Assignment 6: The Resume Packet

The life of the resume assignment extends over several weeks, and you'll be working on this packet in simultaneity with the technical communication writing project. On successful completion of the packet you will understand how audience, media, and genre constrain and shape what you write.This is a straightforward assignment whose multiple steps introduce, rehearse, and/or reinforce the practical arts of professional writing:

• Gathering data
• Organizing data
• Reading text closely, watching for cues
• Writing to accommodate audience needs and expectations
• Writing well within the constraints of genre
• Writing well within the constraints of media

You'll begin by working with data that should be very familiar to you--your own experiences both in and out of school and on and off the job. You'll draw on these experiences, coding them in terminiology familiar to employers. Then you'll find a "real job." You'll design both resume and application letter expressly for this job description.

List of Assignment Components and Due Dates (we'll spend lots of class time discussing, drafting, and reviewing):

Part I. Gathering and organizing biographical information: Bio Chart Draft Due March 19
Part II. Finding a job description; reading it closely: Tentative Job Selection Due for Review March 26
Part III. Reading resumes; reading about resumes: Resume Drafts (print, web, email) Due April 2
Part IV. Reading cover letters; reading about cover letters: Cover letter drafts Due April 2
Part V. Studying genre; studying media: In class across all dates
Part VI. Writing the final products: Final Packet Due April 12

Part I: Biographical Information. Create a table for cataloguing your school and work experiences. An example follows, but you can use whatever categories you find useful; if you think of a better scheme, by all means use it. Check sample resumes to see what sorts of information the job seekers provide.

Part II. Job Selection.

Using either online and print media, find A REAL job description in professional writing or (with my permisson) related field that you qualify for or partially qualify for. You will use the job description to practice close reading and audience analysis. When you examine job descriptions that you've placed under consideration, make careful note of the skills needed, e.g., writing, presentation, software, working with others, an ability to work on several projects simultaneously. Look for skills you have acquired via life experiences that are not necessarily tied directly to the jobs you've held or training you've undergone--people skills, management skills, and experience working in chaotic conditions or under deadlines. Reading descriptions closely enables you to tailor your cover letter and resume to a specific situation. You will NOT be graded on your qualifications but rather on your ability to shape what qualifications you DO have to the writing situation, that is, to the employer's vision of his or her future employee. Please do not fictionalize your qualifications. This is an exercise in shaping real information to fit a particular rhetorical situation. On the other hand, if the "match" is too easy, then you will not have learned anything and your letter and resume will turn out to be an exercise in doing the obvious! Easy matches do not usually earn good grades.

Note: Do your Internet searching from a campus location, as you'll need speed to do these searches.

Use the following key words alone or in combination, and keep parameters broad in order to pull up a good range of appropriate jobs. For example, if you don't find a position in New Mexico, go nationwide; if you don't find contract work, ask for permanent work or "all." Note other keywords that the site or individual job descriptions use and make use of them. Please tell your classmates about any good leads to jobs.

technical
writing
communication
science
legal
copyedit
publishing
edit
proofread
web development
graphics design
document design
research
internship

http://barnwellweb.com/jobsearch.htm

http://www.jobfind.com

http://www.stc.org

http://www.cweb.com

http:www.careerbuilder.com

Local Internships

www.hotjobs.com

www.monster.com

http://www.jobsmart.org/

careercc.com

www.unm.edu (click on Jobs)

Part III. Reading resumes; reading about resumes

Browse the following sites for information about jobs and resumes. Read around a bit--there's lots of information on job hunts out there--some of it is good and some isn't.

http://www.jobhuntersbible.com/resumes/building.shtml

http://www.eresumes.com/gallery_rezcat.html

http://www.damngood.com/jobseekers/ScanGuide.html

http://www.eresumes.com/gallery_rezcat.html

Select several resumes and print them out IF you find them useful. Look for models and features that you would emulate AND models that you would not. I'll be distributing sample resumes and cover letters as well. However, as with graphic designs of all sorts, the more you see, the more you know what' looks good. Use the features of what you find, not the form in its entirety. Look for the following:

• Kinds of information presented
• Order in which the information is presented
• Quality of information
• Visual appeal (think Robin Williams)
  

Part IV. Drafting resumes and cover letters and peer exchange

You'll work in class with both sample resumes and articles on how to write a cover letter. You'll exchange drafts with your classmates.

Part V. ASCII and Web formatting

For sure you'll create ASCII resumes, to be delivered via email in the message box (not as an attachment). We'll talk about the possibility of posting resumes to the Web.

Deliverables

1. Table in MSWord where you organize the skills and arts you have learned in school, on the job, in volunteer associations, in sports, and elsewhere.
2. Copy of REAL job description.. Note well: You MAY NOT make up a job description or compile one from various sources.
3. Print resume tailored specifically to the job description
4. Cover letter tailored specifically to the job description
5. Email (ASCII) resume labeled "Lastname Final ASCII Resume"
6. Possiblity for our discussion:: Web version of your resume
7. Cover memo

Descriptions of deliverables

1. Biographical information.  Complete the table you drafted earlier.  Although you do not need to include every scrap of biographical information, you must include those experiences you use in your resume and letter.  I would expect to see complete education data, including dates, degrees or expected date of conferral, GPAs, honors, courses, academic interests.  I expect to see employment  histories with rich explanations of responsibilities, duties, leadership, and comments.

2. Print-out of job description.  Do not paraphrase or make up a description. The description must be “real.”

3.  Printed resume.  This is the one you design carefully, applying all of your Williams knowledge yet attending to genre expectations.  I’ll be looking for a match between content and arrangement of your material and the job description.
   
   
4. ASCII or email resume.  The ASCII resume has NO formatting features because it travels from you to your prospective employer via email. Although some email clients do format text, you have no idea what sort of client the recipient uses.  In addition, your prospective employer may scan your ASCII resume.  Consequently you have a more limited range of design tools available to you:  spaces between lines, caps, flush left alignment, dashes (in lieu of bullets).  Make good use of these elements.  Email your ASCII resume to me for review before you turn it in; I’ll tell you what I see at my end.  Then email it to yourself and print it out for credit.



5. Cover letter.  Use the real address provided on your job description. Attend to design principles and genre constraints.  That is, the letter of application is a conservative document, not an opportunity to demonstrate design innovation; nevertheless, you’ll apply the principles of good design.  Follow the general format suggested by Munschauer on p. 310 and by the Anderson handouts.  Grammar and style are all important here; attend to them carefully.
   
   
6. Web resume (maybe). This one duplicates your print resume but is posted to the web. You may have some formatting adjustments to make.
   
   
7. Memo.  Bundle your print materials and present them to me with a concise memo describing a) what I’m about to see, and  b)  a discussion of several key decisions you made when organizing resume material, designing your documents, and composing your letter.