Professional Development Assignment

General Instructions:
This assignment will have you write multiple short documents associated with your professional
development with the complementary objectives of practicing audience-focused communication
and drafting materials for the job application process. These documents should skillfully prompt
productive actions from their intended audiences and follow the structural conventions expected
of each required genre. You may consult the textbook, your notes, and the descriptions provided
below for additional information. Your completed Professional Development Assignment is due
Tuesday, February 16 and will account for 20% of your final grade.
Document Requirements:
Your Professional Development Assignment is worth 100 points and must include the following
documents: Rsum (20 points), Job Application Letter (20 points), LinkedIn Profile (20 points),
Recommendation Request (10 points), Thank-You Email (10 points), and Business Summary (20
points). Before you write these documents, you should first review the professional opportunities
available within your field for students and recent graduates. You will choose one position based
upon your own interests and qualifications and will draft your documents using the details of this
position. The requirements for each of the documents are listed below:
Rsum: Your rsum should clarify how your education and professional experience fit
the requirements of your field and the responsibilities of your selected position. Rsums
can include contact information, education, work experience, skills, awards, professional
certifications, projects, academic organizations, etc. You should design this rsum so its
content fills one aesthetically-appealing page.
Job Application Letter: Your job application letter should explain how the qualifications
from your rsum satisfy the needs of the company and your chosen position. This letter
should include your recipient, contact information, reasons for applying for this position,
education, work experience, and final request for further action. You should specify how
your work has benefitted your previous employers and should address the details of your
job listing, which you will attach with your final submission.
LinkedIn Profile: Your LinkedIn profile will represent the information from your rsum
and job application letter for numerous employers from your field. You may design your
profile based upon your interests and the expectations of your specific audience but must
include: general information, summary, education, experience, and skills.
Recommendation Request: Your recommendation request email should ask whether your
employer, professor, administrator, etc. will let you add them for your references page or
write you letters of recommendation for graduate school. This email should provide your
sender address, recipient, subject line, salutation, message, and signature.
Thank-You Email: Your thank-you email will thank the recipient of your job application
letter for granting your interview request, politely denying your request, or hiring you for
your chosen position. You may alternatively thank the recipient of your recommendation
request for his/her anticipated response. These emails should not exceed 200 words.
The Professional Development Assignment also involves one practice Business Summary, which
will have you convey technical information for informed executives. You may summarize one of
your own reports or any recent article from your field, and this summary should include 600-900
words of single-spaced text and use clear and mechanically-correct prose.