This is a multi-step assignment designed to help you discover more about yourself and your career aspirations. You will begin this assignment in weeks 1 and 2 of the course by completing several “design your (work) life” exercises to help you identify how you approach work, life, ethics, and diversity as well as how these will play a role in your career aspirations.
As early into the semester as possible, but by no later than October 6th (progress report #2) you will need to identify two (2) professionals (no immediate family members – i.e. no parents or siblings) in the field(s) you would like to matriculate into upon graduation. These professionals should represent at least two (2) different areas. That is, if you are interested in Accounting, you may talk to someone in Tax and someone else in Audit; if you are interested in Marketing, you may talk to someone who works in social media marketing, and someone in merchandising; or someone who works for an agency and someone who works in a large corporation; etc. Additionally, these working professionals should be at least 5+ years post-graduation (preferably 10-20+ years working experience in their field). I would encourage you to reach out to UC alumni or other connections that are likely to share their experiences with you.
You will need to interview these experienced professionals to help you craft the majority of this portion of your paper. It may be helpful to share your DYL exercise results with them and ask questions about their career approach, ethical dilemmas they have experienced or are aware of, and the topic of diversity and inclusion in their field.
You will complete two progress reports due on September 7th and October 6th, which may be graded pass/repeat. The first progress report will include at a minimum the names and contact information for the professionals you plan to interview and a solid working draft of all DYL exercises. The second progress report will include at a minimum names and contact information of interviewees, date of scheduled interviews, contact information of interviewees, and the position they hold, an outline for all sections of the paper (can use what’s provided in the template, and a clean and final formatted version of the DYL exercises as if they were being graded for the final paper at this time. Templates will be provided for both progress reports.
The final paper is due November 15th and will consist of:
A cover sheet
A brief introduction (no more than 2-3 paragraphs) summarizing what you learned through the exercises and the class as a whole and how they apply to your career planning.
Your formatted DYL assignments (template provided) over as many pages as needed.
3-4 pages of discussion about what you learned from your interviews with experienced professionals and how this compares to what you learned in class
Describe their career path in terms of degree, promotions, change of companies, change of careers, networking, etc.
What job skills, experience, education and licenses are needed in the field and how do they suggest you best acquire & develop them
How do they view their organization’s approach towards ethics and diversity
What did you learn about your chosen career path (and yourself) from the assignment
