Reflective Memorandum

Project 1: Resume and Cover letter

The purpose of this project was to create a resume and cover letter for a finance internship
with Global Agricultural Trading. In order to get accepted into the internship program there were
specific requirements needed such as basic knowledge of financial calculations and analysis; the
resume was the perfect genre to list the requirements that I met and to provide proof of how I
applied such skills through work experience. Similarly, the cover letter allowed me to get into more
details about how my financial skills and personal skills would impact the company positively so
that my application would stand out from all the other students. (SLO 3)
The audience in this case was the Global Agricultural Trading, more specifically the hiring
manager. Because the audience was only going to be interested in specific experiences and skills
that would be beneficial for their company, I had to organize and include only the information that
was relevant to the job position so that the people reading my resume and cover letter wouldn’t lose
interest in it (SLO 5). The design I decided to use was very simple and organized and it included
three colors to differentiate the titles of the resume sections and the information provided in such
sections such as the name of high schools and university I attended, the name of the company I
worked for and all the related dates. The main reason of my design choices was to keep it easy for
the eyes to follow and to be able to recollect all the main information even with a quick look, thanks
to the different colors (SLO 5).
This was the first time I had ever written a professional resume and cover letter. My biggest
challenge was probably the cover letter because at first I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to talk
about myself in a way that I could stand out from all other applicants, however, the peer review
gave me more confidence on my work and it helped me fix some terms so that they could sound
more professional (SLO 7).
Project 2: Proposal
The purpose of Project 2 was to rise cultural awareness in international management
decisions through a proposal. Cultural awareness includes factors such as religion, language, social
habits, food and customs, and education system and my proposal achieve this issue by providing
trainings on cultural differences, languages, and assign short term work abroad. In order to come up
with these solutions I researched the main difficulties that multinational corporations face with
international trading, I looked into some of the biggest mistakes that well-known companies like
“Pepsi” made when promoting products abroad without considering cultural differences, and I then
researched some of the main measures that such corporations decided to adopt to solve the issue
bringing higher profits and increasing communications and partnerships abroad (SLO 4).
The audience in this case is companies that work on the international level and are partnered
with foreign companies and want to sell their products on international markets. Because of my
audience, I decided to keep my slides simple and straight to the point while providing more
information through audio (SLO 9). Also, my choice of images was mostly pictures that show
diversity of people and cultures. The only table I decided to use was for the costs of my proposal
because this section had a lot of information and it would have been easier to understand if
organized in that way (SLO 6).
The hardest part of this project for me was to record my voice because sometimes it is
difficult for me to pronounce certain words and I don’t like not being understood. However, it was
definitely easier to record myself than actually present in front of the class. Another problem that I
had was with providing enough information so that my argument is understandable but not too
much information so that I would go out of track. Overall, this project helped me develop more
confidence in my presentation and communication skills, and although I still have a long way to go
to improve, this assignment was a challenge that I really needed for myself.
Project 3: Recommendation Report
The purpose Project 3 was to find a way to increase UNM security because of the high-
crime rate in the area around the campus and on campus using a report as our genre. Our research
showed us that Motor Vehicle Theft was the highest crime on campus that not only could affect the
finances of the person whose vehicle is stolen from, but it is also makes campus unsafe because of
the harm that could come with the theft. The piece achieves its purpose by providing two solutions
to the problem that include more security cameras and fences around the campus’ perimeter. Also,
our research showed that cameras would be the best option because more effective and cheaper than
fences.
The audience is the principal of UNM and every person enrolled in UNM in general. We
organized our data and tables so that it would inform the principal of the crime in the area, but such
statistics also had the purpose to increase the awareness among students of the risks and danger of
the area (SLO 2). To make sure that all audience would understand the seriousness of the situation
with UNM security, we included different types of visuals such as maps, tables, and charts and text
to explain what those visuals represent (SLO 9).
For this project we decided to spend the first two days doing research and to find as much
material as possible we divided the task so that each one of us would focus on the crime statistics,
on UNM’s current plan for security, how fences would contribute to the issue, and how cameras
would contribute to the issue (SLO 1). We then all analyzed the data together so that we could come
up with the best solution. When it came to write the report, each one of us was assigned a section of
the paper and we then all wrote the conclusion together (SLO 1).
The only problem I had with this group project is that personally, I prefer writing a lot,
providing a lot of details and being more specific. Differently, my group was more oriented to write
a report that was more concise and straight to the point. Although different than what I was
expecting, I still think our report is very clear on what issue it is trying to address and provides solid
solutions to it. I want to also emphasize on the fact that Xavier put a lot of effort in this project
because he was the one putting all the data he found during the research in a very organized table
and he ten created graphs based on the table he made, so I think he should be recognized for his
work. When we assigned each other sections to work on, I was in charge of the methods section,
Xavier worked on tables and results, Adrian worked on the discussion, and Dylan was supposed to
work on the introduction. However, when we met in class the next time, Dylan hadn’t worked on
his section, so Xavier ended up fixing the introduction with mine and Adrian’s inputs. Overall, this
project was fundamental to improve my team work skills and it challenged me a lot, especially with
getting used to work with people that have different ways of thinking and getting work done.
My English 219 experience
In English 219 I learned the basics for a job application, communication, problem-solving,
and how to revise my own work. I really needed this class because it took me out of my comfort
zone. Before this class, I didn’t have a resume and I didn’t know how to write a cover letter,
because of this, I was always scared to look for a job, because I was missing the basic for applying
for one. However, thanks to Project 1, I finally have my resume and I now know how to write a
cover letter, and thanks to this I recently applied for my first just in the United States. In general, I
believe I became a better writer, especially in the work field. These strategies will help me express
myself in a more professional way through presentations and reports especially in the business
fields that requires the use of these genres a lot.