Instructions

1. If you have not already done so, please submit your resume (first draft) to me for review. I prefer that you submit it through our online assignment uploader and preferably in PDF format.

2.  Peer Review: Trade your resume with the person seated next to you, or nearby. If there are odd number of students in class today, trade more than once. Just make sure you’re looking at someone else’s resume.

• Take 10-15 minutes to review your partner’s resume by responding to these questions: Resume Peer Review Questions.
• Take another 5-10 minutes to discuss one another’s resumes.
• Switch again! Trade resumes with another classmate and repeat the process above.

HW for next Monday:

1) Review this guide to Cover Letter content and formatting, and

2) Choose one job to apply to from your mini-job search.

3) Cover Letter drafts will be due next Wednesday, March 4.

For Monday: Choose one of the jobs from your mini-job search and come to class prepared to work on a draft of your cover letter during class time.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Next Wednesday, we will be visited by a faculty observer, Professor Jill Belli. She is leading a new major in Technical Writing at City Tech. I would like to remind everyone to please attend class on time and with positive energy!  On Wednesday, we will be conducting an in-class exercise in order to hone our interview skills.

Instructions

1)  Begin class by posting a comment to this entry talking about one of the sample resumes you found. What is good about this resume? What are its strengths and weaknesses? If the resume is specific to your field, what elements should you try to include in your own resume?

2) Classroom Discussion / Resume Formats (Follow along here)

HW for Wednesday 2/25: Complete and turn in your first draft of your resume via our assignment uploader. Also: Please bring four paper copies to class. Please use your existing resumes if you already have one.

Further resume writing tips:

6 Tips for Writing an Effective Resume (ASME)

Developing your Resume (Purdue Owl)

Note: We will take Wednesday’s class to conduct peer review of our resumes.

Instructions

1. Today, we will finish (or come very close to finishing) our Mini-Job Search Blog entry in class. It is due by the beginning of class next Monday, Feb 23.

Please follow these instructions (click here!)

HW for Monday:

1) Please read and outline our guide on Resumes  (Markel; Technical Communication, 10th Edition; “Writing Paper Resumes”)

2) Bring three sample resumes (in digital format) of people who are working in your field. For example, if you want to be a Graphic Designer, search for resumes of Graphic Designers.

Instructions

Our goal today is to complete the first half of the Mini-Job Search assignment in class.

1. Please begin by reviewing the requirements of the Mini-Job Search Assignment.

2. Once you have reviewed those requirements, I want you to work in-class on finding job listings within your field, using the resources the class put together on Monday.

3. You’ll notice the mini-job search assignment is a blog entry—so, to begin, start a new blog entry; title it “Full Name – Mini-Job Search” and Tag it as “Mini-Job Search.”  Save your draft.

Then, begin looking for job listings that fit your career aspirations. Find jobs that you hope to apply to in a few years (after you receive your degree).

In your blog entry, post the links to those jobs listings.

Next Wednesday: We will finish the Mini-Job Search assignment in class. We will especially analyze some of your job listings together to determine the kinds of skills and qualifications you will need to confidently seek these positions.

Please begin today’s class by:

1. Reviewing the details of our Career Materials assignment (follow this link).

2. Once you are familiar with the details of the assignment, begin on our homework for Thursday;

Assignment Due Thursday

Blog Entry Due: Find at least 8 resources for finding job opportunities–specifically, resources with job postings that are within your field and/or interests. Post links and brief descriptions of these resources as a new post, under the category “Job Listings”

Because we were locked out of our classroom this past Monday, we still need to take care of this business.

So, please begin today’s class first by taking care of the following items:

1. Join our Open Lab Course Site:  For those of you who have not joined the site yet, let’s get that taken care of today!

Note: If you need assistance creating an Open Lab account, accessing your CUNY email, or joining our Course Site, please follow this link for detailed instructions.

2. Register for Remind: This app that will allow me to send urgent notifications to you via text message or email, if you prefer. I will only use this in case of emergencies or urgent delays — say, if I am sick or if the trains are slow.

To register for remind, please follow the instructions on the handout I have given you in class.

3. Read the following PDF online:  “Communicating Effectively for Dummies”

**(I also have made hard copies for you)

Note: Please don’t take the title to heart! 

After reading this article, take a few minutes to write a summary memo.

• For more information on memo formatting, see this document: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/acwspring2015sece280/files/2015/02/Memo-Format-from-Purdue-OWL.pdf

What points stood out in your mind? Have you experienced some of these strategies yourself either as the communicator or the audience?

To write your summary memo, I would recommend that you write it in Microsoft Word first. Save your work to your flash drive or in the cloud (if you do this, save your file locally and then email a copy to yourself or upload it to your cloud service provider before leaving class–the computers in this classroom are regularly wiped of student work).

The beginning of your memo should look like this:

TO: Chris Shannon
FROM: <Your first and last name>
DATE: <Today’s date>
SUBJECT: <Your informative subject line for this summary–how about “Summary of xxx”>

<Your summary follows below>

After you type up your summary in Microsoft Word or another text editor on your computer, copy and past your memo into the comment box at the bottom of this page. Post your comment. To confirm that your comment posted, go to the Dashboard > Comments.