1. Mike Powers
PO Box 46
Palmyra, NE 68418
(402) 780-6628
December 5, 2015
Dear Director of Human Resources,
This letter will introduce Mike Powers, who is seeking opportunities in the fields of CAD Drafting Technology. When
you seek to fill the available position, please consider how my training and talent can be a valuable addition to your
team and organization.
I have been drafting for seventeen years. I apprenticed for two years with my past employer, Roger L. Smith, owner of
Smith’s Design & Drafting, Inc. After six months, this became a paid position, and became full time in January, 2001.
After the initial training—which was in AutoCAD 14—I learned AutoCAD 2000, 2000i, and 2002 from the book and
through the daily practice of employment. In addition to drafting for Smith’s various clients, I at times assisted in the
processes of real estate appraisal, the other half of the business. My part of this was largely in assisting with property
inspections, legal description searches, and “splitting” out soil types on farmland to more accurately appraise the
property. I continued to broaden my knowledge of AutoCAD through study and use of the manuals, as well as learning
new methods of drawing presentation, growing my store of various CAD details and drafting tips. On the strength of
this experience, and as more of our clients developed their own in-house drafting departments, in 2005 I was hired by
my current employer Mapes Industries, in their architectural canopy division.
For 10 years I have been a drafter of bid drawings for Mapes customers which, when approved or revised, become the
shop drawings for our aluminum fabricators. It is important to me to make each drawing as useful and as informative as
possible for the end user, in this case both the client and our metal workers. I have worked up through the AutoCAD
releases and in 2008 began modeling Mapes canopies in Autodesk Inventor. From the model, I then create the 2D shop
drawings and customer submittals in AutoCAD, export to PDF and dynamic DWF formats, create exploded assemblies
and record animations of reassembly for video format. Most recently, I have used AEC exchange to put 3D wire frames
in DWG format, for BIM-ready insertion. I have composed and “illustrated” the on-site canopy installation instructions
for 3 of our 5 canopy lines, for customer use. I am in the process of consolidating our Inventor parts and assemblies
libraries, assigning part numbers, and preparing bills of material from the models. As the production managers shift
from writing job orders based on our CAD drawings, drafting will now generate the parts lists for the fabricators.
In addition to my technical skills, creative thinking, problem solving, and troubleshooting have been the common thread
throughout my varied career, personal, and education paths. I believe that this wide-ranging creative process can
contribute to the success of your design and operations team. I am seeking this position so that you may utilize my
talent, training, experience, and interest in drafting. I also want to improve myself through integrating with a larger
company, to hone my skills, and to contribute to something larger than myself.
Personally, I am seeking a workplace of integrity run by grownups, where work is taken seriously in an atmosphere of
mutual respect and the assumption that others are also doing their jobs. I seek a moral environment free of vices and
sexism. It is a place with a vision, where every employee knows the goals and accomplishments. It is an employment
community that encourages career and personal growth and the opportunity to do so. If such a place still exists, I would
be pleased and honored to be a part of it.
Please review the attached resume, with my thanks. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Mike Powers
Mike Powers
(402) 780-6628
PO Box 46

2. Palmyra, NE 68418
Objective: Draftsman
Drafting Education: Apprentice and self-taught AutoCAD and SolidWorks. Smith’s Design & Drafting.
Other Education: Associate of Applied Science Degree, Graphic Design Technology, December 14, 2000, Southeast
Community College, Milford, NE 68405. Bachelor of Science Degree in Agriculture, 1984, University of Nebraska-
Lincoln. 1st quarter Information Technology, 1999, Lincoln School of Commerce. Discontinued program when
accepted into Graphic Design at SCC-Milford (Entry is by audition).
Drafting Software: AutoCAD-2015, 2013, -2010, -2007, -2002, -2000i, -2000, -14; SolidWorks 2001+, -2001, -2000,
-97.
Inventor-2015, -2013, -2011, -2008. Office Software current: Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook,
PowerPoint); Acrobat; AS400. Messenger/Skype for in-office communication. Operating Systems: Windows-7, -XP,
-2000, -98, -NT, -95; Macintosh OS-8, -9, -10. Familiar with both platforms.
Graphic Design Course of Study: Type, Layout, Illustration, Photography, Packaging, Brochures, Campaigns, Web
Design, Window Displays, Perspective, Human figure, Fine art, Business etiquette, Finance, Marketing, Selling,
observing the advertising/graphic design industry, working with print service bureaus, and professional networking.
Graphic Design Software (no longer current in, but here’s the list): Freehand, Photoshop, QuarkXPress, PageMaker,
Illustrator, InDesign, Flash, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Bryce, LiveMotion, GoLive.
Employment: Technical Drafter, Mapes Canopies LLC, January 31, 2005 to present. Duties include drafting bid
drawings for Mapes customers and final shop drawings for our aluminum fabricators, developing canopy designs for
customer inquiries and in-house product development, and writing and supplying support drawings for the canopy
installation instructions; modeling parts and assemblies in Inventor; exporting drawings or model views to PDF and
DWF formats for viewing by our sales team and others without AutoCAD on their system; creating exploded
assemblies and recording animations of reassembly for video format; converting Inventor model through AEC
exchange to put 3D wire frames in DWG format, for BIM-ready insertion; maintaining current records in shared
spreadsheet database and in AS400 invoicing system; assembling bid drawing packets and processing through UPS
software for daily pickup. Structuring the Inventor parts and assemblies libraries for the drafting team. Creating bills of
material for the production managers from the Inventor model.
Drafting and Design Technician, Smith’s D&D, Inc., January 3, 2001 to January 28, 2005. (Apprenticed since
November 1998). Duties included architectural and machine drafting, writing narrative descriptions for real estate
appraisal reports, printing of drawings, office management, and off-site contract drafting, primarily in the Engineering
Department at Pfizer, Inc. in Lincoln. My duties there included working with and drafting from a large database of
engineering drawings, via AutoCAD and paper archives. I worked closely with people from many different disciplines
within the Pfizer plant--maintenance, manufacturing, government regulatory, process validation, and personnel/training
groups. They required AutoCAD drawings in print or via email, color prints for presentations and training, and drawing
export to other applications, including PowerPoint and Excel. I also worked with outside design firms and general
contractors, providing archive drawings and recording new construction. My various activities were all carefully
documented, as our records had to meet certain regulatory guidelines, and for proper charging of accounts. Other
contract clients at Smith’s D & D included Omaha Public Power District, Artisan Precast Stone, Offut Air Force Base,
Villager Motel Restaurant, Saint Leo’s Church (Palmyra), and many other individuals who required building plans, site
plans, and as-built drawings.
Past Employment: Farmer-Stockman 1984-99. UNL Research Technician: Agronomy 1987, Forestry 1988-89. Soil
Conservation Service aide, Saline County SCS, 1988. Homemaker (at-home dad) 1989-98.
Civic: District OR-1 Board of Education member, 1995-2011. District 1 Candidate for Nebraska Legislature, 2000 &
2004. Member of the UNL Alumni Association. Past activities: classroom volunteer, Advertising Federation of Lincoln,
Nebraska Association of School Boards, Star City Figure Skating Club, District OR-1 Fine Arts Boosters. Parent 26
years. Homemaker 9 years. Single father and sole household wage earner 16 years. I am 53 years old.
References available upon request.