I really need to make sure to use these in Business Writing.

I also need to create my own regular and enhanced resume before class starts in the spring.

The Typography and Layout behind the new Signal vs. Noise redesign
Mig Reyes wrote this on Oct 19 / 63 comments

We’ve been sharing our process and company values on Signal vs. Noise since 1999. It’s where we’ve planted the seeds for Getting Real and REWORK. And for many readers, it’s their first taste of 37signals. Yet, we haven’t given the look and feel any serious attention since 2005.

I think it would be a good idea to share with my Business Writing students. Perhaps yours could benefit as well.

The main issue is, cover letters often ask the employer to take risks with their resources. That should not be done.

Drive?
Initiative?
Persuasive?
Ability to deal with ambiguity?
Cross-disciplinary?

Go to the post to read more.

These are important for my classes, both FYC and Business Writing. So I thought they might be relevant for you too.

First, Visual Persuasion resources, links, and information.

Then, PowerPoint can be better. 5 Tips for Creating PP Slides that Won’t Bore Your Audience

However, with the proverb “A word to the wise is sufficient” in mind, I will quote Presentation Zen:

One thing we need to constantly remind ourselves is that slides and other forms of projected visualization—no matter how “cool” they may be—are not appropriate for every context. Multimedia is great for presentations before large groups such as keynote addresses or conference presentations, but in meetings where you want to actively discuss issues or go over details in depth, slides—especially the snooze-inducing bulletpoint variety, which are never a good idea—are almost always counter productive.

Something to think about.

20 Creative Resume Designs

Too often, job seekers get overly creative or personal with their résumés in order to make an impression, but irrelevant information and goofy details can be perceived as unprofessional and may cause the résumé to be rejected on the spot.

Some of them were particularly poor choices. For example:
“Candidate included that he was arrested for assaulting his previous boss.”

Others were particularly odd choices.
“Candidates — a husband and wife looking to job share — submitted a co-written poem.”

Some were the result of poor editing.
“Candidate said that he would be a “good asset to the company,” but failed to include the “et” in the word ‘asset.’”

Some were clearly lacking professionalism.
“Candidate’s email address on the résumé had “shakinmybootie” in it.”

All of them were actually done. All of them sunk the candidate.

These are the kinds of things we need to make sure to talk about with our business writing students. Sometimes they too can’t tell the difference between “catching attention” and “going down in flames.”

You bet. Want to see some students snap to attention? Tell them that in the professions, in management, where they want to be, it’s the rare boss that will let them do C work or even B work, over and over. It’s A work every day, or they can be replaced, and especially these days.

I tell students that and let them know that I was a late-life Ph.D. who hired — and fired — for decades, first. And then I tell them about as many as five hundred applicants even for internships, all those cover letters and resumes to sort, a process in which I sometimes assisted, because I can spell, punctuate, etc. First, yes, out went any with errors, typos, etc.; that usually cut the stack by more than half. The rest were sorted by GPAs, because we wanted reliability, and students who don’t show up and don’t turn in work don’t get good grades. Then the boss looked at the top twenty-five — maybe, if he had time, or I did so — to pick ten to check their credentials, references, and writing samples to narrow the field to five for interviews. Of those, in a good year, two got internships. Often, only one did so. And you bet they had to do A work every day.

from ProfTowanda on the CHE fora

Aggarwal explains that visitors to corporate websites or employee blogs do not expect to see anything but positive commentary on company products and services. Critical commentary is seen as reflecting the integrity of employees and honesty and openness from the company about their products or services, he said.

from Live Science’s post “Disgruntled Employees Can Be Good for Business.

So students need to learn to write 80/20 or 85/15… It’s an interesting idea.