TO: Dr. Stice, Technical Writing Professor
FROM: Marie Gotti, Technical Writing Student
DATE: September 14, 2015
SUBJECT: Review of Submitted Resume and Job-Application Letter
*Note: references are made to the 11th Edition of the Markel text.
I am going to begin this assignment by first reviewing the resume submitted by Kenneth Bradley. The ad he responded to is looking for an experienced CAM Technician. My first observation concerning his resume is that his employment objective states “entry level position as a CAM Technician.” The advertisement he is replying to strictly states “experience required” not preferred. The job he is applying for does not sound like an entry level position. Under his education, he should have included what he is studying and his anticipated date of graduation according to Markel’s Writer’s Checklist on page 416. In addition, the Markel text discusses how including certain courses in your resume could be an added strength if they are of interest to your employer.
As I was reading through his work experience, I did not get anything that outlined his strengths for the position he was applying to. The resume appears to be an attempt at a chronological resume according to the Markel text. However, he lists his position as a Teachers Aide at the end of his work history when he had started the position in 2012, and he includes his present job in the middle of his employment history instead of at the top. Although he did cover his job duties well below each position held, he forgot to include his “summary of qualifications/summary statement” and his “interests and activities” according to the Markel text (see page 398). This is critical, because his entire resume does not outline his strengths for the position he wants to apply for. After reading his resume, I could not find any connections between his work experience/education and the job he wants to apply for.
Although his resume did not do a great job of advertising his strengths/qualifications for the position, his job-application letter was much better when it came to elaborating on his employment history. His first paragraph successfully identifies how he heard of the job opportunity, the position he is applying for, and “forecasts” the rest of his letter (see page 412) of the Markel text. He successfully picked a few key points in his resume to discuss with his employer and does a great job of advertising his strengths for the position. In addition, he goes into his education history and discusses course work that makes him more qualified for the position. He starts off his second paragraph (education paragraph) with a clear topic sentence as discussed in the Markel text (see page 412) and continues this throughout the rest of his letter. However, I did notice that he mentions his “enclosed resume” and forgets to include the enclosure notation at the end of the letter, as stated in the Markel text (see page 412).
The job-application letter was a significant improvement to the resume Kenneth Bradley submitted. As I had stated earlier, I do believe the job he is applying for is not an entry level position. I hope my feedback to these job-application materials will be helpful in the future.
Best,
Marie Gotti