Employment Portfolio

 1.         Research any employment advertising source (employment agencies, newspapers, journals, the Internet, etc.), and find one job listing in your field of interest AND for which your résumé will be appropriate.  Make one copy of the text of the ad to be included in this project.  Label your copy with the date and source name for your ad.

2.         Create a résumé based on your own background and experience, but worded appropriately for the job listing you found for Step 1. Be sure to refer to pages 254-272 for the important features of a proper résumé.  Sample résumés are included in the text and as templates in the MS Word program.  In addition, the Career Center at Shasta College and the Internet are excellent resources for information and additional samples.

3.         Read about the Cover Letter, beginning on p. 273.  Sample cover letters are shown on pp. 278-280. Create a cover letter for your specific, desired position. 

4.         Now imagine you had an interview as a result of your job inquiry. With the information you used to create your cover letter, create a Thank-You letter appropriate for the interview with the prospective employer listed on your cover letter.  Refer to p. 310 for information about a Thank-You letter. Page 312 provides an example of a Thank-You letter.

NOTE: Paragraph #2 of your Thank-You letter will discuss something specific from the interview.  For example, you may create one or two sentences discussing a specific job duty that came up during your conversation with your interviewer.  Use your imagination, but keep the “theme” relevant to what could occur in a real job interview.  The reason for doing this is to help the interviewer really remember you, since you would be the “perfect” person for the job and you should be hired!!

5.         Submit your pages in this order: ad copy, cover letter, résumé, and thank-you letter, stapled together with a Title Page, which includes the following information: Employment Portfolio, Class Title, Name, and Date. See p. 367 in Chapter 11 for an example of a Title Page.

NOTE: Your portfolio should be error free. This means no typos, misspelled words, or formatting errors. This portfolio is a reflection of you. You only get one chance at a first impression. Make your one chance count!