WRIT 310 Blog Post 10

Purpose statement: This letter will imitate the style of Ted L. Nancy to complain about an absurd and practically nonexistent issue. I do not know why. 

Dear Nike,

Thank you for your response to my previous letter requesting a line of shoes to be worn on the hands. I understand the confusion, as revolutionary ideas like this one can be controversial. However, I must ask that you revisit the idea. 

 As a distance runner at the collegiate level, I spend a lot of time on the track. While I appreciate the comfort and support that your shoes (particularly the Pegasus) provide for my feet, my hands have become raw and blistered from galloping on all fours around the track. When I race, I feel like my hands aren’t getting the same traction as my feet because I don’t have spikes for them.

I think this is a big problem with your product lines, and you could make a lot of money off of shoes for the hands. It’s an untapped market of millions of hands just waiting to be shod. (And if you don’t think hands need shoes, just look at horses—they’re way faster than me. Why? Because they have four shoes.)

If you don’t want to partner with me to create this product, I will begin my own independent development of the line. I will make hand-trainers, hand-spikes, even hand-flip-flops. I will expand into other sports, and athletes will wear my gear instead of yours because of the unique comfort I provide for the hands of my customer as they prance along the court, field, or pitch. I will dominate the sportswear market and send your executives crying into a hedge. You have been warned.

Best wishes,

Aidan Arthur

WRIT 310 Blog Post 8

 Purpose Statement: This blog post / letter will respond to a (joking) request letter addressed to the Hotel Amstel in order to practice delivering bad news through a four-part method.

Dear Mr. Nancy,

We at the Amstel appreciate your response to our recent correspondence, and your attempt to make this situation work by using clams instead of hamsters in your play.

However, the fact remains that clams, just as much as hamsters, will cause undue sanitation problems for our hotel rooms, particularly if they are as prone to glopping and undulation as you’ve mentioned. Even with the use of Lysol spray that you suggested, we expect that the lingering smell would make the rooms untenable for other guests.

Therefore, we have to ask that you find another place to stay during your visit to Amsterdam. Though we hate to turn customers away, we simply cannot host your aquatic companions and thus will not be able to fulfill your needs as you stage AMSTERCLAM. 

We wish you well in your trip planning, and hope that you enjoy your visit to our city, which you clearly appreciate greatly already.

Sincerely,

Aidan Arthur

Writing 310 Blog Post 7: Cover Letter

Purpose Statement: This cover letter will provide further detail about my experience to future employers in order to supplement my resume and provide a more compelling case for me to be accepted to a job.

Note: The internship listing I was supposed to base my work on this semester has been taken down, and I can't find it on the Warner Media website. Thus, I couldn't find a name of who I should be writing to.

Because I can't format this blog post as I would a letter, here's a link to my letter on Google Docs.

Writing 310 Blog Post 6

Purpose Statement: This blog post will compare and contrast two different resume template in order to help me draft a resume for the internship I'm working towards in this class.

Here's a resume style that I think could work: https://www.georgefox.edu/offices/idea-center/biology-resume.pdf

Here's one that might not: https://www.georgefox.edu/offices/idea-center/career/beasleyresum.pdf

I didn't see a ton of differences between any of the templates, so I mostly based this decision on how they divide the space. The first template has a lot of space dedicated to the "Experience" section, which wouldn't work for me because I don't have that much experience. The second one, on the other hand, has an additional section titled "lab skills." This is clearly catered to this person's biology background, but I think a section like this could be used to list different writing skills I've developed, or even something else like projects I've worked on. This way, I could make my resume look full without having had 4 or 5 relevant jobs to list as experience.

Another thing I like about the first one is that it includes a LinkedIn link at the top. I could easily add this to the second one, but as-is I prefer the first. This gives employers another way to learn about me if they hadn't checked my LinkedIn yet. However, I'd need to do some work on making my page more interesting before I'd turn in a resume with the link at the top, because as-is it doesn't really make me stand out.

Stylistically, the two are pretty similar. I think the first does a better job of using white space, especially with the two columns in the "lab skills" section. Both use a serif font, which might not be the best choice for accessibility according to the presentation we heard on universal design. Additionally, both are pretty bland, so I might try to spice things up with some different colors or fonts. The article I read for Monday's class pointed out that the creativity that can be used in a resume is one of the big reasons that LinkedIn won't replace them, so I should use that aspect of the resume within reason.

This might be particularly important for an internship in public relations because it would show that I know how to communicate—through written documents and, hopefully, other channels—in a way that draws attention and stands out.

Writing 310 Blog Post 5

 Purpose Statement: This blog post will compare two articles on the value of LinkedIn to guide my own strategy in setting up and maintaining a LinkedIn profile.

Article 1 (from library database): "LinkedIn as a new selection method: Psychometric properties and assessment approach."

Article 2 (from internet): 5 Reasons LinkedIn Will Never Replace Your Resume

Put together, these articles made me realize that LinkedIn is an important tool in employer screening of applicants, and it has some specific qualities that resumes don't. For example, the use of images to draw attention makes LinkedIn unique, which the first article mentions. However, as emphasized in the second article, even a great LinkedIn profile can't replace a resume. 

One reason for this is the individuality and flexibility that a resume allows for. LinkedIn doesn't let you choose a lot of formatting options, and it also has limits on length for different sections. Though there are best practices for resumes, there's still some creative license allowed.

Also, because a resume is shared only with an employer, there's some information that can be shared more freely—such as challenges with coworkers who might see the LinkedIn profile.

The first article also raises some challenges to LinkedIn, such as the fact that it could potentially lead to discrimination and thus be an illegal method of screening applicants. 

Overall, both articles show that LinkedIn is a valuable tool. And though the second is more explicit about it, both show that it's not a panacea for applying to a job. Together with a resume and a cover letter, LinkedIn provides another resource for employees and employers. It seems that, while a bad or nonexistent LinkedIn profile might not rule an applicant out, a good one could certainly draw more attention through its unique aspects. 

After learning this, I definitely think I'll put more effort into my LinkedIn page, especially on the visual aspects, and not feel like I need to get all the information from my resume on there. I now recognize that LinkedIn is a different tool that I have to use in a different way.