The job that I am applying for is a rotational engineer position with American Electric Power.  This means that at least a portion of the job will be a nuclear facility.  When I wrote my application letter I wanted to be sure to let AEP know that I am aware of their position in my community.  I can remember before the power plant was here.  I did not change how I presented myself.  I looked for a job that allows me to be myself.  I am concerned with alternative energy sources and the best way to make a difference is to be involved with a company that has the ability to generate power from sources other than fossil fuels.  In applying for this position I changed my cover letter at least three times and my resume twice.  I tried to take in all available advice on content and appearance.  I think that there is always room for improvement.

The application letter was more challenging than the resume.  One reason is because I took a business and professional communications class that required writing a resume.  My original cover letter for this job was not submitted as part of this class. It was two short paragraphs and would not have elicited a good response. Therefore my first revision consisted of following the example in The Thomson Handbook. That first revision is what I submitted for this class.  From there my biggest revision was omitting an unneeded paragraph and fitting it all on one page.  I did not plan my time well for this project.  I should have allowed several extra days in case of illness, bad weather and loss of electricity and internet.  I should have tried to work ahead instead of just getting by.  I am finding that this class is requiring more time than I had originally planned on. 

Although I looked at several of the resources listed, I found that the company website was most beneficial.  Resources like monster.com are nationwide and I am not interested in the nation.  Long before this class started I was researching for jobs.  There are only two major employers where I live and they both take job applications through their company websites. Last may when I had to declare my senior project I began looking at alternative energy and the power making industry.  As time has progressed I have been watching the website looking for an entry level engineering job.  This is a learning job in all aspects of the engineering department.

I received very constructive feedback about both my application letter and my resume.  I tried to take this advice and improve the look of my resume.  I moved all the headers to the left and made the font smaller so that it would all fit on one page.  Fitting my resume on one page was a bit of a task.  However, I think my peers were right and it looks better and is easier to read.

The most effective aspect of my deliverables in terms of presentation is being clear and concise.  This makes the documents easy to look at and read.  I use bold print for headers and important information.  This information is located on the left for ease in reading.  I think it is a fairly standard form.  I do not want my resume to contain unusual fonts or decorations.  This might be construed as strange or weird. Unlike most people I do not use bullets.  This is strictly a personal preference.  I feel that I can point our pertinent information without a bullet.