During the Employment Project, you will learn strategies for seeking and securing employment, with particular attention to the documents people normally use to represent themselves and their prospects to potential employers (see "Deliverables" below). 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.

Project summary

You will be asked to locate a real and specific job for which you are qualified and prepare the application materials for it. If you already have a good job, you'll 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 a print resume suitable for that specific position. Step 3 asks you to prepare the all-important cover letter (i.e., "Job Application Letter"). 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 me to shape your writing so that it represents you and your experience fully and effectively for the particular job to which you are applying.

*You will not simply create general documents (templates), but rather documents specifically tailored to the job you have chosen to apply for. This project focuses on teaching you the importance of making rhetorical choices that will help you be successful in the job hunt.

Deliverables

Step 1: Job Description and Rationale. Produce an exact copy of the job announcement, a one-paragraph description of the position in your own words, and a two-paragraph discussion of why you have chosen this position and why you believe you are qualified for it. Not counting the actual job announcement, Step 1 should be approximately 300-500 words in length.

Step 2: Print Resume. Your print 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 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 will be the case in the Job Application Letter, your writing needs to be error-free, concise, and presented in an easily readable format. Part of this step is generating references which are appropriate for the position, which will be presented professionally whether they are part of your resume or not.

Step 3: Job Application Letter. The job application letter (or "cover 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. (See below under resources for more information.)

Step 4: Project Assessment Document. As you near the end of your work on the Employment Project, prepare a two-page 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:

Your Project Assessment Document is due when you turn in your completed Employment Project.

All four deliverables should be fully revised and submitted by the due date which can be found on the course calendar. The full project needs to be submitted in a manilla envelope.

Resources

Purdue's OWL
Purdue Center for Career Opportunities
The Riley Guide
To prepare, review the OWL tutorials: Resume Workshop (Powerpoint) and the Online Resume Tutorial

Grading

The Employment Project is worth 30% of your course grade. The breakdown for each of its components is as follows:

• Step 1: Job Description and Rationale 20%
• Step 2: Print Resume 30%
• Step 3: Job Application Letter 30%
• Step 4: Project Assessment Document 20%
• Total 100%

Grading criteria

When I assign a grade to your project, I 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 situation (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 and will result in a failing grade (e.g. using one you created in another class).

Really, your employment documents (resume and cover letter) should receive one of three grades: A = You will get the call for an interview, B = Your documents were put in the "read more closely" pile on the HR directors desk, and F = Your documents were thrown away and/or you get the rejection letter.

Revision 

You will have opportunities to revise your work throughout the process and may be permitted to revise once again after receiving your grade on the project, subject to these restrictions: 1) I agree that a revision is necessary/merited; 2) You meet with me to discuss revisions; 3) You turn in your completed revision within one week of the date it was returned to you with a grade; 4) You include submission notes that specify precisely what you did to improve your work. It will be up to you to initiate the revision conversation, but this does not guarantee that I will agree that a revision is merited (based on effort, process, professional Ethos, etc).