Job Materials Project (30% of Final Grade)
After completing a professional inventory and a job analysis, you will then search for and respond to an internship/co-op announcement or job advertisement for which you will be qualified upon completion of your degree. Finally, you will create a suite of relevant job materials, including a print résumé, a scanable résumé, a cover letter, and a web portfolio.

Part 1- Preparation and Drafting
This part of the assignment is designed to get you thinking about both your current and future qualifications, as well as the kinds of professional positions you would like to apply for once you have completed your degree. This part of the project has three sub-steps.

1. Locate 3 appropriate job advertisements
2. Complete the Professional Inventory
3. Create a scanable résumé

Part 2- Analyzing, Creating, and Polishing
Now that you have completed an initial assessment of your current interests and skills and analyzed your professional development needs, the next part of the assignment asks you to prepare traditional application materials for a specific position. This part of the project has five sub-steps.

1. Locate a job advertisement for an internship or entry-level position that is substantial in terms of its description of qualifications, as well as relevant and realistic given your field of study and set of experiences.
2. Complete an analysis of the position's responsibilities and requirements
3. Create a polished and rhetorically-effective cover letter
4. Create a visually-appealing and rhetorically-effective print-based résumé
5. Create a small, visually-appealing and rhetorically-effective online portfolio that would help prospective employers get a fuller sense of your background and professional abilities

Outside Client Project (50% of your final grade)
Working with at least two other people, this project will be your most significant assignment. Each team will locate, investigate, and formally propose an outside client and set of deliverables. Working with a campus or community non-profit organization, teams will research, create, test, recommend changes, and revise appropriate communicative materials. Teams will deliver an oral report midway through the term on the status of their project and will give a formal presentation during the final week of classes. Each team will also write a final report evaluating the successes and failures of the team’s project and experience. This project has multiple parts which will take place over the course of the semester.

Part 1- Identify Potential Clients
This part of the project is critical in positioning your team for the challenges that lay ahead. It is important that every member is involved in the identification and selection process. Use this time to investigate the pros and cons of each client possibility and actively negotiate these trade-offs so that everyone is satisfied with the final client choice.

Part 2- Research client and client's needs
The next step in your Outside Client Project is to conduct research about your client and the organization's communication needs. You should use this work to learn about the organization's mission and goals, as well as how your team can contribute through developing communication materials. The results of your research will help you identify and propose deliverables for your team to produce.

Part 3- Write a formal proposal
The purpose of writing a project proposal is to recommend a course of action and a set of deliverables based on the findings of your research. A proposal offers the opportunity to formalize the work your team is willing to undertake and provides a clear timeline of when and how your work will proceed. You should construct your proposal so that it persuades your client of the necessity and value of the work you plan to do.

Part 4- Create deliverables for client as specified in proposal
Once your client has given approval to your proposal, your team should start working on the deliverables. You will have several opportunities to conference with your team during class, but you should also expect to meet outside of class on a regular basis in order to design and develop these materials.

Part 5- Give a formal status report
The purpose of giving an oral status report is three-fold. First, it offers a chance for your team to reflect on its progress and to look ahead to tasks that still need to be completed. Second, it allows your classmates to see how different teams negotiated the rhetorical, collaborative, and practical challenges of creating specialized deliverables for a client. Third, it is an opportunity for your team to prepare presentation materials, including PowerPoint slides, and gain experience communicating orally with an audience.

Part 6- Prepare a final report
This part of the assignment asks you to reflect on the work you did as an individual and as a team member for the Outside Client Project. The questions for this report prompt you to think about the contributions you and your team made during the many phases, as well as to suggest changes that might have been made to your approach and/or the assignment.