| 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 job for which you are qualified and
apply for it. If you already have a good job, you'll find one that
would be an advancement 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 the
all-important cover letter (i.e., "Job Application Letter").
Step 3 asks you to prepare a print resume suitable for such a position.
In Step 4, you will assess your experience in a "Project Assessment
Memo." 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.
Project goals
This project emphasizes several important goals that all professional
writers should bear in mind and that are consistent with those of
the Professional
Writing Program at Purdue. In the Employment Project, you will
begin focus on these particular course goals:
Writing in Context
Analyze professional cultures, social contexts,
and audiences to determine how they shape the various purposes and
forms of writing, such as persuasion, organizational communication,
and public discourse.
Writing Process
Develop and understand various strategies for
planning, researching, drafting, revising, and editing documents
that respond effectively and ethically to professional situations
and audiences.
Research
Understand and use various research methods to
produce professional documents, including analyzing professional
contexts, assessing and using information resources, and determining
how various media and technologies affect and are affected by users
and readers.
Technology
Develop strategies for using and adapting various
communication technologies to manage projects and produce informative
and usable professional documents.
Document Design
Learn to argue with visual data, understanding
and implementing various principles of format, layout, and design
of professional documents that meet multiple user and reader needs.
project summary | project
goals | deliverables | resources
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criteria
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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. This step
is due to me and to your peers on September 6th.
Steps 2 and 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 in PWOnline
(Job Application Letter) and during class. (See below under
resources for more information.) Printed draft due for peer
review: September 13.
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,
in PW
Online, 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 in the Job Application Letter,
your writing needs to be error-free, concise, and presented in
an easily readable format. Printed draft due for peer review:
September 13.
Step 4: Project Assessment Memo: As you near the
end of your work on the Employment Project, prepare a two-page
overview/analysis of your deliverables and the process you used
to complete them. Your Project Assessment Memo should answer most
of the following questions, each of which is tied to the major
goals of the assignment:
| Writing
in Context: |
How did the particular job you applied for
affect how you wrote your letter? Did it change or affect
how you presented yourself? How did applying for this position
help you understand aspects of your experience you might need
to develop more? |
| Process: |
What was the most challenging document to produce
and why? Briefly describe and explain one of the significant
revisions you made to this document after your initial draft. |
| Research: |
Which research resource proved to be the most
beneficial for you? The least? Explain. |
| Collaboration: |
What was one way that peer feedback helped
you improve your work? How did responding to the work of others
help you improve your own work? |
| Project
Management: |
How well did you plan your work on this project?
What might you have done differently? |
| Document
Design: |
What is the most effective aspect of your deliverables
in terms of presentation or design? Have you deliberately
adapted a standard form in an unusual or creative way? If
so, why? |
Your Project Assessment Memo is due when you turn in your completed
Employment Project on September 23.
All four deliverables should be fully revised and submitted to
me in printed form by the end of class on September
23. You should bind them with a paperclip, in the proper
order (Steps 1-4). They should, of course, be neatly printed and
indicate your professionalism.
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Resources
inside PWOnline
outside PWOnline
Sample Resumes in Various Fields -- Yahoo! provides a directory
of sample resumes, organized according to field. this is a good
first place to look for samples:
Individual
Resumes
For links to other resources, see Resources
for Job Seekers. Some of these resources include meta-directories
with job postings, sample resumes, and helpful advice about
the job search process.
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 |
60 pts |
|
Step 2: Job Application Letter |
90 pts |
|
Step 3: Print Resume |
90 pts |
|
Step 4: Project Assessment Document
|
60 pts |
|
Total |
300pts |
Grading criteria
When I assign a grade to your project, I will measure your work
against the models discussed in class and 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 occasion (in terms of tone, style, and content).
Revision
You will have opportunities to revise your work throughout the
process and will be permitted to revise once again after receiving
your grade on the project, subject to these restrictions: 1) You
meet with me or a tutor in the Writing Lab to discuss revisions;
2) You turn in your completed revision within two weeks of the date
it was returned to you with a grade; 3) You include submission notes
that specify precisely what you did to improve your work.
Other Employment Project Links: Reference
Sheet for Formatting | PW
Online Employment Project | OWL
Resources on Resumes & Business Writing
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