Responding to your Responses and Wiki-Workspaces:

1wayne3050:  

• Humayoun's Evil Wiki-Workspace
• Neil's response on the practicalities of Chapter 2 tips (good advice on researching and analyzing audience, and good structures!), finding cool internships, and ...

2wayne3050:

• Meagan O'Meara's Carefully Crafted and Classy Workspace
• Aditya on Chapter 2's examples, categories and tips as leading to a 'skills based' resume applying for either:

1. Job 1: Advanced Powertrain technology development engineer
2.  Job 2: Student project manager at DTE energy.  

3wayne3050:

• Erik's already active workspace
• Tre on Chapter 2 tips, and job hunting Project Engineer at a company called SGS and the other is CNC Technician at URS. 

 The average employer spends approximately 15 seconds reading your

résumé

 50% of all résumés never get read…EVER

 No one single item gets you selected -- the whole package is key

 Even if you are highly qualified, if your résumé is poorly written you’ll

never get selected

*WSU School of Business Tips for Writing Professional Documents

"The purpose of a résumé is to outline your skills and qualifications as they relate to the position to which

you are applying. The goal of a résumé is to obtain an interview.

A common misconception is that a résumé is used to get a job,

but the reality is that a résumé only gets you through the first candidate screening so

that you may be selected for an interview." 

Crafting Resume's and Cover Letters with a "Reader-Centered" Approach:   "Learning what your readers need  and determining the most helpful way to present this information are the most critical skills in workplace writing." (p. 4)

Recursive Learning

an

ANALYSIS AND APPLICATION of ANDERSON'S...

Six Reader-Centered Strategies:

Using Anderson's 6 strategies here, we must apply the first two to an analysis of the organization you applied to and the readers of your resume. Then proceed to (1) analyze and revise your current draft of a C.V. or (2) start building a new resume (using a sample provided in the text as a model).  

1. Begin by identifying the specific task your readers will perform using your communication
1. What does Anderson say are the three key things Employers look for?  (p.25) How will your C.V. provide these?
2. What are the Three Ways Employers Read Resumes?  How can your resume accommodate these?  Is a one page resume enough? (p. 26)
3. Save this short audience analysis on your roster in this question/answer format.
2. Identify the readers' attitudes that are relevant to the communication
1. How will you learn who your readers are and what they want?  Follow Anderson's "Guideline 1" by finding out as much as you can about who is likely to read your resume, about what their objectives are, and about what they want from an employee.  Use this Guideline to list several names of potential readers, what you can determine about their objectives as individuals within an organization, and what they will want from you.
2. Save this short audience analysis on your roster in this question/answer format. 
3.  Help your readers quickly find the information needed to perform tasks
1. As you start revising your resume select a suitable type of resume (experiential or skills)
2. Use smart design principles for your resume's visual appearance and readability.  Select an appealing Chapter 2 example, and use p. 35 to 44 to:
1. Create Short Informative Headings (use different font for headings)
2. Use a Table on Word (or a similar program) to create a balanced layout (follow p. 37 instructions)
3. Experiment with your design (and hide the table) 
1. Create a "scannable" resume (p. 40-45) and list your keywords
4.  Use an easy-to-read writing style
1. Revise your content for:
1. Concision (p. 28)
2. Specificity (p. 28)
3. Parallel Structure (p. 33)
4. and Verb Tenses (see p. 9 here for more than Anderson offers on action verbs) 
5.  Highlight the points your readers will find to be persuasive
1. Working with a partner (or in groups of 3), look over your most recent C.V. to highlight and foreground what should be still emphasized
2. Add new Educational and Work experiences as noted on p. 29 -35
3. Look over your list of keywords and brainstorm the list (Should any keywords be removed? Are there any other keywords that might be included?)
6. Talk with your readers
1. This might go above-and-beyond this assignment, but you might email, or call and ask for more information about this posting and what they want from the employee or intern. 

Crafting Cover Letters (the reader-centered way)

Guideline 1

Define your Letter's objectives by identifying the questions the employer wants it to answer, including "Why us?" and "What would you contribute?" (p. 46)

Guideline 2

Plan ways to answer the employers' questions about your interest and potential contributions persuasively (p.47)

Guideline 3

Draft a letter that answers the employer's questions clearly and with details.  Follow the basic structure (Introduction/Body/Conclusion) and conventional formats.

Guideline 4

... we will pick up next week as we revise and improve our draft's persuasiveness, tone, and ethics.

Today we are Producing Technical Documents that meet:

Principal Characteristics of Technical Communications

1. Must Satisfy Different Readers in a Single Communication
2. Addresses International and Multicultural Audiences
3. Uses Distinctive types of Communication 
4. Employs Graphics and Visual Design to Increase Effectiveness
5. Created Collaboratively 
6. Created in a Globally Networked Environment 
7. Shaped by Organizational Conventions and Culture 
8. Shaped by Social and Political Factors 
9. Meets Deadlines
10. Sensitive to Legal (copyright, contracts, etc.) and Ethical issues (the effect of communications on people or society)