Anders, A., 75th Annual Association of Business Communication Convention, Association of Business Communication, Chicago, IL, "Employment Communications: Social Media Contexts, Multimodal Composition, and Iterative Design Process", (October 2010).

1. Employment Communications:
Social Media Contexts,
Multimodal Composition,
and Iterative Design Process

2. Abram Anders
University of Minnesota Duluth
adanders@d.umn.edu
Association for Business Communication
Annual Convention, Fall 2010

3. New (Social) Media Contexts

4. Traditional (Challenges) Goals
• Rhetorical sophistication and audience
awareness
• Flexibility and facility with invention (content-
generation) and information design
• Purposeful and persistent employment of
revision processes

5. Multimodal Composition
• Series of professional self-presentations across
variety of media and audience contexts
• Sequences and scaffolds principles of rhetoric,
ethics, and composition processes
• Employs and models iterative development
within and across assignments

6. Assignments
• Genre
• Audience analysis
• Methods
• Principles
• Processes

7. 1st Day: Ice-breaker
Genres: Professional introductions (giving and
making), handshakes, public speaking
Audience: Basic information; memorable detail
Methods: Use names; capture detail
Principles: Professionalism, Courtesy, Practicality
Process: Read (Invent), React (Compose), Review
(Learn)

8. Application Packets
• Genres: Targeted resumes, cover letters
• Audience analysis: Materialist/situated
perspective: 20-30 seconds, crowded-field
• Methods: KISS, Information Design, Visual
Design Hierarchy
• Principles: RHETORICAL -- You-focus, Purpose,
Economics of attention
• Process: Invent, Plan, Draft, Revise, Edit

9. Mock Interviews
• Genres: Elevator pitch (self-introductions),
traditional and behavioral interview questions
• Audience: Purpose, Poise, Preparedness
• Methods: NEON, S/TARS, problem-solving
• Principles: ETHICAL – Positive Actions Produce
Confidence and Create Connections
• Process: Prepare, Perform, Evaluate, Review

10. Iterate! Reflect/Feedback
• Seek the point of application between
qualifications, abilities, expertise and available
opportunities for development
• Communicate value: S/TARS, stories, cover
letters; targeted and general resumes
• Continual professional development; stay
ahead of the game

11. E-Professionalism
• Genres: social media profiles, “about me”
statements, electronic resume, profile photo,
video resume, search results, course portfolio
• Audience: everyone, all the time, forever
• Methods: SEO, self-branding, dynamic content
• Principles: ETHIC-RHETORIC – Transparency of
purpose, active, connect, care, share, grow
• Process: Iterate, Iterate, Iterate

12. Pedagogical Iterations
• Established: computer-mediated careers and
online productivity techniques
• Developing: LinkedIN and business school
alumni network, e-networking
• Challenges: persistence, prematurity, liability
• Preliminary solutions: prepare vs publish

13. Emergent (Values) Learning
• Process instead of performance: less reliance
on prescriptive norms and fear of judgment
• Read and react tactics; principles and values
aggregate from learning experience
• Principles emerge as short-cuts or (meta-tags)
to experientially established paths for efficient
composition that lead to effective results

14. Emergent (Values) Pedagogy
Necessary Perspectives of Effective
Communication, Instruction, and Learning
• Rhetoric
• Ethics
• Technology
• Process

15. By translating their professional narratives and
self-presentations into a variety genres,
media, and audience situations, students gain
valuable rhetorical experience and build an
archive of reusable, revisable content.

16. Sustained engagement and iterative
development support student growth and
help students realize a wider range and more
refined applications of available means of
persuasion.