Minutes for February 5, 2009 by Jake

9:45a.m. Class begins.
• 18 Students present
• Lights off, Desks in a circle
• Darren read the minutes from last class
o “Community” changed to “Communication”
o Read section from blog link on cover letters, don’t actually write one
o Parallelism is important in “all” writing, and “can” be ambiguous

“Resumes and Job Stuff”
• 25% of people in the high-tech industry look at resumes, it is still important to have one.
• Dr. Wagner is a “Headhunter” making big bucks
• What does a successful job seeker do?
o Knows the job
o Networks
o Closes the gaps in the desired qualifications

Exercise: I spy for 30 seconds.
• 30 second focus time
• Conversations/Visualizations become boring after 30 seconds
• Point of the Exercise:
o 30 seconds to grab an employer’s attention through creating a network, cover letter, or resume (series).

Resume Drafts:
• Get rid of preconceived structure
• What are some of the tools we will need
o Ink cartridge
o Stamps
• Decrease white space and compact to a single page (if possible)
• Start with some that will distinguish you as qualified for the position
• Average time spent looking at a resume is 7-15 seconds
• Use key words that will attract an electronic search
• “You are not necessarily looking for a job/career you are looking at a way to connect to colleagues”

Assignments:
• Due Tuesday: Read Cover Letter and Resume sections from Online Technical Writing.
• Due Tuesday: 30 second sales pitch
o Name drop
o Research experiences
o “Checked out the damn zoo”

10:45a.m. Class ends.

Additional Notes:
• Hellbenders cannot vocalize