Tracy Volz, Ph.D.

1
Write an Application Letter that Lands an
Internship

• Tracy Volz, Ph.D.
• tmvolz_at_rice.edu
• Cain Project
• Rice University

2
Successful Internship Applicants

• Manage the application process
• Analyze situation and audience
• Organize knowledge and experience
• Write effective application letters

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Managing the Process

• Research companies and academic research programs
  
• Review application procedures
• Update resumé
• Request letters of reference (if necessary)
• START NOW!!!

4
Analyze Situation and Audience
5
Research Potential Employer

• Mission
• Divisions/depts, clients, faculty
• Products and services
• Research and development program
• Organizational structure and culture
• History
• Financial/management structure
• Facilities

6
Sources of Information

• Web sites
• Advisors, peers, employees
• Career services
• Professional organizations
• Promotional materials
• Annual report
• Journals

7
Characteristics Employers Seek in Interns

• Academic preparation
• Understanding of profession
• Communication skills

• Work ethic
• Motivation for career
• Maturity

What can you contribute to the organization?
8
Organize Knowledge and Experience
9
Get to Know Yourself!

• Rank personal values
• List adjectives to describe yourself
• Draft mission statement of life career goals
• Create table of key job satisfaction factors
• Stay aware of current events

10
Reflect on Work Experience

• Analyze past work experiences
• Note specific responsibilities
• Recall accomplishments/failures
• Assess strengths and weaknesses
• Review notes on potential employer
• Match your qualifications to employers needs

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Time to Write Letters of Application
12
Discuss Motivation and Qualifications

• What has motivated you to seek a career in
  bioengineering?
• What people, experiences, or events have
  contributed to your decision?
• What do you expect to learn from the internship?
• What are your professional goals?

• How have you prepared to fulfill your goals?
• Research
• Laboratory skills
• Clinical work
• Other work experience

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Select Relevant Material

• Personal attributes
• Leadership
• Intellectual curiosity
• Initiative
• Maturity
• Skills
• Computer
• Communication
• Problem solving
• Teamwork

• Academic performance
• Rigor of undergraduate curriculum
• Past or current employment
• Extracurricular activities

14
Get Organized!

• Opening
• Express interest in position and how you learned
  about it
• Body
• Refer to experience in resumé that fits
  employers needs
• Provide concrete examples
• Closing
• Summarize qualifications
• Reinforce interest in position
• Request interview
• Provide contact information

15
Application Letter Format
Your name Street address City, State Zip
code Email
All margins 1
Double space
Date
Double space
Employers name, Title Corporation or Research
Institution Street address City, State Zip code
Double space
Dear XXXX
Double space
Body
Double space
Sincerely,
Space for your signature
4 spaces
Your name (Typed)
Double space
Enclosure
16
Review and Revise

• Craft transitions
• Energize writing with active verbs
• Edit for brevity
• Use business letter format
• Proofread carefully

17
Dont . . .

• Create endless lists
• Fall into abstract generalizations
• Insert a phrase where a word will work
• Use clichés and empty qualifiers
• Exaggerate qualifications
• Begin every sentence with I
• Recycle the same letter for different jobs!

18
Dont Create Lists

• I have been lucky to channel my talent, energy
  and enthusiasm further through high school
  varsity athletics, college club teams, band, and
  academic competitions. All of these have offered
  me opportunities to develop my leadership
  abilities, interests and skills as a team player.

19
Dont Use Abstract Generalizations

• Empty Generalization
• My background allowed me to further investigate
  my passion in medical instrumentation.
• Revision
• I took a neurology course at Baylor College of
  Medicine that required independent design
  projects in medical instrumentation. For my
  project, I designed and tested a novel gamma-ray
  camera for a cardiac PET scanner. After weeks of
  delicate soldering and programming, I improved
  the resolution of a standard PET scan by an order
  of magnitude.

Add concrete details
20
Dont Use a Phrase if a Word Works

• Draft
• I attempted to elucidate the effects of protein
  factors on tumor cells.
• Revision
• I studied the effects of protein factors on tumor
  cells.

21
Dont Use Empty Qualifers and Start Every
Sentence with I

• I aspire to become a bioengineer who is
  knowledgeable and capable of advancing the
  unlimited frontiers of engineering. I am a young
  man who possesses great creative energies and
  unquenchable curiosity. I am a good and humble
  human being who enjoys providing others with
  happiness and comfort. I want nothing more than
  to deeply engage myself in the wellbeing of
  others. Bioengineering allows me to affect others
  positively and will give me purpose and happiness
  in my life.

22
Keys to Success

• Highlight qualifications and motivation
• Show interest in position and knowledge of
  company/research program
• Write a letter that is accurate, memorable,
  sincere, convincing, and error-free