4.22 Presentations on cover letters and personal statements

Resumes.  At the beginning of class we looked at some resumes - to get a feel for how visual presentation can get the attention of the reader.  We noted the importance of (subtle) use of color, of identifying sections with headings that are in contrast to the information beneath them - through the use of bold, font size, lines etc, - and how breaking the information under each heading into "bites" of information with bullets or some other succinct statement that won't lose the reader in too much text.  We then talked about how tesumes that have been posted so far could make better use of these visual elements.

Cover letters+ personal statements.  During the rest of the class you presented and gave feedback on cover letters and personal statements.  I gave lots of comments - take what is useful and disregard what is not.  You are the best judge of your audience, and there are lots of successful approaches to creating these documents.  At the same time, it is  essential to think about who your readers are and how they will receive your documents.  In light of this:

• write your cover letter so that it appeals to the interests of your specfic audience
• make sure your personal statement  represents who you are AND is a good match for your employer's expectations

For next class:
Come to class prepared to give a presentations on your resumes + the gap paragraph.  In your presentation you will cover the following.

1. Describe the career you intend to enter.
2. Present your current resume and state how you would use it (=> give a specific description of its audience + purpose) - and ask the class for feedback on any issues you are struggling with
3. Present the dream resume , state how you expect to use it, and ask for any feedback you think might help strengthen this document
4. Discuss your plan for moving from the current to the dream resumes (gap paragraph).

For the last part of class, will also work on developing a rubric for evaluating the portfolios