Career Planning: A Pathway to Employment

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Career Planning: A Pathway to Employment

This course is part of Career Discovery Specialization

Instructors: Dan Stotz

19,675 already enrolled

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7 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

199 reviews

Beginner level

No prior experience required

Flexible schedule

3 weeks at 10 hours a week

Learn at your own pace

96%

Most learners liked this course

7 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

199 reviews

Beginner level

No prior experience required

Flexible schedule

3 weeks at 10 hours a week

Learn at your own pace

96%

Most learners liked this course

Skills you'll gain

Tools you'll learn

Details to know

Shareable certificate

Add to your LinkedIn profile

Assessments

15 assignments¹

AI Graded see disclaimer

Taught in English

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This course is part of the Career Discovery Specialization

When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.

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.

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 readings2 assignments1 peer review1 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
Promote Yourself without Selling Out 10 minutes
The Elevator Speech 10 minutes
Elevator Pitch - Professional Examples 10 minutes
Get help and meet other learners. Join your Community! 5 minutes

2 assignments Total 60 minutes

First Impressions Quiz 30 minutes
Elevator Speech Quiz 30 minutes

1 peer review Total 120 minutes

Script Your Elevator Speech 120 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 readings2 assignments1 peer review2 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
What should my resume look like? 20 minutes

2 assignments Total 60 minutes

Writing My Resume Practice Quiz 30 minutes
Writing my Resume 30 minutes

1 peer review Total 120 minutes

Your Current Resume 120 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 readings2 assignments1 peer review1 discussion prompt

1 video Total 6 minutes

Overview of Creating Your Cover Letter 6 minutes

5 readings Total 42 minutes

Learning Objectives 2 minutes
Are cover letters important? 10 minutes
Becoming a more Customized Candidate 10 minutes
Your Cover Letter vs. Your Job Description 10 minutes
Connecting the Puzzle Pieces 10 minutes

2 assignments Total 60 minutes

Cover Letter Practice Quiz 30 minutes
My Cover Letter 30 minutes

1 peer review Total 60 minutes

Peer Review of an Uploaded Job Description / Cover Letter 60 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 readings2 assignments1 peer review2 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
Practical LinkedIn 4.0 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

2 assignments Total 60 minutes

My Social Media Strategy, Practice Quiz 30 minutes
My Social Media Strategy, Graded Quiz 30 minutes

1 peer review Total 60 minutes

Create or Update Your LinkedIn Profile 60 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 the Interview - Comprehensive Overview 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

The Path to Interview Success Practice Quiz 30 minutes
Mastering the Interview 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
Thank You Dos and Don'ts 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
The One Thing To Do After The Interview 10 minutes
1 Thing You MUST Do After Any Job Interview 10 minutes

2 assignments Total 60 minutes

Practice What You Have Learned! 30 minutes
Quiz - Writing Thank You Notes 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 readings3 assignments1 peer review1 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
How to Evaluate a Job Offer 10 minutes
Your Industry & You 10 minutes
Negotiating On Your Terms 10 minutes
Eight Crucial Considerations 10 minutes

3 assignments Total 90 minutes

Job Offer Practice Quiz 30 minutes
Job Offer Practice Quiz 30 minutes
Evaluating Job Offers 30 minutes

1 peer review Total 120 minutes

Evaluating Industry Standards 120 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.

Instructors

Instructor ratings

(54 ratings)

Dan Stotz

Kennesaw State University

4 Courses 166,984 learners

Ana T. Baida, Ed.D.

Kennesaw State University

3 Courses 98,799 learners

Wes Rhea, J.D.

Kennesaw State University

3 Courses 98,799 learners

Offered by

Kennesaw State University

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Reviewed on Sep 16, 2020

Very effective and informative course. It will surely help me to plan my career. Thank you!!!

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 Aug 8, 2020

awesome coursework, everyone must surely take a look at it !

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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.

Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.