Marks for Participation
1 (midterm) Forums 1,3,4,5,6 = 12 points Marks for Participation 2 (end
of term) Forums 2,8,10,11 = 8 points TOTAL = 20 points
Forum 1: Team Member Profiles (2 POINTS)
In this course, you are
a member of a team. Your team will be working together as you develop your
portfolio, your eportfolio and as your team creates a personal profile
using Microsoft Power Point to build a multimedia presentation featuring
a graduate of the Marketing program here at Seneca. You will contact a
graduate, interview them, and collect any photos or graphics necessary
for your team's presentation.
Please tell what team
you are on and give a brief description of the strengths you bring to your
team.
Go to Tools and make
a PROFESSIONAL looking home page to introduce yourself to me and to the
class
Top of Page
Forum 2: Team Projects (2
points)
This is the forum for team
postings made available to all of the class. - one member of the team can
post this information and keep it updated.
Tell who will be doing what
in order to create your team's profile of a marketing graduate. Private
team postings go in the Team's Space on MySeneca.
Artifacts to be developed may include:
• Transcript of the interview
of a graduate student being profiled.
• Resume and photos of the
graduate student.
• Storyboard with ten "highlights"
from the graduate student's life/career so far.
• Power Point presentation
of the graduate
• Class handouts
• Any additional artifacts
supporting the presentation of this profile.
1. As soon as possible,
give the team's plan of action in developing the profile project.
2. Give the full name
of the graduate you plan to profile and their date of graduation.
3. This is where the
team member eportfolio links are to be posted by the due date. In one message,
list all of the members and eportfolio links.
For Networking - One idea is to give five cards to friends or associates that you know and who support your job search. Ask each one to pass along your card to five people they know well who might be able to use your talents. In this scheme - if EACH person contacted has 5 cards to distribute, before long you can have an army of supporters helping you with your job search. Make a list of those who are willing to help you with your job search.
Attach the file for your calling card to the posting for this forum. You may use PhotoShop, Power Point, Word or Publisher.
A
colleague of mine has a consulting company called CareerSport. He has been
job search coaching for a number of years. I asked him if he could tell
me the most important aspect of conducting a successful job search and
he emphatically stated, "networking!" He told me that you've got to make
calls, get a meeting and be prepared when you get one. It's all about relationships
and sourcing opportunities through your relationships.
A very helpful exercise when job hunting, is to conduct "information interviews". Contact someone you know who is working in the marketing industry either as a boss or as a seasoned employee. Ask to meet with them for a short information session. Suggest a time and date until you can find one that is mutually acceptable. Let them know that you will only need twenty minutes to one half hour of their valuable time. Be sure you get all of the information you need regarding their location so that you can be sure to be on time.
When you call someone for a meeting, you need to be very clear about why you want to meet with them. Emphasize that it won't take much of their time and that you are looking for career advice. If you have taken the time to do your homework, to research the person(s) you'll be speaking to, you'll have a better idea of how they can advise you. You'll of course need to be quite courteous - if that person can't help you, but you've made a favourable impression, they are more likely to remember you and put you forward if they hear of something that might work for you.
When you get to that meeting,
you need to ask good questions. Do some research about the company where
you will be making this interview visit. Make a list of questions that
will help you to know more about the work of the person you are interviewing.
Get them talking about the business and how they see things. Keep whatever
you do simple. It's really about the basics. What is their working atmosphere
like? What do people do there all day? How do they dress, answer phones,
conduct business? It may take hustle, effort and persistence to find the
right fit. So, give some thought to the following three questions that
will help you to network more effectively. 1. What do you know? (be able
to respond well to "tell me a little about yourself"). Create a good summary
description of what you know already.
2. What do you want to learn?
What are your goals in this field - what are you aiming for?
3. What is special about
you - what can you offer that makes you appealing to hire?
TIP: When you go for your information interviews, dress appropriately for that workplace. Take along some professional reading material to have handy if you are asked to wait. Also take along an updated resume and calling card) that you can leave with them in case they hear of anyone looking for someone of your skills. Also ask if they can recommend anyone else you might talk with and if you can use their name when you call this person for an appointment.
Name two potential interviewees that you can go to talk with. Tell why you think they could be a valuable resource for you. For bonus points, attach a transcript of the interview to your posting in this forum.
Another letter that can be critical is a follow-up letter, to determine your status. This can also be part of a thank-you letter if you are following up a meeting or interview. Another very helpful communication is a letter sent when you don't get the position you applied for. This letter thanks the interviewer(s) for their consideration and asks if they can give you some advice so that you can be more successful in your next application. You can also ask them to keep you in mind should another more appropriate opportunity arise, giving your contact information again. You need to develop a cover letter that you can revise and use for more than one application - likewise, letters for those other occasions - thank you, follow-up, request for advice.
E-mail is fast becoming part of the business correspondence in our lives. The problem with e-mail is that it can quickly be deleted and/or dismissed. It is also easy to make a poor impression if you have given a misleading or inappropriate subject line to your message, or if you have any typos or grammar mistakes of any sort. Except for confirmation of appointments, directions, and such, it is better to rely on hard copy documents when it comes to serious job search campaigns.
Attach one of the following to your posting in this forum
Write a sample cover letter
you can use to accompany your resume.
Write a sample e-mail
introducing yourself - one where you could attach your resume.
Write a sample thank
you/follow up letter to include in your portfolio.
When you think about the
image you are presenting on the web, it may be helpful to think of what
goes into making a Brand. Have a look at the following articles from Fast
Company archives.
http://www.fastcompany.com/online/10/brandyou.html
The Brand Called You
http://www.fastcompany.com/guides/sales.html
Marketing Case Studies Featuring Branding
(best viewed in IE5.5 or
higher)
Taken from the article,
"The Brand Called You", do the following..."Start by identifying the qualities
or characteristics that make you distinctive from your competitors -- or
your colleagues. What have you done lately -- this week -- to make yourself
stand out? What would your colleagues or your customers say is your greatest
and clearest strength? Your most noteworthy (as in, worthy of note) personal
trait?"
Design a Power Point slide show with 3 slides, thinking of it as an advertisement for the brand that is you. Attach your show to your posting where you give us a great introduction to your "brand".
This is a forum for the Career Services brochure assignment. The details for the assignment are here - http://people.senecac.on.ca/selia.karsten/CAP/506career.html
Please attach your brochure to a message posted in this Forum in Week Seven(7) just before Study Week. If you are using Publisher, be sure to create both pages 1 and 2. You may also use WORD.
One way that you can demonstrate that you are really serious about making your way to the top of your profession is by constantly looking for ways to upgrade your knowledge and skills. This can be accomplished any number of ways. You can find a mentor on the job who is willing to coach you in certain areas. Why not take an additional course or two on a part time basis at one of the many institutions in your area be it at a college or university. For the past few years more and more opportunities have opened up with the availability of online courses, where you can work around your employment schedule.
Locate a course catalog for a nearby school in your community that has a continuing education department. You can start with Seneca's Part Time Studies offerings - http://www.senecac.on.ca/parttime/HomePage.html
Find a course that you
think would be good for you to take to further enhance you as a valuable
employee.
Describe the course and
tell why this would work well for you.
In this forum, one member of the team will post a message and in the subject line, put the name of the team and eportfolios. In the message include the full name of each member of the team and beside each name, the full correct web address (link) to that person's eportfolio.
Please post the following:
Five things that you learned
and/or that worked well for you in creating your portfolio and eportfolio.
Five things you plan
to do in future to enhance or improve your portfolio and eportfolio.
Give at least five positive comments and five suggestions for further investigation or improvement in either the content or the presentation of your team's project. Put your team's name in the subject line.
Give at least five positive comments and five suggestions for further investigation or improvement in either the content or the presentation of the other team's project. Put that team's name in the subject line.
Please give feedback on the course - what worked best for you? What suggestions do you have for how to improve the course? This forum is optional.
There will be another season for The Apprentice on NBC - for more information go to NBC.com http://www.nbc.com/nbc/ There will be candidates competing for a chance to apprentice to businessman extraordinaire, Donald Trump. Want to be inspired by Apprentice eportfolios? Have a look at the links on this Apprentice Show Resource http://people.senecac.on.ca/selia.karsten/CAP/apprentice.html
Who do you think will win? Let's talk about it here. This forum is optional.