Project #1: Job Application Package

Overview:
Resumes and cover letters are the first opportunities a potential employer has to
determine whether or not you are qualified to undertake the job he or she is offering.
Because most job postings result in applications from many more people than an
employer can easily interview, it is important that these materials not only accurately
portray your qualifications for the job at hand but also suggest how those qualifications
are appropriate for this particular job. This assignment will give you practice in making
both the resume and cover letter persuasive, and it will also give you practice in shaping
your personal history for different rhetorical situations.
Directions:
For this assignment, you will locate two different job postings for which you are currently
qualified to apply (hint: look for internship positions related to your field of study). They
may be for different kinds of positions or for similar positions at very different kinds of
companies. It is important for the assignment that your job ads be different from one
another in some substantial ways. You will turn in copies of these job postings with your
project materials.
This assignment requires that you craft two different sets of resumes and cover letters,
one for each job ad. You will also be required to draft a memo to me outlining the
different rhetorical strategies you used for each set of materials: what was different and
whyhow did considerations such as audience, purpose, tone/language use, and
format work to create distinctions between your two sets of application materials?
*Note: if your resumes are identical or nearly so, it means one of two things. Either your
job ads were too similar, or you arent making a clear argument about what your
particular qualifications are for each job.
Checklist of Required Materials:
Memo
2 cover letters
2 resumes
Copies of job postings
Grading Criteria:
Do the cover letters, resume, and memo employ proper format?
Do both sets of application materials have a persuasive purpose? Does the writer
construct clear and convincing arguments about his or her qualifications for each
of the jobs?
Does each set of materials attend to the expectations, needs, and values of its
audience? Does the writer make choices about tone, language use, and
argument that take into account the intended audience?

Note: Course Learning OBJs #1, #2, and #3 are relevant to this assignment.

Are there thoughtful and appropriate distinctions between each set of materials
that reflect differences in the job postings?
Does the writer use the memo to reflect thoughtfully about the differences
between the two sets of application materials?
Do the materials meet general criteria (final project should demonstrate familiarity
with basic grammatical principles)?

Grading/Evaluation Descriptors:
Remember, the grading/evaluation descriptors for each formal writing assignment can
be found in the syllabus.
Submission Instructions
Project #1: Job Application Package is due by midnight on 7/24. Please submit your
documents as one combined file to the Project #1 assignment in accordance with this
deadline. Please submit your response by attaching the file to the assignment and use
the format Last Name_P1 for your file name.

Note: Course Learning OBJs #1, #2, and #3 are relevant to this assignment.