Career Planning: A Pathway to Employment
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Career Planning: A Pathway to Employment
This course is part of Career Discovery Specialization
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See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills
Build your subject-matter expertise
- Learn new concepts from industry experts
- Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
- Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
- Earn a shareable career certificate
There are 7 modules in this course
This course is designed to foster creative approaches to launching a new career. You will articulate best ways to make a first impression and analyze your strengths by creating a personal statement. You will identify appropriate elements to make your resume stand out from the crowd. You will also identify the most effective ways a cover letter can answer a job description, and how to best leverage social media in your job search. In short, this course will help you to prepare for a new job. You will learn how to apply, network, leverage social media, interview, follow-up, and evaluate options through research and with the help of experienced faculty and talented professional.
Launching Your Career provides insight from industry leaders on job search, networking and interviewing. You will receive guidance and best practice tips on how to master the interview and professionally close the loop. You will also compose a thank you note and clearly relate your ideal career to existing job titles and offers.
Welcome! You are beginning a very important journey on your path to a meaningful and successful career. This course is designed to help you launch a new career or jump start an existing career. This course, and your team of instructors, will guide you from making that first impression, to networking your way to an interview, through the stages of interview preparation, mastering the interview, and following up with the perfect Thank You note. We will work with you on generating a social media strategy and guide you through evaluating job offers when they are received. We will ask you to work with us as you move through the course, job searching and preparing as you go. We'll ask you to share your experiences and your success stories, as we offer you our best guidance in launching your career. Let's begin with making a first impression! By the end of this module, you will be able to: (1) Identify ways to make a great first impression, (2) Distinguish between best and worst practice when first meeting a new professional contact, (3) Differentiate between promoting yourself and promoting what you believe in, (4) Practice tasteful self-promotion, & (5) Create self promotional opportunities through an Elevator Pitch
What's included
2 videos9 readings3 assignments1 discussion prompt
2 videos•Total 6 minutes
- Meet the Team•1 minute
- Making a Great First Impression in an Interview•5 minutes
9 readings•Total 77 minutes
- Learning Objectives•2 minutes
- Snap judgments - The Princeton Study•10 minutes
- Personality Trumps Skill•10 minutes
- The 5-7-9 Ways to Make a Great First Impression•10 minutes
- Test Your First Impression Skills - Just for Fun•10 minutes
- Tasteful Self‑Promotion: Turning Your Personal Brand into an Inviting Front Door•10 minutes
- The Elevator Speech•10 minutes
- Elevator Pitch - Professional Examples•10 minutes
- Get help and meet other learners. Join your Community!•5 minutes
3 assignments•Total 180 minutes
- Elevator Speech Quiz•30 minutes
- Script Your Elevator Speech•120 minutes
- First Impressions Quiz•30 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 10 minutes
- What Makes a Great First Impression?•10 minutes
By the end of this module, you will be able to identify appropriate elements of and formatting choices in a resume document. You will also be able to articulate the importance of audience, and translating experiences into new industry-specific languages.
What's included
2 videos2 readings3 assignments2 discussion prompts
2 videos•Total 8 minutes
- Overview of Writing My Resume•5 minutes
- Making Your Resume Stand Out•3 minutes
2 readings•Total 22 minutes
- Learning Objectives•2 minutes
- Designing a Modern Resume in the Age of AI•20 minutes
3 assignments•Total 180 minutes
- Your Current Resume•120 minutes
- Writing my Resume•30 minutes
- Writing My Resume Practice Quiz•30 minutes
2 discussion prompts•Total 20 minutes
- Resume Writing and Knowing your Audience•10 minutes
- What Makes Your Resume Stand Out?•10 minutes
By the end of this module, you will be able to describe the components of a successful cover letter. You will also be able to compare your resume with a given job description, and identify points of connection
What's included
1 video5 readings3 assignments1 discussion prompt
1 video•Total 6 minutes
- Overview of Creating Your Cover Letter•6 minutes
5 readings•Total 42 minutes
- Learning Objectives•2 minutes
- Cover Letters and AI: How to Add Real Value Beyond Your Resume•10 minutes
- Becoming a more Customized Candidate•10 minutes
- Your Cover Letter vs. Your Job Description•10 minutes
- Connecting the Puzzle Pieces•10 minutes
3 assignments•Total 120 minutes
- Review of an Uploaded Job Description / Cover Letter •60 minutes
- My Cover Letter•30 minutes
- Cover Letter Practice Quiz•30 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 10 minutes
- How do you match up with your field of choice?•10 minutes
By the end of this module, you will understand the best practices for conducting a social media audit, and developing a social media strategy, that is designed to help you, not hurt you, during every phase of your career. You will better understand why and how employers use social media before making hiring decisions, and what employers are looking for when they review your social media presence. The reading titled "Practical LinkedIn 4.0" written by Randy Hain, CEO of Serviam Partners, will help you understand the best practices for developing your LinkedIn profile, and how to use LinkedIn to develop professional business relationships. You will also learn about methods for using social media to become a thought leader in your industry or specialty area.
What's included
2 videos7 readings3 assignments2 discussion prompts
2 videos•Total 10 minutes
- Introduction to My Social Media Strategy•3 minutes
- How To Use LinkedIn•7 minutes
7 readings•Total 62 minutes
- The Learning Objectives•2 minutes
- The Job Seeker's Social Media Survival Kit•10 minutes
- Using LinkedIn Strategically: From Profile to Relationships•10 minutes
- How To Use X•10 minutes
- How To Use Facebook•10 minutes
- Should You Use Facebook as a Job-Seeking Tool?•10 minutes
- 11 Steps to Become a Social Leader•10 minutes
3 assignments•Total 120 minutes
- My Social Media Strategy, Graded Quiz•30 minutes
- Create or Update Your LinkedIn Profile•60 minutes
- My Social Media Strategy, Practice Quiz•30 minutes
2 discussion prompts•Total 20 minutes
- Social Media Strategy: New Insights?•10 minutes
- The Growing Popularity of LinkedIn•10 minutes
Welcome to the 5th module of this course! In Mastering the Interview, our teaching team has accumulated some fantastic resources for you. We've reached out to colleagues, dusted off the books from our shelves, and argued over which were the best of the best resources we could share. We think we found many of them and hope they are helpful to you, as you begin to think about the interview process!
What's included
3 videos6 readings2 assignments2 discussion prompts
3 videos•Total 12 minutes
- Overview of Interviewing Best Practices•4 minutes
- Networking and Making Connections That Matter•4 minutes
- Best and Worst Interview Questions•4 minutes
6 readings•Total 72 minutes
- Learning Objectives•2 minutes
- Steps to a Successful Interview•10 minutes
- The Path to Interview Success•20 minutes
- Mastering Interviews in the Age of AI: Classic Techniques, Modern Tools•20 minutes
- Top Mistakes People Make in an Interview•10 minutes
- TEDTalk "Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are"•10 minutes
2 assignments•Total 60 minutes
- Mastering the Interview Quiz•30 minutes
- The Path to Interview Success Practice Quiz•30 minutes
2 discussion prompts•Total 20 minutes
- Share your Best and Worst Interview Experiences•10 minutes
- How can your body language transform your interview?•10 minutes
By the end of this module, you will be able to compose an effective thank you note. You will also be able to articulate commonly accepted timelines and methods for thanking interviewers.
What's included
1 video8 readings2 assignments2 discussion prompts
1 video•Total 3 minutes
- Overview of Writing Thank You Notes•3 minutes
8 readings•Total 72 minutes
- Learning Objectives•2 minutes
- Writing Thank You Notes that WORK•10 minutes
- Post‑Interview Thank‑Yous: What Still Matters (and How to Do It Well)•10 minutes
- You're Welcome!•10 minutes
- How to Compose an Interview Thank You Letter•10 minutes
- Thank You Note / Email - Important Part of the Interview Process•10 minutes
- What Can You Do Post Interview?•10 minutes
- Post Interview Effectiveness•10 minutes
2 assignments•Total 60 minutes
- Quiz - Writing Thank You Notes•30 minutes
- Practice What You Have Learned!•30 minutes
2 discussion prompts•Total 20 minutes
- Your Thank You Note•10 minutes
- Components in a Thank You Note•10 minutes
By the end of this module, you will understand the components of doing good research relative to job titles and industries. You will be able to make informed decisions about job offers, and describe commonly accepted timelines and negotiation points.
What's included
2 videos5 readings4 assignments1 discussion prompt
2 videos•Total 7 minutes
- Overview of Evaluating Job Offers•4 minutes
- Evaluating Job Offers•3 minutes
5 readings•Total 42 minutes
- Learning Objectives•2 minutes
- From Offer to Decision: How to Choose the Right Role for You•10 minutes
- Your Industry & You•10 minutes
- Negotiating On Your Terms•10 minutes
- Eight Crucial Considerations•10 minutes
4 assignments•Total 210 minutes
- Evaluating Industry Standards•120 minutes
- Evaluating Job Offers•30 minutes
- Job Offer Practice Quiz•30 minutes
- Job Offer Practice Quiz•30 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 10 minutes
- Job Offer Discussion•10 minutes
Earn a career certificate
Add this credential to your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV. Share it on social media and in your performance review.
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- Status: Free TrialK
Kennesaw State University
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- Status: PreviewI
IESE Business School
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- Status: PreviewY
Yale University
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Reviewed on Nov 15, 2016
A complete course with relevant information & experiences trainers. It certainly does not misses out on any part
Reviewed on Sep 18, 2020
Coursera is best.Taught a lot about the Resume writing,Updating profile on Linkedin and a lot more
Reviewed on May 17, 2020
thank you for teaching me to be more concerned about the first step of my carreer, making a good resume, a good cover letter, and also teaching me how to master the interview sess!
Frequently asked questions
To access the course materials, assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience when you enroll in a course. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid. The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile.
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