Application & Cover Letter Assessment
Name: ________________________
During your junior and senior year of high school you worked at the Dunkin Donuts on Whaley Avenue in New
Haven. You started working there in September of 2014 and plan on leaving once you have landed another job.
Your store manager John Smith (203) 946-5845 has provided you with multiple opportunities for training which
lead you to your current position as a shift manager making $9.68/hour. As a shift manager, you worked in a
team environment, provided exceptional customer service (Employee of the Month in September 2015), and
met weekly selling targets. Your manager believed in your abilities and your good judge of character to even
help with the hiring and training of new crew members. John Smith understands your desire to learn more about
the field that you are pursuing and has agreed to be one of your references.
Though the job gave you what you immediately needed, you are now looking for a position that would offer
you exposure to the marketing field. Yesterday when you were job searching on indeed.com you noticed a parttime office assistant position. This position would be perfect while attending SCSU for Marketing. The job
description is below:
Description
News America Marketing, a News Corporation company and the home of the SmartSource family of
products and services, is the nation's premier marketing services company with more than $1 billion in
annual revenue. The Company's tremendous growth within the areas of consumer promotion,
merchandising services and advertising make News America Marketing the only single-source
marketing organization of its kind.
We are currently looking for a Part-Time Administrative Assistant/Office Manager to work out of our
New Haven office 20 hours per week with a starting salary of $10/hour. Please send application, cover
letter, and resume to:
News America Marketing
Jennifer Keith, Human Resource Manager
140 Legion Avenue
New Haven, CT 06519
Responsibilities include:
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Acting as receptionist by answering incoming calls
General maintenance of the office and office supplies
Creating and maintaining spreadsheets
Handling confidential data and situations
Distributing mail and coding invoices
Administrative responsibilities reporting to General and Group Sales Managers within the office
Assisting as needed with new hire paperwork
Managing setup of conference room for training and events
Assessment:
Using the information provided, complete the following items:
1. Complete the Job Application for the part-time administrative assistant/office manager.
2. Write a cover letter in the proper business letter format.
Application & Cover Letter Assessment
Name: ________________________
Cover Letter Rubric
Tone &
Content
Points
10, 8, 6, 3, 0
Exceptional
Satisfactory
Developing
Needs Improvement
Letter is enthusiastic and
encourages the reader
want to learn more about
the applicant.
Letter is
enthusiastic but
does not encourage
the reader to learn
more
OR
letter does not add
anything to the
information already
contained in the
resume
Missing evidence
of one item
Letter is friendly
but a little boring
Letter is uninteresting
and/or unfriendly
Missing 2
requirements
Missing 3 requirements
Letter contains sentiment
or information not
included in the resume.
 Letter contains the
Letter
required parts:
Requirements
Points
18, 15, 12, 9
Writing
Mechanics
10
Format
Points
10, 8, 6, 3
Resume
Points
5
Application
Points
20, 15, 10, 5
 Why you are writing
 What job do you want
 How did you learn of
the position
 Evidence of
qualifications
 Why the job is desired
 Highlighted
achievements
 Summary
 Ask for the interview
Missing 4+ = 0 points
No spelling, grammar or
usage errors
1-2 spelling,
grammar or usage
errors
3-4 spelling,
grammar or usage
errors
5-6 spelling, grammar or
usage errors
Letter follows all standard
formatting for a formal
letter.
Letter follows
almost all standard
formatting for a
formal letter, but
there is one or two
small errors such as
where the date or
signature is placed.
Letter does not follow
standard formatting for a
formal letter
Would be appropriate to
use for a non-fictional
position.
N/A
Letter follows
almost all standard
formatting for a
formal letter, but
student has made
one or two major
errors such as
leaving out the
address of the
employer or
choosing an
inappropriate
closing.
N/A
All parts of the are
completed appropriately
Missed one item
Missed two items
Missed 3+ items
Errors/formatting make
the resume unrealistic to
use for a real position.