The genre for my group is cover letters. Our genre is typically preceded by job openings and listings, which often contain specific details of the job in question. Cover letters are an uptake of job listings in that they are a direct response to them- they are an attempt to obtain the job by demonstrating why the applicant is a good fit for the job. Cover letters are usually curtailed to a specific job opening and its particular responsibilities so they can be seen as the perfect uptake for all the duties entailed.
Other genres that precede the writing can often also be incorporated into the letter. Such genres can include conversations with the employer at a job fair, connections to the company through previous work, and references to advertisements. A genre that typically accompanies a cover letter regardless of any other factors is a resume. After resumes, typical genres that follow a cover letter would be a follow up email, phone call, or letter. The desired uptake from these situations would be a furthering in the hiring process, such as obtaining an interview, or even straight out being accepted for the job.
The desired uptake can be seen in our genre model as it culminates an array of experiences with cover letters. We viewed various professional cover letters and reached out to co-op advisors to determine what factors led to the highest success rate with cover letters. We then incorporated these traits into our model to make it as precise, readable, and balanced as possible when discussing why the applicant would be well suited to the job. Some other uptakes that had moderate influence on our model were grammar, sentence structure, and syntax. While our model could create a solid foundation for cover letters, it itself cannot determine if the language used is in line with what the reader wants- we cannot predict the personality or exact type of the reader (friendly HR staff or terse engineering supervisor) and what they value in a cover letter, example being personable vs. professional traits. Overall though, I believe our model does an acceptable job of up taking previous information and putting out a product that will create desired uptakes.
