You are assigned to write a letter of application and a resume for a real job or internship. Look for job listings in the Purdue placement center, the newspaper, the Internet, or through acquaintances.
Audience
Write the letter to a real person with a real address. Research your audience and tailor the letter and resume to suit this audience. Show you have researched their company and show how you would be good for their company (not how the company would be good for you). The audience for the memo is your instructor.
Organization
Letter: The letter should be typed in a basic letter format. Check the textbook for examples. A subject line is optional. Use correct titles in the salutation, and put a colon after the name. Organize the letter this way:
Heading: Include your address, telephone number, and email
address. If you have a fax number, include that as well.
1st paragraph: How did you find out about the job? What are you
applying for?
2nd and maybe 3rd paragraph: How are you good for this company?
What do you have to offer? What is unique about you? Be SPECIFIC, and feel free to repeat things that are in the resume.
4th paragraph: Ask for an interview. Make sure your telephone
number is included.
Closing and signature.
Resume: Use categories that best display your qualifications. Usually people write their most recent education and experience first, but this is not a hard and fast rule. Don’t include personal information. Do include computer skills, language skills, relevant jobs, maybe volunteer work, relevant classes, etc. Tailor the resume specifically for this job.
Memo: Use standard memo format. This memo is written to your teacher. It should explain and present the job announcement. The memo should also explain the rhetorical decisions you made in writing the resume and letter. Why did you include the information in your letter and resume, and how did you decide the order of the information? How did you tailor the letter and resume to the audience? Do you know the person you are writing to? Do they know you? Were there any other considerations you had to negotiate?
Printing
Use an excellent printer. Laser printers are better than inkjet because they look sharper and less blurred. Use no more than two fonts so you won’t distract, but feel free to use bolds and italics. Sans serif fonts are better for headings and serif fonts are better for text. Both the letter and resume should be printed on conservative and elegant resume paper. No photocopy paper and no cardstock. Remember to sign your letter!!
Mechanics
This document should be error-free. No spelling errors. No typos. None.
Grading
Turn in the resume and letter with the grading sheet. Read through the sheet and make sure you have checked your documents according to the listed criteria.
Memorandum
To:
From:
Date:
Subject: (or Re:)
Start right into the memo without a greeting. Single space the lines, signifying
paragraphs by a line skip.
You can simply end the memo without signing it.