Reference no: EM133488610

Question: In a newspaper or journal or on the Internet, find a job advertisement for a position in your field for which you might be qualified. (That position could be a full-time professional position or an internship position.) Write a résumé and a job-application letter in response to the ad. All examples are in Chapter 15, "Writing Job Application Materials." Choose Chronological 413 or Skills 420 for both formats.

Submit the following items assembled in this order:

a job-application letter-example 428
a formatted résumé (413 or 420)
a references page with three contacts (one sample (418)
an ad to which you are responding (the ad can be scanned from a publication or downloaded to a text or Word file).
Purpose of the Assignment

This assignment encourages you to learn how to write job-application materials, a task you are likely to use at least a half-dozen times in your career. This exercise will also give you practice in audience analysis, persuasion, and document design.

Suggestions for Responding Successfully

Keep in mind the following seven tips for writing a successful set of job-application materials.

Decide whether to apply for a continuing job or an internship. If you are currently a senior, you have completed enough of your courses and gained enough experience to apply for a continuing job. You can date the letter with an appropriate date and write as if you have completed the courses and job experience that you will have completed by that date. If, however, you are a junior or sophomore, you will learn more from this assignment by applying for a part-time job or internship position, one that would really be available for you. I will grade both kinds of applications the same--you will not receive a higher grade for being a more advanced student.

Analyze your audience carefully. I am asking you to provide a copy of the ad (or its text) to underscore the point that you don't simply write job-application materials. You write job-application materials addressed to a particular audience. Think carefully about what the employer is asking for, and try to figure out how to make the case that you possess those qualities. Study the ad, then study the employer as suggested in Chapter 15.

Be honest. Estimates about the incidence of lying or misrepresentation in job-application materials vary, but the figure is considerable: at least a third, perhaps half. Employers are aware of this fact, and they are taking measures to determine if applicants are telling the truth. For practical reasons and for ethical reasons, tell the truth. I will assess your assignment on what you do with what you have. I will not give you a higher grade because you have a higher GPA. You can get an A if you have a 2.0 GPA, just as you can get an F if you have a 4.0 GPA.
Make the documents look professional. Your readers will see your document before they read it. Studies suggest that readers of job-application materials form an impression of your professionalism in less than a second. Because you wish to be treated like a professional, make your documents look professional. Study the templates in your word processor, but don't use them--employment officers have seen them too often.

Take only about a minute and a half on their initial pass through the materials. To make sure this time is well spent, write and design the materials so that they can be skimmed easily and quickly.
Don't just provide information--make a case. The chapter describes the kind of information that people routinely put in their job materials. But don't be content merely to provide the information. Instead, make the case--that you have the skills, the experience, and the character to do the job.