The Job Package Assignment

Goals This assignment, as the culmination of the work you have done in WRIT 465, asks you to put together what you have learned about audience focus, persuasion, document design, and editing and persuade an employer to take a chance on you. These documents should be prepared in the most meticulous fashion possible and presented on the quality of paper you intend to use for your job documents. If you are going to submit your resume electronically, please see me for additional guidelines on creating an electronic or scannable resume.
What You Turn In 1. A cover letter applying for a particular job or internship
2. A resume to accompany the letter
3. A copy of the ad for the job or internship (if there is no written ad, then write me a brief paragraph describing the job and employer)
Incomplete job packages will be marked down accordingly.
Tips I will be providing you with a number of handouts and samples, but I advise you not to copy them slavishly. Rather, adapt them to fit your personality, your style, and the kind(s) of jobs for which you are applying. The Resources Page has many links to help you with your search.
Pilot Testing

Your completed job package is due as scheduled on the syllabus. Please note the days where you are required to bring in rough drafts of your letter and resume (5 copies of each on regular paper) so that we can have peer review critiques.
Grading

I recommend that you focus very carefully on the editing, since a single mistake on a resume or job letter may get you "cut" from an applicant pool. Therefore,
  • If there is one grammatical or editing mistake on the letter or resume, the highest grade you can receive is a "C".
  • If there are two grammatical or editing mistakes on the letter or resume, the highest grade is a "D".
  • If there are more than two grammatical or editing mistakes.....well, you get the picture.
  • Since you would not be allowed to apply for a job after the deadline closes in the real world, no late job packages will be accepted for whatever reason.
What Jobs Should You Apply For?

Choose from one of these options
  • a job you are currently seeking
  • an internship you want for next semester or summer
  • a job that you could qualify for as soon as you graduate
  • a job you found in your fantasy search on the Internet
  • one of the jobs in the ad that follows

If you do not have a job or internship for which you wish to apply, you should apply for a job from this ad, which appeared in USA Today on  Nov. 29. Deadline for applications (to me) is Dec. 2 in class (TR class) or Friday Dec. 3 by noon (MW class).