Job Advertisement Activity

Lesson by Andrew Moss

Description (for Instructors)

This analytic activity gives students practice performing online job research, genre and audience analysis, and self-reflection in a dialectical, “real-world” context. Discussion prompts ask students to critically analyze how individual job ads function as a genre and connect to their own Literacy Narratives. Furthermore, this activity also broadens students’ familiarity with a variety of fields, as students must navigate job ads relevant to both their and their peers’ future professions.

This activity is formatted as a discussion forum on your course’s CMS. However, you may also choose to structure this activity as in-class discussions or mini-student presentations.

Materials

Download “The Keys to Audience Analysis Handout”

Explanation (for Students)

Instructions

1.) Post initial response (due by date/time): Collect 2 samples of job advertisements in your field, then share those job ads by linking them in a post below. As part of that post, write a 200-word informal reflection on this topic in which you address the following question:

  • What connections can I make between my Literacy Narrative and these job ads? You might focus on skills or experiences, but you might also consider vocabulary and values, too.

2.) Respond to one post (due by date/time): After you have posted your two samples and reflection, compare your job ads to one of your peer’s job ads. Post a response to that peer in which you detail your comparisons. Be sure to make note of the following:

  • Format
  • Key words that describe tasks or job duties
  • Key words that describe values and skills an applicant must have
  • Key words that describe the business context of the company or group the job is a part of

Refer to “The Keys to Audience Analysis.docx” worksheet in your comparisons.

Submission Directions

  • Use the “Add a discussion topic” button for your initial post.
  • Include your name in the subject line of your initial post.
  • Reply to one of your peers by opening their post and using the “reply” button. (One reply per person only. If someone else has replied to your peer already, you must select another peer to reply to.)

Grading

This activity is worth one homework/activity grade. All activities together are worth 20% of your final grade.

Deadline

See the week-specific instructional activities table for specific deadline information.

Examples

Initial Post

As data is becoming the forefront of Computer Science in the last couple years, I chose internship programs that related to that. With both of these job ads, they have a strong emphasis in tracking progress of the work you’ve done; in order to be successful in the team environment of both internships, updating your current work is essential. As the Literacy Narrative focused on how reading and writing is a strong aspect of anyone’s future career, writing will also be important in these internships. In the current job I have as a CS instructor and the research I do, I have learned how to update my current progress; whether it be through design documents or a student’s coding progress, I have strong experience. Along with that, the job internships strongly focus on allowing their employees to professionally grow in safe, stress-free environments. In my Literacy Narrative, I wrote about how I was able to learn more from the team environments I was placed in. With opportunities like these, I was able to reach my full potential. As an undergraduate student, I value the jobs that place a strong emphasis on learning alongside professionals. If given either one of these opportunities, I hope to grow more in my professional career.

Response Post

I thought the ads you chose were very well tailored to your interests and your experiences. I am intrigued by the JPMorgan Chase & Co. since they did not provide very objective responsibilities, instead they commented what their areas of learning are and the type of development you would encounter (e.g. mentorship, project work related to your professional interests). On the other hand, you PayPal job ad explicitly states the key responsibilities of this role. They both introduce the opportunities of working in special projects and innovation initiatives. These two jobs are very technologically advanced and complex. Our job ads have some similarities, such as the data analysis portion of our responsibilities. My ad responsibilities are explicitly stated and provide a clear structure of what I will probably be doing.