ENGLISH-2338

1

Project 2: Professional Job Application

Assignment Overview For this assignment, you will create two documents:

• A Job Application Letter

• A Résumé

ENGL2338: Technical Writing Department of English

University of Texas at Arlington

You will need to find an actual job announcement that advertises a position for which

you are qualified. Search national job sites like Monster.com, Employmentguide.com,

Careerbuilder.com, and USAJobs.gov. Also review pages 153-154 for a discussion of

various sources for finding out about a job opening.

Research the Company or Organization. You must research the company or

organization that advertised the job announcement. You can research the company in a

variety of ways. For instance, you can find the company’s Website if one is available; or

you may obtain a copy of the company's annual report; or, if you know someone who

works for that company, you can network with employees of the company

The goal here is for you to become more informed about the company in general—its

product line, its past and current successes, and its plans for future development. Ideally,

you should use some of this information to your advantage in your application letter. The

best application letters not only demonstrate how you are well qualified, but also show

how you can make specific contributions to the company. Remember that the chief aim

of an application letter is to help you get an interview. Your letter should persuade the

reader that you are the best applicant for the position.

Requirements for the Application Letter Review the information on application letters in Chapter 9 and write a job application

letter with an effective introduction, body, and conclusion. The job-application letter,

which is the first thing the reader sees, expands upon a few of the points made in the

resume. The typical letter has at least three parts, and your letter should have all of them:

• Introduction. The first paragraph establishes why you are writing to your reader. State that you are looking for a particular position and explain why you

would like to work at that particular company. You should also identify the

source where you find the job opening information. Forecast the body of the

letter by stating your major qualifications for the job. • Body. The body of the letter develops each qualification (education and

experience) with specific evidence. The goal is to show that you know what the

employer needs and that you meet the requirements. You may organize this

section around your education, around your training and experience, or around

2

what the job or the company requires.

• Conclusion. You should end the letter politely and include a reference to the enclosed resume, a request for an interview, and your phone number and e-mail

address.

Format. Your letter must meet all the formatting requirements of a good business

letter. It should use the block format. If possible, write no more than one page. The

letter should contain all the elements covered in Chapter 10: • Heading (sender’s address) • Date • Inside address (full address, including title, for the person who is addressed) • Salutation • Body text (introduction, body, conclusion) • Complimentary closing ("Sincerely," or "Sincerely yours,") • Signature • Typed name

• Enclosure notation (“Encl. Resume”)

Requirements for the Resume The purpose of the résumé is to describe your qualifications for work. Review the

information on résumés in Chapter 9 carefully and then design and write a professional

résumé.

You should create a reverse chronological résumé tailored for the specific job opening.

Your résumé must contain all the following elements: • Heading (full name, address, phone, and email address) • Education (schools, majors, minors, and dates of graduation)

• Work Experience (employer’s name, the position you old, and a list or description of duties and responsibilities for each position)

• Certifications (optional) • Interests and Activities (optional)

Your style should be formal. You need not use complete sentences, but you should use a

concise, active style and show consistency in expression from section to section. When

making lists, be sure to use the parallel structure (They should match one another in

tense and form).

3

Submission • Combine all documents (letter and resume) into ONE WORD FILE and submit via

Unicheck. No assignments will be accepted over email.

• Required title for Word file: your last name-letter-resume. For example, my file name should be: Pearman-letter-resume.docx.

• See Course Calendar for important due dates.

Evaluation Rubrics

• Completeness (10 pts): The job application package is complete, containing one application letter and one tailored résumé. Each document is complete and contains

all required elements as stated in the handout.

• Relevance (20 pts): The letter and résumé are tailored to the specific job for which you are “applying” and include information relevant to that job. The information included makes clear why you are qualified for the job.

• Résumé Design (20 pts): The résumé is clean and well organized. The use of space is uniform and well considered. The font and type size are easy to read. Different

levels of headings are used consistently to demarcate different levels and

categories.

• Writing Style (10 pts): The description of job duties and responsibilities at each position include vivid, concrete, action verbs (in past tense if you no longer hold the position). The verbs are in parallel structure. The style and tone are formal. Paragraphs utilize effective topic sentences.

• Format (20 pts): The letter and résumé are each formatted correctly following the specified guidelines in Chapter 9 and 10.

• Grammar and Mechanics (20 pts): Spelling, grammar, and punctuation are correct. Employers impose strict standards of correctness on job application

materials. Accordingly, I will mark this assignment on a stricter scale than usual in

terms of correctness. If any letter or resume contains a single typographical or

grammatical error, you cannot receive an A on this assignment.

Warning Against Copying from Online Job Application Materials!

While you can find unlimited samples of job application materials on the Internet, do not

attempt to copy from those samples. The point of this assignment is for you to learn how

to compose a letter and create a resume to persuade your audience to give you an

interview. Therefore, it is NOT acceptable to copy sentences, paragraphs, or

descriptions of work experience you found elsewhere.

You may use the format of a sample resume, but not any of its content.

If you copy sentences, paragraphs, or descriptions of work experience you found in

online samples, Unicheck will detect and report the copied content. In this case,

you cannot get a 70 or above on this assignment, even if you cite the sources.