Syllabus: Professional Development
BA 353 Fall 2008

Prerequisites: None

Credits: 4

Schedule: Section 1 Tue/Thur 12:00 p.m. Classroom Bexell 415

Section 2 Tue/Thur 2:00 p.m. Classroom Bexell 415

Instructor: Gene Young

Office 314 Bexell Hall

Office Phone: 737-3355

E-mail: g97330@yahoo.com

Office Hours : Tue/Thur 4:00-5:00 p.m.

Wed 1:00 p.m. -2:00 p.m.

Other times available by appointment

Required Text: Work 101 by Elizabeth Freedman, M.B.A. - Bantam Dell (Random House) Publisher, OSU Career Guide 2007 – 2008 by OSU Career Services, Painless Writing by Jeffrey Strausser Barron’s Publisher, Excellence in Business Communication by Thill and Bovée

Course Description:

The Professional Development course is designed to improve the ability of students to describe their accomplishments and sell themselves in situations like professional networking and job interviews. It also teaches resume writing skills and workplace integration skills for new jobs. Particular emphasis is put on verbal communication, and preparation for verbal communication. Students will learn to create career plans that require them to research career options and potential employers, as well as to prepare developmental roadmaps that will lead them to their goals.

Teaching methods include writing assignments, lecture, classroom discussion, and simulation exercises. A high emphasis is placed on participation in simulation exercises with subsequent coaching and feedback by both the instructor as well as fellow classmates.

This is a writing intensive course.

Learning Outcomes:

Students completing BA 353 should be able to:

· Create a career development plan (roadmap) that outlines a path to a chosen career that delineates the skills required for the type of job that they want and how they will acquire them

· Have effective networking conversations both in person and on the phone

· Create effective written networking communications and follow up

· Create a well designed Resume

· Conduct an effective job interview

· Research companies prior to applying for or interviewing for jobs

· Gain an understanding of how to get a successful start in a new job

· Create concise and well thought out written communication and analysis

Classroom Procedures and Protocols

Simulations: Students are expected to actively participate in discussions and simulation exercises. They are expected to offer help and support to other students during simulations and to provide useful feedback.

Notebooks: Each student will keep a spiral or softbound notebook or journal in which they will write exercises when asked and keep classroom notes. This notebook will be graded and is intended to be a useful future reference (especially the final exam).

Term Project: A number of writing assignments that include research will be given throughout the term and will combine into a personal portfolio that will comprise a major part of the grade for the course.

Resume: A Resume will be created and become part of the Portfolio.

Term Paper: Students will write a term paper consisting of an analysis of a controversial topic.

It may be required to attend a career fair and to become familiar with OSU Career Services.

Grading:

All students will be expected to abide by the university rules on academic honesty which forbid cheating or plagiarism. Violation of this policy will result in automatic failure of the course per the process in Academic Regulation AR-15 and violations will be reported to the University.

Item Points

Notebook 50

Classroom Participation 150

And Exercises

Portfolio 475

Resume 50

Term Paper 150

Final Exam 125

Total 1000

10 Points will be deducted from class participation for each missed class after the first one (no deduction for the first missed class).

Grades will be assigned as follows:

Grade Points

A 900 – 1000

B 800 – 899

C 700 – 799

D 600 – 699

F 000 – 599

Points will be rounded to the nearest integer.

Students with Special Needs

Students with special needs, who have been approved for special accommodations by Services for Students with Disabilities, should contact the instructor the first week of classes. Students who believe that they are eligible for special accommodations but have not yet obtained approval from SSD should contract SSD immediately.

Personal Portfolio

For each of the sections of the portfolio writing must be grammatically correct, free of typos and spelling errors, and properly punctuated. Writing style must be formal and professional using proper language (no slang) and free of wordy or meaningless expressions whose only contribution is to add to the word count. I will be harsh on grading where “bloat” is used rather than meaningful content. Grammar and style count as much as content. Word counts must be within the listed ranges and will be checked. Word count must be listed at the end of the paper. Papers must be double spaced and the student’s name must be on the upper left corner of the first page. List the course number, instructor’s name, and the time that the class meets under the student’s name. Cover pages are not necessary, but are acceptable. If there is more than one page the pages must be stapled together. I will not accept any that are not. Late submissions will be downgraded unless permission is obtained to hand it in late prior to the due date.

The title of each term paper should be centered on the first line. The title should be “Portfolio Part 1- Self Assessment, Portfolio Part 2 – Discover Tool, etc.”

Part 1) Self Assessment 100 Points

Write an assessment of your interests, abilities, and values. Clearly comment on each of the three topics. The abilities portion must support your claims to any skills or talents with concrete evidence of why you can make such a claim by giving at least one example of something that you have done that demonstrates what you claim. More than one example is better. It must be clear why your example links to your claim. For example, if your assessment is that you are creative, it must be clear from your supporting example that creativity was involved. Examples may be drawn from employment experiences, hobbies, school, community service, or life in your home. Treat this paper as if it were something that you would submit along with a resume to the company of your dreams. Quality writing is crucial.

Word Count: 600-700

Part 2) Discover Tool 50 Points

Do an assessment of disciplines that fit you using the Discover tool available through the Career Services Center. Attach only one page of the output from Discover plus a commentary on how you feel that Discover’s suggestions compares to your own opinion arrived at via your previously submitted assessment. If Discover makes no suggestion then pick a discipline or field that you feel fits you through research that you have done and explain why it fits. You may also choose a field that Discover just did not suggest because you prefer to explore it rather than the Discover suggestion. You still must use the Discover tool and present its output. Explain why you chose what you did.

Word Count 200-350; The print out of Discover’s suggestions does not get included in the word count

Part 3) Company Research 50 Points

Research two companies, institutions, or agencies that hire people in the field that you might like to work in. Give the name of the company or entity and a profile of its major products or function. Indicate the size of the organization in dollars and people, and its geographic reach. Comment on the growth potential of the company based on its industry and strengths. Explain why you chose those particular companies. If text is cut and pasted from a web site you must indicate the source in a footnote. Cut and pasted text does not count towards your word count.

Word Count: 500-600

Part 4) Interview 75 Points

Interview a person working in the field that you chose and write a summary of the interview. Give some information about the person’s background. Include the questions that were asked and a summary of their responses. Utilize the internet, your career services resource, or other handout material to help design a good interview. This exercise will be graded based on the meaningfulness of the questions that you asked, the quality of the information that you gather, as well as the quality of the write-up.

Word Count 500-600

Part 5) Gap Analysis 100 Points

Write an analysis of how your choice of coursework and other activities will prepare you to enter this field. Indicate the qualities that you are trying to acquire or demonstrate that an employer would expect when hiring someone into their company. Utilize the material that you have developed thus far concerning your strengths and interests, and that which you gathered from your interview in developing your analysis. Indicate how you can prepare yourself to meet these expectations. For example, employers might seek candidates with the following:

· Leadership experience

· Community involvement

· Campus involvement

· Problem solving skill

· Teamwork skill

· High energy level

· Personal discipline

· Demonstrated interested in and involvement in the field

· Writing skill

· Initiative

· Speaking and presentation skill

· Sales skill

· Creativity

· Interpersonal skills (i.e. dealing with people)

· Critical thinking skill (the ability to analyze situations and create strategy or solve problems)

· Ability to complete tasks and deliver results

This is only a list of suggestions. You answer could include things like:

· Summer internships

· Work study

· Join a campus professional club

· Work or volunteer for a community organization

· Lead a campus project

· Tutor other students

· Work at the university

· Attend career fairs

· Attend lectures by prominent guests of the university

Be specific. Do not just say “join a club.” Which club? Why that club? What companies will you target for an internship? What specific steps will you take to get an internship? When will you launch your search? How will you proceed on your search (use Career Services, etc)? What networking tactics can you use? Explain how what you propose fulfills a specific need. Indicate your planned timing.

Word Count: 600-700

The gap analysis is a critical part of this project and will be graded on thoughtfulness, thoroughness, practicality, and specificity.

Behavioral Interview Questions 100 Points Word count 500 - 600

Answer any two of the following questions: Be sure to state which question you are answering.

· Describe a situation in which you were able to use persuasion to successfully convince someone to see things your way?

· Tell me about a time when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to get a job done.

· How do you determine priorities in scheduling your time? Give examples.

· Tell of the most difficult customer service experience that you have ever had to handle -- perhaps an angry or irate customer. Be specific and tell what you did and what was the outcome.

· Give me a specific example of a time when you sold your supervisor or professor on an idea or concept. How did you proceed? What was the result?

· Recall a time from your work experience when your manager or supervisor was unavailable and a problem arose. What was the nature of the problem? How did you handle that situation?

Term Paper 150 points Word count 2000-2500

Select one of the following topics. Explain the differing viewpoints and take a position that reflects your view. You must use at least two sources of research and list your sources. Avoid long quotes lifted from your sources. Be persuasive about your view.

1. The career advantage of either getting an advanced degree immediately after college versus gaining valuable experience by starting work immediately after graduation. Consider both long and short term aspects.

2. Should the government protect American jobs by imposing stiff penalties on companies that transfer jobs offshore by outsourcing or manufacturing in a different country?

Writing Suggestions

When approaching any of your writing assignments for this course always start by clarifying to yourself what the message is that you are trying to convey. Jot down your ideas before you begin to type. If you cannot summarize your message in a few bullets, then you are not ready to start writing. Your message must be clear to YOU before you can make it clear to me.

Jot down ideas, then decide what will have to be said to get the message across. Finally start to write. Do not try to create something in one pass; get your ideas down on paper first. Count on the revision process to refine what you say. I cannot imagine doing a quality job on these papers without at least two revisions. You have to allow for this.

After you have done a draft, review you work for writing style. Look for wordy sentences, tired, meaningless phases, and the like. Ask yourself if you can express the same idea with fewer words by replacing phrases with single words. This usually makes for crisper, more effective prose. Utilize the concepts in Painless Writing. Note the examples below:

Replace With

At that (this) point in time then (now)

During the course of during

In the immediate vicinity of near

In favor of for

With regard to about, concerning

With respect to about, concerning

Decide if each sentence actually adds something of value to your fundamental message. When the piece is finished, did it deliver the message?

Proof read in multiple passes with each pass targeting a specific type of mistake (grammar, wordiness, sentence fragment, wrong word, etc). Try to get a friend to do a proof for you. Allow a little time to pass between proofs.

Double spacing your work is required because it allows a place for me to make comments.

I will look at your writing from two perspectives: the quality and thoughtfulness of what you say, and the style with which you say it.

Lecture and Assignment Schedule BA 353 – Fall 2008

	Lecture Topic	Assignment Due
Sept 30	Introduction, Personal Brand, Learning Competency Model
Oct 2	Personal Profile, Skills List	EBC pgs 100-107, 113-124 , 132-155
Oct 7	Writing Style -1	Read Painless Writing
Oct 9	Me in 30 Seconds	Portfolio Part 1 – Self Assessment
Oct 14	Writing Style -2	Revised PP1 EBC 166-177,186-187
Oct 16	Me in 30 Seconds	Portfolio Part 2 – Discover Tool
Oct 21	Networking Power Statements	Portfolio Part 3 - Research
Oct 23	Networking Conversations	EBC Chapter 10 pgs 323-345
Oct 28	Resume Part 1	EBC Chp 15 pgs 545-569
Oct 30	Resume Part 2	Resume
Nov 4	Preparation for Interviews	Revised Resume
Nov 6	Mock Interviews	EBC Chp 16 pgs 580-614
Nov 11	Mock Interviews	Written Behavioral Questions Paper
Nov 13	Mock Interviews	Portfolio Part 4 - Interview
Nov 18	Mock Interviews	Portfolio Part 5 – Gap Analysis
Nov 20	Researching A Career, Negotiating	Notebook Summary (Personal Profile, Me in 30 sec, 3 Power Statements) Read Work 101 Pgs 1-89
Nov 25	Special Guest	Term Paper
Dec 2	Work 101 – Self Promotion, Performance Reviews	Read Work 101 Pgs 90-201
Dec4	Work 101 – Business Communication, Relationship Building, Managing Your Manager	Read Work 101 Pgs 202-273 Chp 7 for Final