ENG205 Advice Call
Read this entire package carefully for the guidelines for each of the
following:
1. Articles
2. Proposal (5%)
3. Interview suggestions
4. Informal report
(15%)
5. Follow up letter (5%)
6. Fact sheet
The figures in brackets indicate the percentage of your final mark that each
assignment is worth.
The guidelines provided in this package are meant only as minimum
standards. You must also incorporate additional instructions from the text
and class notes.
This project will give you experience in making prospecting telephone calls,
performing library and on-line research; drafting proposals and informal
reports; listening, interviewing and presentation skills; and doing routine
business correspondence.
Delivery dates for assignments and presentations will be given in class.
ENG205 Advice Call Articles
As preparation for the Advice Call Project please read the following articles:
“Cold calls can bring hot jobs” by Marjo Johne
"Advice calls shouldn't become job interviews" by Janis Foord Kirk,
excerpted from Surviving The Upheaval In Your Workplace
(KirkfoordCommunications Inc.)
Both articles are posted on my.seneca
ENG205 Advice Call Proposal
Miller/Bruce Hunter
©Peter
You are to write a short, but detailed, one page, four paragraph
memo outlining the following information as it relates to your
advice call. See your text for further information on proposals
in general. Use complete paragraphs and sentences. Your memo
should be friendly, but businesslike in tone and utilize the "you"
attitude. Follow the PAIBOC format for organizing the memo.
Use headings provided here as a guide.
Subject: Prospective Employer Advice Call
Contact Description
a) Contact's full name
b) Position
c) Company name and division
d) Complete mailing address including postal code
e) Telephone number
Company description
a) Number of employees/jobs
b) Job you're interested in
c) Starting salaries
d) Company or organization's chief accomplishments
Your Interest in the Organization
a) How you'd fit in
b) Short term job or long term career
c) What skills would you develop
d) Why are you interested in this kind of work
e) Why are you interested in this particular company
f) How did you know about this company
Research Sources
a) List three different publications you'll consult before
your advice call.
b) Give specific titles and remember that titles of books,
magazines, journals, and newspapers are italicized.
c) This step is crucial to the success of the assignment
and any proposal banded in without all three research
sources will receive a grade of "F"
Close by requesting my specific input and thanking me.
ENG205 Interview Guidelines
Hunter
©Peter Miller/Bruce
Remember that the purpose of this assignment is to get advice,
not to try to get a job.
1. A good choice might be someone who is doing a job you
would like to be doing upon graduation.
2. Telephone your contact first. Identify who you are and why
you are calling.
3. Ask if they are agreeable to giving you twenty minutes to
give you some advice on preparing yourself for future work.
4. If they say yes, arrange a convenient date and time. Be on
time, be polite and be sure to stick to the twenty minute time
limit.
5. If they say no, find out if you could ask them a few
questions on the telephone Take up no more than five
minutes of their time and ask several specific but short
questions you need answered in your preparation to enter the
work force. Then contact someone else to arrange another
interview.
Suggested Interview Questions
These are sample questions; adapt them to serve your own
interests and needs. All questions followed by asterisks must be
included in your oral and written reports.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Could you tell me what direction this company is
going in the next three years with regards to hiring?
What does your job involve daily, weekly, monthly,
yearly?
What do you like best about your job?
What do you dislike about your job?
What salary ranges, benefits, etc. are available to a
community college graduate? How does this
compare with a high school or university
graduate.***
What education and experience is required to get a
job here?
What communications and interpersonal skills are
required in your business?***
What technical skills are needed in this job?
What kind of personality is best for this sort of
work?
What could I do to better improve my chances for
employment?
How have the recent developments in the economy
and technology affected your company's hiring
practices?
How has being a woman affected your career?
Do you have a preference for college or for
university graduates?***
Are there any questions you'd like to ask me?
Some additional suggestions:
1. Dress appropriately for the work place you're visiting.
2. Structure an introduction, body and conclusion in
organizing your questions. Think carefully about the
order for asking questions. Which question would be a
good icebreaker?
3. Let your contact do the talking. Listen carefully to
what they say even if you disagree. Remember to
make eye contact even while you are taking notes.
4. Take your resume with you, but be sure to ask if they
would feel comfortable commenting on it.
5. Ask their permission to telephone again if you need
further information for your report.
6. When the interview is over, shake their hand and
thank them.
7. Honour the 20 minute limit for the interview.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
You will be required to keep a very neat, accurate written
transcript of the interview. The alternative is that you may tape
the interview. Be sure to ask permission at the start of the
interview. If permission is refused, keep very detailed notes. I
will ask you to provide them or a tape if there are any questions
about your assignment. Failure to do so may result in a grade of
F for this assignment.
ENG205 Report
Miller/Bruce Hunter
©Peter
You have two choices for the format of the report: short report or long
report. Both are in the textbook and one will suit your information best.
The body of your completed report should be no less than four
typewritten pages, written in a straightforward friendly tone. All ideas
should be in your own words except where otherwise indicated by the
use of quotation marks when you are using information directly from
your interview or your other research sources. You can use the
headings here to organize your report.
It should be delivered in a cardboard portfolio and the pages of the
report should be stapled together. Your fact sheet and thank you letter
with an envelope are also due.
Follow this format:
Memo Heading
Re: Advice Call Report - Enron International
Executive Summary (also called Abstract) (1 - 2 paragraphs)
 what you learned - one main idea or fact
 also, two or three other important facts that will be
discussed in further detail in your report
 how did this interview meet and/or change your
expectations?
The Interview
(3-5 paragraphs)
 summary of important information
 what three communications skills were emphasized?
Research
(3-5 paragraphs)
 summary of current general information
 identify sources (According to Business Week
magazine…)
 you must use no less than three independent
sources (failure to do this means your paper
will be returned marked "incomplete")
Conclusion/Recommendations
(3-5 paragraphs)
 how you intend to apply the information you acquired?
 how will you follow up on the information you obtained?
 specific and practical recommendations for the class?
Works Cited and Bibliography
 must contain a minimum of four entries including your
interview and three additional research sources
 if you use someone's else ideas or research cite the
sources and include the full citations in your Works Cited
 use correct format (MLA, APA or Chicago Style) as
shown in the text or at the Seneca Libraries website.
Appendix
 this is the place for your overheads (a paper copies are
acceptable), and handouts/brochures that you’ve
collected from your interview or research
 overheads this should be labeled Appendix A, B, C and
so on if there is more than one
 include any additional sheets such as job descriptions you
want to add.
 using good simple fonts, design an overhead using
parallel structure that lists the three most important
communications shills your interviewee mentioned.
ENG205 Thank You Letter
Hunter
©Peter Miller/Bruce
Write a brief, but polite, thank you letter to the person you contacted for
your advice call.
Use full-block format and the "you" attitude. Use a friendly but respectful
tone.
The following is a model you might choose to use.
1st paragraph
- state why you're writing
2nd paragraph
- mention two or three specific highlights of the interview
3rd paragraph
- state how you intend to apply some of the specific advice
4th paragraph
- close by thanking him or her in a genuine, sincere manner
Hand in a copy of the letter and when you've corrected your original version,
type an envelope. The text describes how to address an envelope and fold
the letter properly.
FACT SHEET
In order to receive a grade for the Advice Call Project, this sheet must be
fully completed, signed and submitted. I will be contacting employers to
thank them on behalf of the College.
Print or type your responses in blue or black ink only. Keep your answers
brief but complete
1. Contact's full name:
Job title:
Department:
Company:
Type of Business:
Mailing address:
(street address)
(city, province and postal code)
Telephone and extension
Date of interview
State contact's relationship to you:
2. Three communications skills required (rank them 1, 2, 3 and identify
precisely):
Fact Sheet cont’d
3. Technical Skills required:
4. Languages
5. Entry level starting salary:
6. Preference University or College graduate? Why? (briefly)
7.
If this employer could have one wish for one thing that college
students would come better prepared with, it would be:
I, the undersigned hereby agree that the above information is complete and
accurate.
___________________________
__________________________
(Date)
(Signature)