This assignment asks you to find a job you are interested in--a job for which you are now qualified or one for which you hope to be qualified after graduation.  You may use newspaper advertisements, the web, personal contacts, or other sources of information to find the job, but it must be an actual position for which a company or organization is currently hiring.  You will develop an employment portfolio targeted to that job, consisting of a resume, a job application letter or other preliminary contact letter, and a thank-you letter or follow-up letter.
 

WORK DUE:

1. A resume and a GRACE analysis memo (1-2 pages) on the resume, in which you analyze the writing situation and explain your choices to me.
2. A job application letter or other preliminary contact letter such as a request for an informational interview and a GRACE analysis memo (1-2 pages) on the letter, in which you analyze the writing situation and explain your choices to me.  Attach a copy of the job advertisement to this memo.
3. A follow-up letter or other employment letter, such as a thank-you for an interview, a follow-up query, a letter of acceptance or refusal, request for a reference, etc.

PART ONE OF THE EMPLOYMENT PORTFOLIO: RESUME

A resume is an easy-to-skim overview of an applicant's work experience, training, and credentials.  Keys to a successful resume include factual information, effective organization, and readable format.  For this assignment your resume must reflect your actual experience and education, not fictional information or credentials you hope to attain some day.  (You may hope to go on for an MBA degree some day, but for now, work with what you have.)

Here is a start on your GRACE analysis for the resume:

• Goals: To provide a brief, specific, well-documented overview of your qualifications. In your GRACE memo to me, mention specifically what you want to emphasize and how you have chosen to do this.
• Readers:  Write for the same reader who will be reviewing your application letter--i.e., target the resume for the same job opening. In your GRACE memo to me, provide a description of the job duties and qualifications plus any relevant knowledge you have gained through researching the company or organization.
• Arguments: Factual Information.  How will you display to best advantage your education, on-the-job training, work history, volunteer work, honors and awards, etc.?  How much detail and what kind of detail will you supply?  In your GRACE memo, explain your choices.
• Conventions: Organization and Format.  Some basic formats are the Chronological Resume, the Functional Resume, and the Skills Resume.  Which will display your qualifications to best advantage?  Within each section of the resume, what organizational choices do you have?  What choices will you make regarding paper, margins, fonts, spacing, and other format devices?   In your GRACE memo, explain your choices.
• Expression:  Your resume makes a first impression on a potential employer.  Make sure it's neat, appropriate, and correct.  Consider word choice.  In your GRACE memo, explain your choices.

PART TWO OF THE EMPLOYMENT PORTFOLIO: APPLICATION LETTER

The letter of application documents your application for a particular job. It introduces you to the reader, summarizes your best qualifications,  provides effective arguments, and asks for an interview.   For this assignment, you must find an actual job opening, one for which you are currently qualified.  You may use a variety of sources: classified advertisements in newspapers, job postings on the web, personal contacts, information from WVU sources or elsewhere regarding internships, or other sources.  You must attach a copy of the advertisement or job description to your GRACE analysis on the letter.

Here is a start on your GRACE analysis for the letter:

• Goals: To use the facts to show that you are qualified for this particular job opening, and to get an interview.  In your GRACE memo to me, mention specifically what you want to emphasize and how you have chosen to do this.
• Readers: Provide a description of the job duties and qualifications plus any relevant knowledge you have gained through researching the company or organization.  Then, put yourself in the place of a reader who has to review many applications for one job opening.  How will you communicate effectively with a reader in that position?
• Arguments: Consider the three most important types of argument in an application letter: "Can do," "Want to Do," and "Will do" arguments, oriented toward the company or organization (see chapter 9).  Avoid generalities; if you make a claim about your skills or personal qualities, support it with facts.  In your GRACE memo, explain the choices you have made regarding these issues.
• Conventions:  In your GRACE memo explain your choices regarding standard conventions of the job application letter.  Such letters typically have an introduction, stating the position you wish to apply for and how you heard about it, and using some device to get the reader's attention, a body, in which you describe your qualifications and explain why those qualifications should be attractive to your prospective employer, and a closing paragraph, in which you ask for an interview, state when you will be available, and give contact information.
• Expression:  Style and tone are especially important.  Develop a "you" attitude, focusing on what you can offer your prospective employer.   Remember, this letter creates a first impression.   In your GRACE memo, explain the choices you have made regarding these issues.

PART THREE OF THE EMPLOYMENT PORTFOLIO: THANK-YOU LETTER OR FOLLOW-UP LETTER

A follow-up letter lets you ask about your application if you haven't heard anything after two weeks or more.  A thank-you letter after an interview is a good way to remind your prospective employer of who you are, as well as being polite.  Other types of employment letters include acceptance or refusal letters.  For example, if you refuse an offer, you may still want to maintain contact with the organization, with an eye toward the future.  For this assignment, write a brief follow-up letter or other type of letter as you think most appropriate for the situation.  Include a brief GRACE analysis explaining the situation and your choices to me.

EVALUATIVE CRITERIA:

Evaluative criteria for the resume:

• How effectively your resume is designed.
• How well the resume highlights your best qualifications.
• How well your resume balances the concerns of providing detail while remaining brief and readable.
• How well you use the standards of good writing style, correct grammar, usage, punctuation, and spelling.
• How consistently you handle format choices such as margins, indentation, fonts, spacing, graphic design elements.

• How effectively you target the particular job for which you are applying, as specified in the job ad and discussed in the GRACE analysis (application letter).
• How effectively you make the case for yourself as the right person for the job (application letter).
• How effectively you organize and format the information in the letter.
• How well your letter balances the concerns of providing detail while remaining concise.
• How effective are your choices regarding expression: style and tone.
• How neat and professional looking the letter is: standard business letter format, and choices of  paper, ink, fonts, margins, spacing, etc.
• How well you use the standards of good writing style, correct grammar, usage, punctuation, and spelling.