Due Date: Account must be fully complete by Wednesday, Aug. 29

Transcription

1 Due Date: Account must be fully complete by Wednesday, Aug. 29

2 DUE DATE: Wednesday, Sept. 12 Career Autobiography Formatting Requirements: For this assignment, you must use: 12-point font, 1 margins on all sides of the page, double-spacing between lines, and your name in the top left corner. This assignment should also be grammatically correct. Length Requirement: A minimum of 2 ½ pages Assignment Description: The goal of this assignment is to help you evaluate your current, chosen career path by exploring the work experience you have had in the past that led you to this point. In order to complete this assignment successfully, you will need to think about all of the events, people, and firsthand experiences that have guided you to your current career path, being sure to fully explain how each influenced you. Ideally, your audience will be able to track all of the work you have done and understand why, or why not, you have chosen your current career path. Stylistic Requirements: - This autobiography requires a narrative structure, so your writing should be organized in chronological order and use transitions that show your audience how time in transitioning in the essay. You should begin with your earliest influence and end with where you are currently in your career trajectory. - Since this is an autobiography, you should maintain the 1 st person point-of-view throughout the entire essay. - You will need to be aware of your tense as you shift between the past, the present, and the future. - You should adopt a narrative voice that will convince a future employer to hire you; this voice should reflect the level of communication you will practice on the job market and should be business appropriate. Considerations as You Write (You don t have to answer all questions; these are ideas to help you think): - Think about both the positive and negative experiences that have influenced you. Sometimes you learn just as much from a negative experience as with a positive one. - Think about why those experiences influenced you. Did they do so because of a certain person? Because of your emotional / physical / mental situation at the time of the event? Was it unexpected? Expected? Is this what you want or what your parents / grandparents want? Is this for money or for passion? - Think about the other career options you have considered and why you feel that the path you are currently on is the one for you. - Think about the experiences you have gained by being in school or doing volunteer work and how those experiences have influenced you. - If you think that there are too many little experiences to cover, choose those that were the most prevalent to your choice and describe those in great detail. - Only choose those experiences that are relevant to your current career path; avoid going off topic by not including the information that isn t relevant to the goal of this assignment. Grading Criteria Point Totals Essay meets formatting, length, and stylistic requirements 20 Essay content reflects assignment description 60 Essay is grammatically sound 20

3 Résumé DUE DATE: Wednesday, Sept. 19 (Draft) and Wednesday, Oct. 10 (Final) You will develop a résumé to evaluate your current experiences, make goals to develop new skill sets and experiences, and become proficient in the résumé writing process. Grading Criteria Length: 1 full page, 12 point font, 1 inch margins Contents: 15 points 20 points Experience (employment, activities, etc.) is written to effectively showcase skills and abilities to a potential employer Format & Organization: 40 points Reader should be able to easily scan document and make sense of it (Note: you should strive to STAND OUT amongst the hundreds of applicants) Total Points 75 points

4 Cover Letter DUE DATE: Wednesday, Sept. 19 (Draft) and Wednesday, Oct. 10 (Final) You will develop a cover letter for a specific job you have an interest in. At the top of the letter, give a job description of the position you are writing this cover letter for. You can substitute a statement of purpose if you are interested in graduate or professional school. Grading Criteria Length: 3-4 paragraphs, 1 page, 12 point font, 1 inch margins 15 points Checklist: Are you responding to the job description with specific examples? Did you let the employer know what position you are applying for? Why should the employer select you? When and how will you follow-up on this application? Did not just repeat portions of your resume! Format & Organization: 20 points Succinct and not too wordy, yet able to convey why potential employers should take the time to interview you (and later offer you the job) Contents: 40 points Refer to MSU Career Center handbook page 20 for information on what should be included in a cover letter. Total Points 75 points

5 DUE DATE: Wednesday, Nov. 28 Career Interview and Exploration Assignment Formatting Requirements: This assignment requires that the final copy be submitted with 1 margins on all sides, in 12 point font, and with your name in the top left corner. This assignment must also be grammatically correct. Length Requirement: 3 page minimum Assignment Description: The goal of this assignment is to interview another person who currently has the job you wish to have after receiving your BSIS degree and then, based on the other person s responses, evaluate if this career is the one you wish to have. You should also take the time to evaluate whether or not you are receiving/have received the education or training you will need to be successful in this career. Stylistic Requirements: - This is a reflective writing assignment, which means you will need to explain the significance of the facts that you choose to include. - Be aware of when and why you are changing the point-of-view from the first-person (I) to the third-person (He/She). - Since you will be discussing answers to interview questions, be sure to use proper quotation formatting. - Be sure to include a brief description of the networking you did in order to have the interview. Considerations While Writing: - At the beginning of the report, identify who you interview and how you found this person (long-time friend, referred to by a friend, etc.). - Within the first paragraph, identify what specific job or field you are investigating. - In the last paragraph, assess whether or not (and to what degree) you are on target to obtain a similar job. - When you conduct your interview, be sure to ask about more than the job itself. Question your interviewee about why s/he chose this path, what they like/dislike about the job, if there is a better/worse option, did they learn all of the skills related to their work in college/ at home /at another job, etc. - Consider how the interviewee s answers to your questions make you feel. Reflective writing is thinking through your own reactions to situations. - Consider interviewing more than one person so that you have a fuller understanding of what it means to take on a specific career. - Don t be afraid to admit that you aren t sure or that you are unprepared for the specific career you chose to write about; reflective writing sometimes reveals more than expected. - Be honest about your own skills and education; consider if you have all of what you need to be successful, and if you don t, think about what you will need to do in order to be successful.

6 Grading Criteria Length: 3 full pages, 12 point font, 1 inch margins Grammar: Sentence structure, spelling, etc. Assignment Topic: 10 points 20 points 120 points Addressed all questions for the assignment; provided thoughtful insight into the occupation you are exploring. Incorporate information you gathered through your research, informational interview, and reflect on your own career path choice, etc. Total Points 150 points NOTE: This assignment is worth a significant amount of points (20% of your grade). Please start working on it early and not leave it till the last minute. This is your major class project and you should take this opportunity to continue exploring your career path options.

7 SOCIAL MEDIA ETIQUITE According to social media expert Joshua Waldman, 89% of companies used social media for recruitment in Your social media behavior may make or break you when job hunting. Social media platforms, like Facebook and Twitter, give employers insight into who you are beyond what s listed on a resume. When used correctly, social media can be a strong asset in securing a job. But it can also be the reason you don t get hired. Here are some do s and don ts when it comes to social media: 1. If you wouldn t show it to your grandma, don t put it online. It s a pretty simple rule to abide by. Grandma doesn t want to see that picture of you giving a drunken lap dance to your college roommate. Neither do potential employers. If it shows you in an unfavorable light, change the privacy setting or get rid of it. Some employers might question your judgment and maturity. 2. Don t trash-talk. In the words of Thumper from Bambi, If you can t say something nice, don t say nothin at all. Posting negative comments about your family, co-workers, previous places of employment, so on and so forth, are a big no-no. (note: this rule still applies after you land a job; never, never, never post negative or derogatory comments concerning your place of employment on social media platforms) Always air on the side of positivity. 3. Show you re interested. The best way to show you re passionate about your field of interest or career path is to share it with others. Find relevant websites, stories, and quotes pertaining to your career or field of interest and share them. 4. Grammar. Taking an extra 30 seconds to punctuate and spell correctly can go a long way. 5. Use those privacy settings. If you can t bring yourself to delete those beloved pictures from your experimental college days, you may want to change your privacy settings. Set your page so that anyone you re not friends with on Facebook, or who is not following you on Twitter, cannot view your page. 6. Create groups. You can organize your friends list on Facebook into groups such as friends, family, and co-workers. Now your friends can see those suggestive pictures, but your potential employer or boss will still believe you re an angel. Problem solved. 7. Interact with them. Engaging on the company s social media pages is a good way to express your interest in the firm and position. It tells them you didn t just submit a resume and move on. A couple retweets and Facebook status likes can t hurt. Just don t go overboard. You don t want to be branded as the Facebook stalker. 8. Be yourself. Or at least the best version of yourself. Stay true to yourself and your interests when posting on social media platforms. Your online identity should be in conjunction with your offline one. 9. Did you tweet about being late for work? Letting a future employer know that you are tardy and fine with it is a bad idea. 10. Have a mediocre recommendation on LinkedIn? That s not a great showcase of your talent.

8 Address: Employers see the address that you use to forward your resume and respond to job openings. To make a professional first impression, use an address that does not include inappropriate words or phrases, such as hottotrot or funlovingguy. Instead, create a separate account using your name or initials and send all job-hunting correspondence through that account. To avoid missteps, use the new account strictly for business. Subject Line: Recruiters and business owners often delete messages when they can t confirm the identity of the sender. To avoid an instant deletion, use the subject line to introduce your . Include the employer s job posting number in the subject line or simply write Applying for job, so the recipient will open your even though he may not recognize your address. Timing: One of the advantages of using electronic options to fill open positions is that employers can scan and recruit workers quickly without long postal waits. A quick response shows your enthusiasm for the position and may place you ahead of others who don t reply as quickly. A response within 24 hours is considered proper etiquette for all your business communications. Targets: Hiring managers are inundated with s when they post a job. To stand out from the multitude of job seekers, do your research; find a name and direct to which you can apply. Just as you sent individually written cover letters to employers through the postal service, so you should send personally targeted cover letters and job inquiries through electronic channels. Presence: Recruiters increasingly turn to social media sites to complete background checks. Your Web presence should be free of content that you wouldn t want a perspective employer to see. Rude comments and pictures, political opinions and drug or alcohol usage should not be a part of your Internet presence. Length: While you should use the same language and professional tone in your electronic cover letters as you do in hard copy queries, recruiters who use and the Internet prefer short responses. Do not use texting abbreviations but keep your notes and responses brief and to the point. Conclusions: Provide as much information in a succinct manner as you can with each correspondence. To save the recruiter time looking up all your contact information, devise a standard sign-off that you insert at the end of each . Include your name, phone number and address. Add a link to your website and any other pertinent sites. Interviews: After you ve landed an interview, you must continue to maintain appropriate technology etiquette to secure the job. During the interview, your cell phone should remain off or set to vibrate. If you think it could cause a distraction, don t even bring your phone into the interview with you. You need to give the interviewer your complete attention. Looking at a message or taking a call during a meeting is rude and could cost you the job.

9 DUE DATE: Wednesday, Dec. 5 Checklist Subject YES NO Is there a subject? Is the subject meaningful tells the intention of the ? If this for a class did you remember to include it in the subject? Greetings Did you address the person correctly? Is the greeting Dear/Hi/Hello spelled correctly and capitalized? Note. If you are unsure how to formally address the person you re ing, stick to Sir/Madam or Mr./Miss/Ms. Is the first letter of the name capitalized? (Heather, not heather) Is the name spelled correctly? Comma comes after the name? Message Body The goal is to keep this succinct (short & to the point sentences) Are there unnecessary sentences? Quickly & clearly state the problem/concern/etc. Take responsibility for the problem (make sure you offer to do something in return e.g., If this is for missing a class make sure you check syllabus and are up to speed with class work, etc. If this is for missing work make sure you offer pick up another shift for a sick co-worker in the future, etc.) Did you include inappropriate information? Attachment in the Did you actually attach the document in the ? Is your document/file named meaningfully? Is the content of the document identifiable? Is the author of the document identifiable? Did you mention that there would be an attachment in your and what the document was? Grammar Did you write in proper sentences? Did you capitalize the first letter of each sentence? Spacing (e.g., after a period, etc.) Sign off professionally Sincerely, Regards, Thank you, etc. Proofread your before you hit send. To prevent premature sending of an , only type in the address once you re ready to send

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11 Job Search Strategies: Determine and Polish Relative Skills (know your strengths) Contact Professional Organizations in Your Field Visit Company and Organization Web Sites Apply Directly to Organizations That Interest You Network, Network, Network Join Professional Associations Participate in Job Fairs Use a Placement Agency or Recruiter/Headhunter Consider Temping Appearance and first impression professional résumé, appropriate attire, be on time (or early)!