SITUATION

The USC Viterbi School of Engineering has been contacted by an alumnus who is interested in hiring student interns for her new company.  She has 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 company’s job posting: 

Our IT Consultants work on site and are directly responsible for solving the technical needs of their assigned clients.  Our typical clients are 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 IT 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 and trust.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues to resolve complex issues.
• Communicate with assigned clients to drive technical decisions,      manage project expectations and deliver ROI for projects, upgrades and      improvements.
• Scale solutions to the fiscal limitations of the client.
• Deliver regular status updates to support team, management, and      clients.
• Possess creativity, leadership, cross-cultural awareness, and      teaching skills.

Qualified applicants are asked to submit a cover letter and a writing sample to:

Dr. Jenna Jillette

Chief Technical Officer

Gillette IT Consulting

Los Angeles, CA 90089

Note: you may substitute a cover letter that you are preparing for a current job/internship as an alternative. You need to provide the job listing if you do this.

WRITING SAMPLE PROMPT

The writing sample should be approximately one page (approximately 500 words) and identify your thoughts on the technological innovation in your lifetime that is having or could have a significant impact on under-served communities.  What important factors are at play (i.e. social, economic, political)? Your response should reflect both research and depth of thought. The impact discussed can be positive, negative, a combination of positive and negative, or effects yet unrealized. 

WRITING TASKS FOR BOTH COMPONENTS

1. Write a cover letter tailored for this position and your skills and experiences. Or a cover letter for a position you are in the process of applying for or will apply for soon (provide the job listing you are applying for as a separate file). 

2. Prepare a writing sample that responds to the prompt

The assignment package is due via the course dropbox by Friday, 11:59 PM on July 19.

SPECIFICATIONS

Assignment Logistics:

• Due via course dropbox,      Friday, 11:59 PM, July 19
• Include Statement of      Originality (it applies to both components) 
• Both components (cover      letter and writing sample) should be in one document file
• The cover letter should      not be more than one page in length
• The writing sample should be      around 500 words (one page, single-spaced, double spaced between      paragraphs)
• The job title is “IT      Intern”

Breakdown of Content Elements:

1. Cover Letter
   • Proper Format (Ch. 12 of       Tebeaux and Dragga explains in simple terms how to do this)
   • First Paragraph
     • Acknowledge the position,        introduce yourself and your intention
   • Second and Third       Paragraphs
     • Examples of your        experience that show how you would be valuable to the company
   • Final Paragraph
     • Next steps, polite close
   • Persuasive Details
2. Writing Sample
   • Essay format (“Writing       Sample of Your Name” as title)
   • Identify the context,       issue and technology
   • Describe the societal impact       of this technology 
   • Give an assessment

Strive for conciseness, clarity and an appropriate tone