English 421Y: Technical Writing Online

     Chapter 15 of Technical Communication Today outlines how to begin searching for future career positions as well as how to pursue and follow-up to any potential leads. I found it interesting, and perhaps a bit ironic, that one of the single most important skills to possess in locating a job is the ability to properly search for available positions.

One of the valuable tips I received from the chapter was the reinforcement about using the people you know when looking for a job. I have experienced firsthand how your personal network can help you in job searching. I was able to land my first internship by knowing the owner of a small information technology solutions business. I also liked the helpful tips on creating a personal resume. The resume should only be one page. It should also be organized in a good manner.

I found this week’s reading, chapter 15 “starting your career”, to be helpful but also a bit of a bummer. There were many helpful tips about resume writing/construction, cover letters, interviews, etc. All of this information will aid us in the search for our “perfect” job, but it’s not really a task I’m looking forward to. I wish it was possible to enjoy school all the way to graduation and then worry about this daunting task, maybe it is?

Chapter 15, Starting Your Career, gives so much good advice on how to find a job and how to actually make the correct paperwork to get it.

I recently got hired at Subaru of Indiana Automotive as an intern for this semester, and I had to go through much of what this chapter was about. The biggest thing for me was actually making a resume that showed all of my talents and that I was overly qualified for the job I was applying for.

The main points I took from reading Chapter 15, Starting Your Career, were effective methods and examples of how to create a top notch resume, cover letter, portfolio, and how to have a successful interview.

After reading chapter 15 in Technical Communication Today, I felt as though I had gained additional insight into creating professional documents to aid in the search for a job. I found the information on two of the documents particularly important and informative. These documents were the resume and the application letter.

I personally found Chapter 15: Starting Your Career, helpful in techniques and methods to tailoring a stronger resume. The chapter goes into detail about the different styles of resumes, layout design, job search engines and how to construct an application letter. Although at points the chapters describe common sense material, most of the information was applicable.

As I start to prepare my resume and cover letters for future jobs, I found many ways to stand out from other applicants in Chapter 15 - Starting Your Career of Technical Communications Today. The most important is that there are many ways to create an effective resume and cover letter. The trick is learning which most effectively highlight your skills. Researching the process of applying for jobs may be as important as the work you put into creating effective documents.

Everyone should benefit and receive new insight from reading Chapter 15. The chapter provides tips on finding jobs; tactics for writing eye-catching resumes; help on writing cover letters; guidance for creating a portfolio; and etiquette and manners for acing an interview. This chapter focuses on every aspect of securing a job, but I will focus mainly on the resume portion. I believe the resume is the most important part of the job search process. Many people will say that the interview is the most crucial.

Chapter 15 offers a hard-hitting, quick cut guide to resumes, application letters, interviews, portfolios, and follow-up thank you letters. This chapter specifically discusses the importance of tailoring your documents to emphasize particular skill sets. Content can be emphasized by both design factors such as fonts and size, and where it is placed in the documents. Archival resumes, the most common, stress your previous experience by placing all information from educational background and prior work experience at the top.