Goal The goal of this assignment is to research a job ad and match your skills to the qualifications indicated in the ad. In doing so, you will have an opportunity to demonstrate your research and persuasive writing skills. You may find it helpful to complete the Resume at the same time or prior to this assignment, even though it is due two weeks after this assignment. Requirements There are two parts to this assignment: 1. Job Advertisement/Skills Identification a. Find an ad for a job in your area of study/field of work/area of interest. Copy/Save the ad into a Word or pdf document. You can get the ad from any source. Highlight or underline the specific skills or requirements that you will target in your cover letter and include this document with your letter. b. In a separate section, create a list or table in which you classify the highlighted skills into task (hard) or performance (soft). c. Try to find an ad that includes detailed information. For example, an ad that says "accountant wanted" or "manager required" will be hard to use as a basis for this assignment. 2. Cover Letter a. Prepare a block style, targeted, persuasive cover letter requesting an interview for this job. Make sure that your cover letter includes yours and the employer's address, presents the "you" view (what you bring to the position and not what the position can do for you), and corresponds to the ad by using qualified, quantified sentences with specific example(s) that focus on results, to demonstrate your skills: Notes: - It is essential that your cover letter be targeted to the job for which you are applying. Remember - a cover letter describes how you will use your skills to meet the job requirements versus a resume that documents what you have done - Spelling errors and major grammatical errors on your cover letter mean you dont get the interview. They also mean you may not pass this assignment - Please email your instructor if you would prefer to write this letter for an unsolicited job or have another option you would like to pursue - Qualified, quantified examples and a block style exemplar are available in Content/Additional Resources > Cover Letter and Resume Resources Examples: Soft skill = problem solving bard skill = report wnting