Employment Documents Evaluation

The Grades
section 2	section 3

How they were evaluated: [not finished - list of resume issues needed]
You will find that what I have listed here merely restates what we went over repeatedly in class. The needs of the reader dictate what needs to be in each section of each document, and how the pieces of the documents need to be arranged to make the best possible impression on the reader.

Cover Letter

Opening Paragraph:
Direct and to the point - "I write to apply for the _________ position. I found the advertisement _________. I am interested because [statement explaining why you want this job -- that you want to do what they want you to do - statement thus needs to be sneakily reader-focused, connecting your desire with what they want you to do - kissing up will be ineffective, but you can show you researched the co. - but the key is you wanting what the job is, not where you want to live, not because they make money, are good company, etc.]

2nd Paragraph - Tech Quals:
This paragraph is supposed to make the case that you have the tech qualifications needed for the position. Skills from the job ad need to be there -- in co. terminology, plus specific evidence [courses, projects, experience] that shows you have the skills they want. Asserting w/o proof is just BS-ing.

3rd Paragraph - Non-Tech Quals:
Show them you are a well-rounded person and have communication, writing, leadership, etc. skills.

Close:
Enclosed resume - thank - give contact - look forward to meeting, discussing position further . . .

Note the paragraph breaks are suggested, not absolute. You could have tech quals from different experiences, like school vs. work experience, so you might have 2 tech qual paragraphs, or vice versa if you have wide non-tech skills.

RDM:

Looked for people to explain they understood the conditions of the use of their documents and what they needed to do -- so direct because business people don't like being BS-ed. Quals paragraphs need to make the case that your background connects to their requested skills - so needs to state skills in their terminology, then connect them to specific experience(s) of yours. Chance for you to link specific experiences of yours to what they want.

Looked for people to use design features in memos - Talking Heads help you as writer, me as reader.

Resume

Objective:
Needs to be reader-centered - if your objective is all about you, what does it suggest, or not suggest, about you? Need to show awareness of the reader.

Arrangement:
What the order of things is matter a lot. Why have your less relevant qualifications above those that don't matter so much? Your resume only gets a very small amount of time in the first pass - you have to make sure that what needs to be seen, is seen.

CRAP:
List of design issues, one at a time --

Contrast:
some examples.

Repetition:
some examples.

Alignment:
some examples.

Proximity:
some examples.