This assignment was developed for ENGL 420Y and 421Y for Fall 2007. A five-week calendar of activities is appended to the assignment belose. Instructors of these courses use The Thomson Handbook, so some calendar items point to chapters in that text.
During the Employment Project, you will learn strategies for seeking and securing employment or an internship, with particular attention to the documents people normally use to represent themselves and their prospects to potential employers. This project asks you to work individually, but there will also be chances for you to work with your peers to exchange ideas and feedback in your blogs.
Locate a real and specific job or internship for which you are qualified and prepare the application materials for it. If you already have a good job, find one that would be an advance for you, then prepare application materials for that position. Step 1 of the project asks you to learn about and use various web-based resources for job seekers and ultimately to select one real job to pursue. Step 2 asks you to prepare the all-important cover letter (i.e., "Job Application Letter"). Step 3 asks you to prepare a print resume suitable for such a position. In Step 4, you will assess your experience in a "Project Assessment Document." In the process of completing each step, you will work closely with your peers and your instructor to shape your writing so that it represents you and your experience fully and effectively.
This project emphasizes several important goals that all professional writers should bear in mind and that are consistent with those of the Professional Writing Program at Purdue. In the Employment Project, you will learn to shape your writing for very specific situations and purposes:
Writing in Context
Project Management
Document Design
Make rhetorical design decisions about workplace documents, including
Teamwork
Learn and apply strategies for successful teamwork and collaboration, such as
Research
Understand and use various research methods to produce professional documents, including
Step 1: Skills Inventory, Job Description and Job Ad Analysis . Start this step by completing the Job Search Activity 12-1 (p. 221) in The Thomson Handbook. In a blog post, respond to each of the questions with a few sentences, or a list. Then, using the resources listed on page 222 of The Thomson Handbook ("Using Print, Campus and Internet Resources"), find two job ads, produce an exact copy of each, then select one that you would apply for. Put the ads in a blog post. Then do some analysis and reflection, In a separate blog entry respond to the Job Ad Analysis form. Your skills inventory, job announcement, job ad analysis response, and cover note should all be posted by the dates listed on the course calendar.
Step 2: Job Application Letter. The job application letter is critical to your efforts to secure a job, perhaps as critical as your resume itself. For Project 1, your letter should be no longer than one or two pages (one is preferable in most cases), following the suggestions and models discussed during class. You should submit the draft of your application letter to your blog for peer review by midnight on Friday, September 14. Your letter should be attached to a blog post that includes a cover note that follows guidelines for Eliciting Good Response and the PDF version of the letter. (Read these directions for converting your documents to PDF format if you have any questions about the process.) Use the tag "Job Application letter." See the Calendar for Week 3 for additional details. Review the sample in The Thomson Handbook, p 225. Your letter should be context-specific and should contain the required five parts (heading, greeting, opening, persuasion, closing) in the format shown.
Step 3: Print-Based Resume. Your printable resume (one or more pages in length, depending upon the type of job and the depth of your experience) should adapt features drawn from the samples discussed in class or available for review at the Online Writing Lab. It's critical that you shape your resume to the specific job or internship you have chosen to apply for (that it's suited to the context), so be sure to include only the relevant aspects of your professional experience. As in the Job Application Letter, your writing needs to be error-free, concise, and presented in an easily readable format. Draft due for peer review: Friday, September 21, by midnight. Your resume draft should be posted to your blog as a PDF attachment to a blog message that explains the nature of the attachment and invites peer feedback. Read these directions for converting your documents to PDF format if you have any questions about the process. You should also review the principles, guidelines, and resume samples in The Thomson Handbook (Chapter 12, pages 226-232). Pay special attention to the Project Checklist "Evaluating Your Resume's Content" and "Evaluating Your Resume's Design" on pages 228-229. Ask yourself these questions as you prepare your final draft.
Step 4: Project Assessment Document: As you near the end of your work on the Employment Project (and no later than September 28, prepare a 500-word overview and analysis of your deliverables and the process you used to complete them. Your Project Assessment Document should answer most of the following questions, each of which is tied to the major goals of the assignment:
Writing in Context
How did the particular job you applied for affect how you wrote your letter? Did it change or affect how you presented yourself? How did applying for this position help you understand aspects of your experience you might need to develop more?
Project Management
What was the most challenging document to produce and why? Briefly describe and explain one of the significant revisions you made to this document after your initial draft.
How well did you plan your work on this project? What might you have done differently?
Research
Which research resource proved to be the most beneficial for you? The least? Explain. What did you learn about the particular job field before composing your application letter?
Teamwork
What was one way that peer feedback helped you improve your work? How did responding to the work of others help you improve your own work?
Document Design
What is the most effective aspect of your deliverables in terms of presentation or design? Have you deliberately adapted a standard form in an unusual or creative way? If so, why?
Your Project Assessment Document is due when you turn in your completed Employment Project on Friday, September 28 by midnight.
Completing Your Project: By Friday, September 28, post to your blog a cover note for your final drafts of your cover letter and resume. Your cover note should include links to your Step 1 and Step 4 documents as well. Read these directions for converting your documents to PDF format if you have any questions about the process.
The Employment Project is worth 25% of your course grade. The breakdown for each of its components is as follows: Step 1: Inventory and Job Ad Analysis (20%); Step 2: Job Application Letter (30%); Step 3: Print Resume (30%); Step 4: Project Assessment Document (20%).
When grading your project, your instructor will pay particular attention to see whether you have effectively adapted your documents to the job for which you have applied. Your writing will need to be precise, accurate, and well-suited to the context (the job/field) and to the rhetorical occasion (in terms of tone, style, and content). In this case, a generic, catch-all resume and cover letter will not satisfy the requirements of the project.
You will have opportunities to revise your work throughout the process and will be permitted to revise once again after receiving your grade on the project, subject to these restrictions: 1) Your revision should be substantial (a few fixes alone are not enough to raise a grade); 2) you turn in your completed revision within one week of the date it was returned to you with a grade; 3) you include submission notes that specify precisely what you did to improve your work, including whether or not you made use of the OWL's online or on-site tutoring.
Note to instructors: This calendar and set of links was used for online sections of ENGL 420Y and 421Y in Fall 2007 and is tied to a particular textbook. We haven't changed the links. Many of them will work once the content is imported into a Drupal site (if you had one created for you at the start of the semester). If you aren't using a Drupal site or want more information and handouts, please review an ongoing 420Y or 421Y course.
By Monday, August 20, at midnight
By Wednesday, August 22, at midnight
describe where you are from
give your course of study and year
talk about your career goals
tell what you would like to get out of this course
share at least one thing personal about yourself (a hobby, your favorite sport, a favorite activity, etc.
By Friday, August 24 at midnight
Reading
Check out Week 2. No later than today, you should read through the course calendar for the following week. Make sure that you understand all of the assignments. If you have any questions, contact the instructor.
By Monday, August 27 at midnight
Reading
By Wednesday, August 29 at midnight.
Peer Review
No peer review this week. We will begin peer reviews with the Job Ad Analysis in Week 3 , and continue with peer reviews throughout the semester.
Reading
Reading Response
By Friday, August 31 at midnight
Employment Project
Reading
Continue posting comments and replies using Principles for Comments and Replies. Please follow the guidelines for effective blog responding as discussed in this chapter. You need five (5) for this week, so respond to reading posts that have been promoted to our front page. For reference on how to do this, review How to Post Comments and Replies. Your posts should adhere to the guidelines for networking in online forums listed in the Project Checklist (TH, page 627).
Check out Week 3 . No later than today, you should read through the course calendar for the following week. Make sure that you understand all of the assignments. If you have any questions, contact the instructor.
Monday, September 3 is Labor Day
By Wednesday, September 5 at midnight
Activity
Using the resources listed on page 222 of The Thomson Handbook ("Using Print, Campus and Internet Resources"), find two job ads, produce an exact copy of each, then select one that you would apply for. Put the ads in a blog post (use cut-and-paste; provide a URL also if the ad has complex components that don't copy well). In a new blog post (tag=job ad analysis), complete the Job Ad Analysis form. Copy the questions into your blog post and then answer them.
Reading
Reading Response
Post a reading response by Wednesday at midnight. Suggested Prompts: You might also describe one instance when you sent an email message that worked wonders or that proved to be a huge mistake. What happened? Why? Which of the "Ten Habits of Successful Emailers" seemed to be missing? How does emailing differ from text messaging, and why do you think email is used more frequently in business and industry for project management? How might Gareth's tips apply to emailing?
By Friday, September 7 at midnight
Peer Review
Write two responses to job ads and analyses posted to your peers' blogs. Respond only to posts that have no or at most one response. What aspects of the job seem most important to you? Which criteria will be hardest to meet? Does it sound like a good job to you?
Check out Week 4 . No later than today, you should read through the course calendar for the following week. Make sure that you understand all of the assignments. If you have any questions, contact the instructor.
By Monday, September 10 at midnight
Reading
By Wednesday, September 12 at midnight
Reading Response
By Friday, September 14 at midnight
Step 2 of the Employment Project: Post a draft of your job application letter to your blog by today. Your letter should be attached to a blog post that includes a cover note that follows guidelines for Eliciting Good Response and the PDF version of the letter. (Read these directions for converting your documents to PDF format if you have any questions about the process.) Use the tag "Job Application letter." Review the sample in The Thomson Handbook, p 225. Your letter should be context-specific and should contain the required five parts (heading, greeting, opening, persuasion, closing) in the format shown.
Peer Review
As cover letter drafts are posted, complete your Peer Review of Job Application Letters using these directions. You will need to complete two reviews.
Continue posting comments and replies using Principles for Comments and Replies. You need five (5) for this week.
Check out Week 5 . No later than today, you should read through the course calendar for the following week. Make sure that you understand all of the assignments. If you have any questions, email the instructor.
By Friday, September 21 at midnight
Employment Project
Step 3: Drafts of resume due for peer review. Your printable resume (one or more pages in length, depending upon the type of job and the depth of your experience) should adapt features drawn from the samples discussed in class or available for review at the Online Writing Lab. It's critical that you shape your resume to the specific job or internship you have chosen to apply for (that it's suited to the context), so be sure to include only the relevant aspects of your professional experience. As in the Job Application Letter, your writing needs to be error-free, concise, and presented in an easily readable format. Draft due for peer review: Friday, September 21, by midnight. Your resume draft should be posted to your blog as a PDF attachment to a blog message that explains the nature of the attachment and invites peer feedback. Read these directions for converting your documents to PDF format if you have any questions about the process. You should also review the principles, guidelines, and resume samples in The Thomson Handbook (Chapter 12, pages 226-232). Pay special attention to the Project Checklist "Evaluating Your Resume's Content" and "Evaluating Your Resume's Design" on pages 228-229. Ask yourself these questions as you prepare your final draft.
By Friday, September 28 at midnight
Employment Project Due