Project 3
Student id: m19
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<DOC>
<docHead>
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<title>Project 3 Cover Letter</title>
<author xml:id="m19">Sydnee Mizuno</author>
<version n="2" date="2016-08-22"/>
</docHead>
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<cover_letter>
<header>
<name>Sydnee Mizuno</name>
<contact_info>
<!-- One or More Contact -->
<contact type="address">894 Huntington Ave</contact>
<contact type="address">Boston, MA 02115</contact>
<contact type="phone">916-212-5495</contact>
<contact type="email">mizuno.s@husky.neu.edu</contact>
</contact_info>
</header>
<greeting>Dear Mr. Doe,</greeting>
<intro_para>
<intent type="purpose">I am writing to apply for the electrical engineering position at
iRobot that was posted on Northeastern University's co-op search site.</intent>
<reason> I am currently a fourth-year student in electrical engineering,</reason>
and<proposition> I am very interested in gaining more experience with robotic
systems. Given my previous experience and interest in this field, I think that I
would be a good fit for this position.<note type="instructor" resp="#kgs">I wonder
if you want to be stronger here--not just a good fit, but what would you bring
to the position/company? Why should they want to hire you/</note></proposition>
</intro_para>
<para_background>
<experience type="work">At my previous co-op with Corindus Vascular Robotics, I worked
in the Research and Development lab on a medical robot that assisted with
percutaneous coronary intervention procedures.<programs> Using C#, I wrote code for
the state machine that controlled the embedded robotic system. I also programmed
the robot's display and communication modules with Serious SHIPTide, and I
extensively used CANCapture for debugging. To test the functionality of existing
code, I also wrote unit tests with NUnit.</programs>
<skills> In addition to writing code, I was involved with software verification
testing. This included writing test protocols to meet various system
requirements and using those protocols to physically test the robot. I also
developed Windows applications to assist with automated reliability testing.
Throughout this work, I collaborated closely with other members of the software
team to meet our goals. This included participating in daily stand-up meetings
to discuss completed tasks, items in progress, and future work. While on the
software team, I also collaborated across disciplines to assist the mechanical
and manufacturing teams.</skills>
</experience>
</para_background>
<para_background>
<experience type="school">In addition to my work experience, I have developed many
technical and communication skills through my classes and labs at
Northeastern.<skills> In my Electronics class, I worked with op-amps, diodes,
BJTs, and MOSFETS <note type="peer">You could include an example of what you did
with these components. Ex. "I worked with op-amps, diodes, BJTs, and MOSFETS
to build an EKG"</note>. One of these projects was designing an audio
amplifier for a microphone.</skills><programs> In my Embedded Design class, I
wrote C programs in Linux to run on an embedded processor. I also used Simulink
to program a Zedboard's FPGA and control a robotic arm.</programs>
<skills>I wrote technical reports detailing the projects in these classes, and I
worked effectively with lab partners.</skills></experience>
<experience type="work"> While taking classes, I also worked in Northeastern's SMILE
lab, which focuses on machine learning and computer vision. I collaborated with a
team to gather images for a Kinship Recognition project. I met weekly with a PhD
student and other undergraduates to discuss updates on the project.<note
type="instructor" resp="#kgs">OK, this paragraph is filled with relevant
experience, but you never really make the connection back to the specific
company/position you are applying for. This causes the cover letter to read as
more generic than you would want.</note></experience>
</para_background>
<closing_statements>
<compatability>I think that with my strong interpersonal skills and past experience, I
would integrate well within iRobot's innovative environment.<note type="instructor"
resp="#kgs">why? what about the company or the position makes you think
this?</note></compatability>
<next_step>I would be excited to meet with you and discuss the position in more detail
soon.</next_step>
<acknowledgment> Thank you for your consideration.</acknowledgment>
</closing_statements>
<signature>
<salutation>Sincerely,</salutation>
<name>Sydnee Mizuno</name>
</signature>
</cover_letter>
<!-- Writer' Memo -->
<!-- I think that I'm far in the process of writing a cover letter. My rheterorical situation is responding to a job position.
I think that my experience is detailed and helps expand what's listed on my resume. Sometimes it can be difficult to condense all of the
work experience into concise paragraphs. I would like the reviewer to look at the "school experience" and "compatibility."-->
<docReview>
<reviewer type="peer" xml:id="peer_id_here"/>
<report type="peer" resp="#peer_id_here">
<p>In this cover letter, Sydnee is wrting a cover letter for a coop position at
iRobot</p>
<p> Overall, this cover letter seems well written and professional. You go through your
different experiences that are relevant to the position and describe them clearly.
However, one thing I would recommend is not to give as detailed of a job description
here, since most of that will already be part of your resume. You could add a little
more information about things that wouldn't be on your resume, such as soft skills
you picked up over the course of your experiences. You do this pretty well at the
end of the first "work" section, when you talk about how you collaborated with your
team. You could add something of this to your "school" or last "work" section along
those lines (Ex."I collaborated with a team of Phd students on a Kinship Recognition
Project, and then helped present our findings to a group of professors"). I also saw
you mentioned that you wanted the reviewer to look at the "school experience" and
"compatibility sections". I feel like the compatibility section works pretty well,
and if you rework the school experience section a little bit to include some more
about you that the reader wouldn't find on your resume, it would be pretty solid. </p>
</report>
<reviewer type="instructor" xml:id="kgs"/>
<report type="instructor" resp="#kgs">
<p>There is a lot going well here. You do a really nice job laying out your specific
skills and experiences. I just think you need to spend some time making explicit
connections to the position and company to which you are applying--this both makes
the point that you are a good fit more explixit and, more importantly, demonstrates
that you've done your due diligence in researching the company and position,
demonstrating commitment.</p>
</report>
</docReview>
</DOC>