SITUATION
The USC Computer Science Department received an email from an alumnus who is interested in hiring student interns for his new company. He’s founded an IT consulting company that provides technical support and services in a variety of areas, with a special emphasis on addressing the needs of under-served communities.
From the emailed advertisement:
Our IT Consultants work on site and are directly responsible for solving the technical needs of their assigned clients. The typical client will be small start-ups in under-served communities who lack the resources for in-house IT support. Our consultants arrive on site, assess the needs of the business, design and implement computer solutions for their specific challenges, and train employees to maintain the system.
Among the many duties our consultants perform and skills they possess:
Ensure client satisfaction.
Build trust with and empathy for clients.
Conduct research and work collaboratively with colleagues to resolve complicated issues.
Communicate with assigned clients to drive strategic technical decisions, manage project expectations and deliver ROI for projects, upgrades and improvements.
Scale solution to the fiscal limitations of the client.
Maintain required documentation.
Provide leadership to team members.
Deliver regular status updates to support team, management, and clients.
Work independently on tasks with minimal guidance.
Possess teamwork, creative, and teaching skills.
Perform other duties or special projects as assigned.
Qualified applicants are asked to submit a cover letter and writing sample to:
Dr. Nicholas Green
Chief Technical Officer
North/Green Consultants
Los Angeles, CA 90001
The writing sample should be 500 words and identify your thoughts on the technological innovation in your lifetime you feel has had the greatest societal impact on under-served communities. Your response should reflect both research and depth of thought. The impact discussed can be positive or negative.
TASKS
In this assignment you will respond to this ad. There are two components:
Write a cover letter tailored for this position and your skills and experiences
Prepare a writing sample that responds to the prompt
The assignment package is due via the course dropbox by start of class on March 3.
SPECIFICATIONS
Assignments Specifics:
Due via course dropbox March 3 (by start of class)
Include Statement of Originality (which applies to both components)
Both components (cover letter and writing sample) will be in one document file
The cover letter should not be more than one page in length
The writing sample should not exceed 500 words
The job title is “IT Intern”.
Main Criteria for Success:
Cover Letter
Proper Format (Brereton text, p. 155)
First Paragraph
Introduce self and intention
Second and Third Paragraphs
Rationale and examples of why you would be valuable to that company
Final Paragraph
Next step, polite close
Persuasive Details
Writing Sample
Essay format (“Writing Sample for Your Name” as title)
Identification of Technology
Description of Societal Impact of Technology
Personal Insights
Clarity
Conciseness/Directness
Audience-appropriate Tone
