Job Application Package 1

							Job Application Package
  Christopher Schwartz
 Comp 3130, Section 200
        4/6/2006
                       Job posting at Thomson West
(http://west.thomson.com/careers/types/information_technology.asp)
(Found via UMD Career Services Computer Science Job List)

Entry Level Software Engineer – TEC0001101

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER


Description
Thomson Legal & Regulatory (TLR) is a leading provider of integrated information solutions to
legal, tax, accounting, intellectual property, compliance, business and government professionals
around the world. With 17,000 employees, TLR has business operations in 24 countries. The
technology organization within TLR is a centralized unit providing shared software and services to
TLR business units across the globe.

Thomson West is the leading provider of information and productivity solutions to the U.S. legal
market. In our 130+ year history, we have built the strongest brand name in the profession,
Thomson West is part of the Thomson Legal & Regulatory (TLR) business unit of the Thomson
Corporation.

As a Software Engineer at Thomson West, you can get involved in the development, design and
support of cutting edge Web applications and online software, critical server features, evolving
editorial systems, and more. Our dynamic environment offers opportunities to be involved in all
phases of applications development including utilizing different programming languages, building
and testing code and working with leading edge technologies that you haven't experienced in a
classroom. If you are interested in hot projects in web, database or application development and
want to work for a company that has been named on Computerworld Magazine’s Top 100
companies list for “The Best Places to Work in IT” for five years running, then Thomson West is
for you.

Job duties and projects you could get involved in as Software Engineer at Thomson West include:

       Design & develop software products & tools
       Design and develop web-based solutions for use by national and international Thomson
        Legal and Regulatory customers
       Create and modify applications to provide vital system statistics to various parts of the
        technology organization
       Create custom web interface designs and change website process
       Develop large content management systems including data repositories, Web based data
        access and UI system
       Write system requirements and maintenance documentation
       Software testing in multiple phases of the development cycle for initiatives across multiple
        organizations
       Researching current industry software tools and technologies



Qualifications
       Work experience or a bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related discipline
       Internship or strong project experience required
       Must be able to work independently and as part of a team on multiple overlapping
        projects
      Self-motivation, strong communication and leadership skills are essential
      Analysis skills for coding, testing/troubleshooting and for building and configuring
       application

You may be exposed to the following so experience in these areas is desirable, but not
required:

      Programming Languages — Java, JavaScript, Java Servlets, C, C++, HTML, XML, ABAP
       (SAP), Visual Basic, VB Script, Visual Cafe, XSL, ASP, JSP, C#, PL/1
      Operating Systems — Unix, Linux, Windows 98/NT/2000. .NET
      Databases - Oracle, UDB/DB2, SQL,



Summary
Job Field Development
Locations MN-Eagan
Schedule Full-time

Additional Information
Posting Date February 1, 2006
817 N 19th Ave. East
Duluth, MN 55812
February 8, 2006

Director of Human Resources
Thomson West
610 Opperman Dr
Eagan, MN 55123
(651) 687-7000

Dear Director of Human Resources:

I was recently informed of job posting TEC0001101 for an entry level software engineer
at your company by my academic advisor, Dr. Colburn, at the University of Minnesota
Duluth. I would like to become a software engineer at Thomson West.

This summer I will graduate from UMD with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer
Science. I was on the Dean’s list last semester with a term GPA of 3.91 on a 4.0 scale. I
was also recently awarded a grant for undergraduate research in the field of Computer
Graphics under the tutelage of Associate Professor Peter Willemsen. I have taken as
many courses related to software development as I could during my time at UMD.

I have worked for UMD’s Information Technology Systems and Services department for
the past two years as a lab consultant. I conducted tests to diagnose computer problems,
reported findings to supervisors or other departments, and worked under deadlines. My
time with ITSS has been spent expanding my knowledge of Information Technology. In
addition to my work with ITSS, I was also exposed to a number of challenging
programming assignments. I participated in directed undergraduate research in the area of
computer graphics during my final semester at UMD. My results were published inside
the department and I am currently submitting papers to various journals for publishing.
Many undergraduate students are not exposed to the level of responsibility that I have
experienced both at the academic and professional levels. At Thomson West, software
engineers work on multiple projects at similar levels of difficulty and responsibility. I
believe that, with my experience, I would fit into a software engineering team with a
minimum of training.

I understand that a representative from Thomson West will be holding an information
session and interviews at UMD on February 21st and 22nd. I also understand that
interviews will be scheduled at that time. I would like to request an interview with a
Thomson representative for the position of Entry Level Software Engineer. Please contact
me via email at schw0748@d.umn.edu if my request is granted.

Sincerely,


Christopher Schwartz