Today you will complete peer review for the fourth project. Your work is due by 11:55 PM on Friday, 1/9. Remember that you have a 24-hour grace period if you need an extension.

Readings for January 8

For today’s session, please review the following, as necessary:

• Editing and Proofreading tips and skim Appendix B of Markel.
• Guidelines on “Organizing a Memo” in Markel, on p. 232.
• FAQs on the Google Drive system.

Work for January 8

• Complete the LinkedIn Profile Quiz by 11:55 PM tonight (01/08).
• Complete the peer review activities:
  • Post drafts for Project 4 in the forums.
  • Respond to two students in the forums.
  • Revise your Project 4 based on the feedback.

• Post drafts for Project 4 in the forums by 9 AM Eastern.
• Respond to two students in the forums by 5 PM Eastern.
• Revise your Project 4 based on the feedback.

Posting Your Drafts for Project 4

1. Set the permissions for your job application materials so that your classmates can view (and comment, for Google Docs) on your draft.
• For Google Docs, use the How do I use Google Drive for peer review? FAQ.
• For LinkedIn, make sure your privacy settings will let the public see your profile. Consult the Lynda.com video on Managing your public profile for additional help.
• For other sites, make sure you have set your materials so that they are viewable by the public.
2. Go to the Project 4: Job App Peer Review section of the forums, and create a topic for your draft with your name or your username (e.g., “Traci’s Job App”).
3. Post a reply in your topic, doing the following:
• If you do not want to share your last name in the forums, change it in your draft to a pseudonym. You can use a generic last name like Doe or Smith, or you can change it to Lastname.
• Share the link(s) to your Project 4 drafts in Google Docs, using the FAQ linked in the Refresher section above. If you have links to other documents, like you LinkedIn profile, provide those instead (or as well).

4. Tell your classmates what job application materials you have created and let them know about any specific concerns that you want them to consider as they comment on your draft.

5. Be sure to Preview your draft to make sure everything shows up the way you want it to, and then submit your post.

Replying to Project 4 Drafts

Next, you will reply to the posts of some of your classmates:

1. Go to the Project 4: Job App Peer Review forum, and read the drafts of at least two of your classmates and add a reply with advice and encouragement (more below).
   • Find one post that no other student has replied to (so that we can be sure everyone gets a reply).
   • Find a second post that has only one other student reply.

2. Either use the Share link to go to your classmate’s draft on Google Docs or visit the link(s) they have submitted.

   If you are working on Google Docs, use the Comment system to add details on the following issues. If you are reviewing a LinkedIn profile or another document outside Google Docs, add a reply in the forums and include answers to the following in your reply:

   • Consider your immediate impression of the document(s), and add a comment to tell your partner your first thoughts. Job application materials can be rejected at a glance, so first impressions matter.
   • If you notice any spelling errors, punctuation errors, or typos, mark them as you read, but please focus more on the content rather than editing.
   • Add comments on the content of the draft. Comment on at least three things your classmate does well and at least three things that your classmate could improve on.

3. Once you finish commenting on the document, add an overall comment in the forums that sums up what you thought of the job application materials and gives your partner some encouragement.

4. Go back to the forums and add a reply to your classmate’s topic that includes this information:
   • Add an overall comment that sums up what you thought of the draft(s).
   • Give your classmate some encouragement.

Reviewing the Comments You Received

Once you have finished adding comments to your classmates’ projects, return to your own draft, read the comments that your classmates have given you, and add replies as appropriate. For instance, you might thank your partner for catching an error, ask your partner for more detail on feedback you don’t understand, or share a revision and ask your partner if it is an improvement. Your goal is to reply by 6 PM Eastern so that your classmate can respond if you need more information.

Today you will explore some additional information about your job application materials.

Readings for January 7

For today’s session, please read the following, paying particular attention to the advice that relates to the job application materials you are creating:

• Tips for Job-App Materials slide presentation
• For LinkedIn:
  • 5 Essential Tips for a KILLER LinkedIn Summary
  • Your LinkedIn Profile Summary: How to Distinguish Yourself from Your Company
  • How To Improve Your LinkedIn Background Summary
  • How To Make Your LinkedIn Headline Stand Out
  • LinkedIn Cheat Sheet: 5 Tips For A Professional Profile
  • LinkedIn: What To Include In Your Work History
• For a resume:
  • Resume Objectives (from VT Career Services)
  • Resumes and vitae guide (from VT Career Services)
  • Resumes 101: Swap a Stale Objective for a Fresh Branding Statement
  • Resume Tips (from VT HR)
  • Avoid the Top 10 Resume Mistakes

• If you are writing both a resume and a LinkedIn profile:
  • 7 Ways Your Résumé and LinkedIn Profile Should Differ
  • Resumes vs. LinkedIn Profiles: What You Should Know
  • Your resume vs. your LinkedIn profile

Work for January 7

• Complete the Reading Quiz on LinkedIn Profiles by 11:55 PM on Thursday, 01/08.
• Reply to at least one of the topics below (in the Projects 3 & 4: Job Application Materials forum):
  • Improving Networking Advice
  • Letter of Appreciation
  • CAM Technician Application Letter
  • CAM Technician Résumé
  • Analyzing Corey’s Résumé

Today you will complete peer review for the third project and then submit your work by the end of the day. Remember that you have a 24-hour grace period if you need an extension.

Readings for January 6

For today’s session, please review the following, as necessary:

• Editing and Proofreading tips and skim Appendix B of Markel.
• Guidelines on “Organizing a Memo” in Markel, on p. 232.
• FAQs on the Google Drive system.

Work for January 6

• Complete the Reading Quizzes on Chapters 10 and 11 by 11:55 PM tonight (01/06).
• Complete the peer review activities:
  • Post drafts for Project 3 in the forums.
  • Respond to two students in the forums.
  • Revise your Project 3 based on the feedback.
• Write your reflection memo and submit your project.

Today we will go over the assignments for Project 3 and Project 4, which are related to each other.

Readings for January 5

There are a lot of readings listed because I am posting everything for Project 3 and Project 4. The information should help you make decisions about how to proceed with the next two projects. For today’s session, please read the following:

• Assignment for Project 3 and 4.
• Project 3: Proposal Grade Expectations (regarding the grade on Project 3).
• Project 3: Evaluation Section (what you propose for assessing your work on Project 4).
• Project 3: Proposal Tips.
• Additional resources for Project 4 (like info on LinkedIn).
• Details on your proposal and Chapter 11 of Markel.
• Information on résumés and cover letters and Chapter 10 of Markel.

Work for January 5

• Complete the Reading Quizzes on Chapters 10 and 11 by 11:55 PM on Tuesday, 01/06.

• Begin work on Project 3. Take time now to explore the various resources on job application materials listed in the readings so that you can make an informed decision about what you will propose.

• If you have any questions about the assignments, go to the forums and post them in the Questions about Projects 3 & 4: Job App Materials forum. Please indicate whether your question is about the proposal or about the job application materials themselves in your subject line.

• Job Hunting Online with Jolie Miller

• Up and Running with LinkedIn with Brad Batesole

• Git Essential Training with Kevin Skoglund

• Job Search Strategies with Valerie Sutton

• Designing a Resume with Steve Harris

• Creating an Effective Resume with Mariann Siegert

• a job posting and the résumé and cover letter you would use to apply for the job
• an internship announcement and the materials you would use to apply for the internship
• a scholarship announcement and the materials you would use to apply for that scholarship
• a before image (PDF) of your LinkedIn profile and a link to your revised LinkedIn profile
• before images of several online profiles (e.g., Facebook, Twitter) and then links to your newly cleaned up profiles
• the link to a website you have built as a portfolio, which provides info about yourself and your accomplishments
• the link to your GitHub repository with descriptions and well-documented code for projects you have done
• the link to your Academia.edu profile, which provides info on your education and projects you have done
• the link to a YouTube video that gives a guided tour of some work that you have done or presentations you have given

This list is just some of the options. You can do whatever makes sense for your field and career goals. You can combine and rearrange things as well. For example, I had some students in the past who cleaned up their existing online profiles and then created a LinkedIn profile to build a professional online persona.

This project is your chance to work on documents that you can use now and in the future. I’ve had students, for instance, who told me that their in-major advisors or advisors at Career Services kept telling them they needed to set up profiles on LinkedIn, but they never had time. They used this project to get that work done.

Although you may not be writing a résumé and cover letter for Project 4, you will certainly have to write these documents and keep them updated over the course of your career. Since that’s the case, I want to spend a little time pointing out some useful information you can use when you do work on job application materials.

• There’s good information in chapter 10 of Markel, including details on how to adjust your documents for electronic submissions.

• Use the example résumés and cover letters in the 2014–2015 Career Planning Guide. Career Services publishes information on exactly what recruiters who come to Virginia Tech are looking for. Be sure to take advantage of the resources that Career Services offers. They have workshops, presentations, and even advising appointments.

• Pay attention to the Professional Communication section of the 2014–2015 Career Planning Guide for tips on not just cover letters, but also the other kinds of communication you will need to make.

Reading Quiz

After reading the chapter, complete the reading quiz in Scholar for Chapter 10.

Photo: Application – pen2 by Flazingo Photos, on Flickr

Important Dates

• January 6: Project 3 Rough Drafts for Peer Feedback, due by 9 AM
• January 6: Project 3 (informal proposal) due by 11:55 PM
• January 7: Grace period for Project 3 ends at 11:55 PM

• January 8: Project 4 Rough Drafts for Peer Feedback, due by 9 AM
• January 9: Project 4 (job application materials) due by 11:55 PM
• January 10: Grace period for Project 4 ends at 11:55 PM

The Name of the Projects

For simplicity’s sake, I will refer to your work for these projects as “job application materials”; however, you can actually focus on an internship application, a scholarship application, or a similar kind of position. Furthermore, what you write doesn’t actually have to be an application for anything. You might work on a professional web portfolio or a LinkedIn profile, for instance. The task can be defined broadly, as you will see as you read on. So while I will call it “job application materials,” remember that it can be many other things.

The Project Assignment

You may need a job or a scholarship or an internship. You may need to begin building a personal presence online. You may want to establish yourself professionally so you can network with future colleagues. No one assignment that I can design will ever fit what each one of you needs, so for this assignment, you will choose what kind of job application materials are relevant for your future. You will choose the task, do the necessary research, establish the criteria for excellence, and reflect on how well you do. This assignment is meant to be personally meaningful and useful. If it’s not, you have no one to blame but yourself.

The assignment has two parts:

• Project 3 is your informal proposal. Research the job application expectations for your field using the information in chapter 10 of Markel, your experience from internships and other jobs in your field, and the details from the Virginia Tech Career Planning Guide (available online or in print from Career Services on the Blacksburg Campus). Write an informal proposal with background on what you have found out and an explanation of what you will create for Project 4. Set expectations for your Project 4 work, with levels for C, B, and A work.
• Project 4 is your job application materials. You will create whatever job application materials you proposed in Project 3, with my approval. The specifics for this project will be up to you.

Details

Step 1: Conduct your research

You probably know a bit about what you will need to gather for a job application after you graduate. For Project 3, you will build on that knowledge by doing a bit of research on what someone in your field needs to develop. Research the job application expectations for your field using the information in the textbook, your experience from internships and other jobs in your field, and the details from the Virginia Tech Career Planning Guide (available online or in print from Career Services on the Blacksburg Campus).

You can also rely on discussions with colleagues where you have worked, advice from faculty in your major, and information from other students and alumni. Review position listings for your field as well in order to see the kinds of material companies ask for. Look at the kinds of materials that are specifically requested as well as the kinds of resources companies often consult.

Step 2: Choose a focus

Based on your research, you should choose a broad focus for your job application materials. Some (not all) possible options are the following:

• Find a job posting you want to apply for and write the materials it requires.
• Find a internship posting you want to apply for and write the materials it requires.
• Find a scholarship you want to apply for and write the materials it requires.
• Create a personal website that provides a portfolio of your work and basic biography or resume.
• Clean up your online presence online and establish profiles in places that will help you network or get a job (like Academia.edu, LinkedIn or GitHub).

Additional examples are also available. I encourage you to choose whatever project is most helpful to you. Take advantage of this assignment to get something done you’ve been putting off or to get ahead on (or add to) your job search.

Step 3: Complete Project 3 by proposing your job application materials

Following the information in chapter 11 of Markel, write an informal proposal, in memo format addressed to me. Explain what you discovered in your research and what you propose to compose for Project 4. Your grade on Project 3 is based on the Proposal Grade Expectations.

Because this will be an informal, internal proposal, you will not need to include all the components listed in the textbook. Please include the following sections and information in your proposal:

• summary (p. 282–283)
• introduction, which explains the findings of your research and your needs (p. 283)
• proposed tasks, that is what you propose to create for Project 4 (p. 283–286)
• task schedule (p. 287–289)
• evaluation techniques (p. 289), which outlines three levels of work for Project 4:
  • Average Work ( a C project)
  • Above-Average Work (a B project)
  • Excellent Work (an A project)

You will submit this project in Scholar on January 6 with a short reflection memo. I will provide more details in the post for January 6. I will check your work and give you feedback so that you can adjust your plans for Project 4 if they are not appropriate.

Step 4: Complete Project 4 by creating your job application materials
Complete the work you have proposed for Project 4. Create whatever job application materials you have proposed, working to meet whatever grade goals you have set for yourself.

In addition to the job application materials that you propose to write, you will write a short reflection memo that explains the choices you made for Project 4. I will provide more details in the post for January 9.