Write an Application Letter That Lands a BIOE Internship

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!!!

Analyze Situation and Audience

Research Potential Employer

• Mission

• Organizational structure and culture

• Clients, divisions/depts, faculty

• Products, research foci, services

• Facilities

Sources of Information

• Web sites

• Advisors, peers, employees

• Career services

• Professional organizations

• Promotional materials

• Annual report

• Journals

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?

Organize Knowledge and Experience

Get to Know Yourself!

• Rank personal values

• List adjectives to describe yourself

• Draft mission statement of life and career goals

• Create table of key job satisfaction factors

• Stay aware of current events

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 employer’s needshttp://www.units.muohio.edu/cryolab/

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Time to Write: Letters of Application

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

Select Relevant Material

• Academic performance

• Rigor of undergraduate curriculum

• Past or current employment

• Extracurricular activities

• Personal attributes– Leadership– Intellectual curiosity– Initiative– Maturity

• Skills– Problem solving– Communication– Team

Organize Your Letter• Opening

– Express interest in position and how you learned about it

• Body– Refer to experience in resumé that fits employer’s needs

– Provide concrete examples

• Closing – Summarize qualifications

– Reinforce interest in position

– Request interview

– Provide contact information

Application Letter FormatYour nameStreet addressCity, State Zip codeEmail

Date

Employer’s name, TitleCorporation or Research InstitutionStreet addressCity, State Zip code

Dear XXXX:

Body

Sincerely,

Space for your signature

Your name (Typed)

Enclosure:

Double space

Double space

Double space

Double space

Double space

4 spaces

Double space

All margins: 1”

Review and Revise

• Craft transitions

• Energize writing with active verbs

• Edit for brevity

• Use business letter format

• Proofread carefully

Don’t . . .

• 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”

Don’t 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.

Don’t 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

Don’t 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.

Don’t Use Empty Qualifiers 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.

Previous Example Edited for Brevity

I aim to use my curiosity and creativity to advance the field of bioengineering. This career path will enable me to enhance the health and well-being of others.

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

More resources are available for you

• under “Engineering Communication” at Connexions at http://cnx.org

• at the Cain Project site at http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~cainproj

• in your course Communication Folder in OWLSPACE.

Lead through Excellence in Engineering Communication