ASSIGNMENT BACKGROUND / WHY WE’RE DOING THIS

Every job we apply for, exhibition proposal we submit, client we contact and grant we write will include some sort of initial letter. This letter may be referred to as a cover letter, letter of inquiry or letter of intent, but they are all essentially the same. However, cover letters can be paralyzingly difficult to write, as they must balance brevity with thoroughness, professionalism with personality and confidence with politeness.

Since cover letters are so challenging to write, we will be spending a few weeks developing basic letters that can be easily revised for future needs.

///////// FINDING A JOB

1. Our first step is going to be finding 3 different jobs to which we could apply, pretending that we have already graduated and are on the job market right now.
2. The jobs you find can be in any field that interests you, but they must be jobs for which you may be qualified once you complete your degree. You might find jobs in the arts or other creative fields or you might look for more general jobs in order to pay the bills while you make art or develop your portfolio. Not all artists have arts-related jobs, which is okay as long as you do not neglect your practice or relevance.
3. There are many different locations to find possible jobs. The web is full of job boards, and local publications such as magazines and newspapers often have classified sections. You can also look at very specific companies or institutions — they will often have a section titled something like ‘Careers,’ or ‘Work with us.’ You can also do an online search for something like ‘company name careers’ or ‘company name human resources.’
4. If you are interested in pursuing a career in the arts,
   New York Foundation for the Arts – all kinds of art-related jobs
   artjobs.artsearch.us
   Chicago Artist Resource – Job postings and more
   Artist Communities – jobs at residenciesThe Versitile PhD – helps humanities and social science grad students prepare for nonacademic careers.
   Jobs on Toast – Marketing yourself for a non-academic career 
   Non Academic Jobs for PhDs
   Jobs for Higher Ed & Beyond – at the Adjunct Project
   Insider Tips for Finding a Job Outside Academia – a video from Regional HERC
5. Once you have found 3 jobs, post on our class blog for this assignment titled ‘Job Search Assignment.’ You will need to leave 3 different posts (1 for each job you have found) including the following information:
   1. Title of the job
   2. Name of the company
   3. Location
   4. Salary (if included)
   5. Summary of candidate requirements — NOTE: Most job postings have a long, laundry list of requirements. Summarize some of the key requirements in a short, two-or-three sentence blurb.
   6. Summary of job duties — NOTE: Similar to job requirements, there may be a long list of duties. Again, summarize the duties into two-or-three sentences.
   7. Elements required for application (such as cover letter, résumé, etc.)
   8. URL linking to where you found the posting (if online) or name of publication (if in print)
6. You are not allowed to repost a job that has already been posted. Before you add your jobs to the list, make sure that someone else has not already found it. (I will go by the date/time stamp to determine who a duplicate counts for – don’t get docked for this easy mistake)
7. All 3 jobs must be posted to the blog before 5:00pm. Technical issues will not be an excuse for missing this deadline, so make sure to complete this assignment early.

///////// GRADING : 9 pts (PASS / FAIL)

The assignment will be graded on the following criteria:

• 3 jobs posted (each one its own post) –  (3 pts / job)

///////// AUTOMATIC FAILURE

• Content not posted by 5:00pm
• Required elements not complete
• Job already posted by someone previously
• No URL or record of where the job was found