your instructor. This memo will explain and/or list all the ways you adapted your resume and application letter to meet the needs of this job and employer. The cover memo can be short (a single page) and informal.
A copy of the job ad. Copy and paste the entire ad into a Word.doc.
A copy of your generic resume. This is the resume that you have used in the past, or the one on which you archive all new experiences. If you don’t have a generic resume, create one.
Note: The cover memo, job ad and generic resume will not be graded; however, if they are missing, your grade may be reduced.
Resumes
The purpose of the resume is to describe your qualifications for a type of job.
Content. The goal is to argue that you are qualified for a particular type of job and that you would be a capable, responsible, and personable employee who communicates effectively.
Format. Your format may be traditional or innovative as long as it is appropriate and as long as the information is highly accessible and is organized in a way that highlights the most important items – from the employer’s perspective. Important: Follow the formatting and content guidelines as mentioned in BCE Chapter 13.
Style. Your style should be fairly formal. You need not use complete sentences, but you should use a concise, active style and show consistency in expression from section to section.
Application Letters
The purpose of the application letter is to persuade that specific employer to grant you an interview. Just as you appreciate being treated as an individual rather than as a statistic, so does an employer.
Content and Organization. The goal is to show the reader both that you know what that specific company needs and that you have what it takes. You may organize this section in various ways: Most business cover letters use AIDA (See BCE Chapter 14). Most application letters in engineering and science fields follow the Introduction/Education/Experience/Conclusion format. The letter should close by inviting a response. Important: BCE Chapter 14 provides excellent examples.
Style. Application letters are difficult to write because they aim at somewhat conflicting goals. On the one hand, you want to make a good first impression. So you want to sound polite and fairly formal. On the other hand, you want to stand out from the crowd – otherwise, why should the employer hire you rather than any of the other applicants? The best policy is probably to talk to your reader as directly and naturally as possible. Avoid hype.
Format. Use a conventional business letter format. Be brief: if possible, stick to one page.
Evaluation Criteria
Adaptation and Organization. The application letters and resumes demonstrate proficient application of genre conventions in response to different rhetorical situations. Organizational strategies are clear, effective and appropriate. The writer understands organizational strategies and is able to adapt them to specific job application situations.
Content. The writer makes information choices dependent on resume and application letter conventions and audience needs. Content focuses on skills, results, and qualifications, quantified where appropriate.
Style, Tone and Design. The documents are correct and concise. Tone is appropriate to the rhetorical situation but is in all ways professional, conversational and tailored to the specific audience. Design works to make the documents attractive and accessible.
Correctness. Employers impose strict standards of correctness on application materials. Accordingly, I will mark this project on a somewhat stricter scale than usual.
