Discussions

Discussions - Posts & Substantive Replies

Tip:

1. Each week, you MUST write about your experience of the interview process. (This is MANDATORY).
2. The Discussion Posts will help prepare you to write the Final Paper
3. There are NO GRADES for each Discussion Post.
4. They MUST be 250 words with substantive information / content AND substantive replies to at least two (2) of your peers (75 words each).
5. Continue the discussion thread / conversation as appropriate. Feel free to share your thoughts, experience and advice.

Completeness

• Posts that are less than 250 words are NOT considered "complete", and will forfeit credit for the week's post - and lose 10 points off your Grade for the Final Paper.
• Contributors who do not respond substantively to at least two (2) peers - will forfeit credit for the week's post - and lose 10 points off your Grade for the Final Paper.
• Substantive replies are NOT required for the last discussion (Week 5)

REPLIES DUE: Fridays by 11:59 pm

Be aware of:

• Timeliness
• Connection / Alignment to Week's Theme
• Focus on what you Learned
• A SMART Goal for What You Are Going To Do Differently - http://www.hr.virginia.edu/uploads/documents/media/Writing_SMART_Goals.pdf
• Writing / Presentation Quality

Discussions - Themes

Week 1: Introduce Yourself: Your Name, Major / Field of Study, and the Types of Jobs / Companies you are looking to work for

This question is at the beginning of the Interview Process. Consider it as part of the answer to "Tell Me About Yourself".

(: While we covered CAR Stories briefly in Week 1, we will explore them in greater detail in Week 2. You ARE NOT REQUIRED TO WRITE ABOUT CAR STORIES IN DISCUSSION 1)

Week 2: Three (3) CAR Stories from Your Work Experience (Aligned to the desired Job Description / Ad)

1. CAR Story 1
2. CAR Story 2
3. CAR Story 3

Week 3: Identify and Research Employers of Interest

Tip: This Discussion Post requires that you actually do research - and you can do this at the Library, on the company website, news releases, LinkedIN, etc. Also, this is where networking and information interviews are very helpful - as they help you to connect the dots with hard to find, but important information.

Questions to Ask / Find the Information You Need

• What is the Job / Role? What are you going to do?
• What is the Organization? What do they do? What industry are they in?
• What is their Business?
  • Who are their customers, markets, competitors
  • Are they making money? Losing money?
  • Are they in a regulated industry (i.e., energy, utilities, transportation);
  • Are they unionized?
  • What Problems / Challenges are they facing ("Pain)
• Who is the Hiring Manager / Decision-Maker; Team Members - what are their backgrounds - what do they do, where have they worked before?
• What is the culture of the organization like (you get this from networking / information interview)
  • Do people like to work there? Why/Why not? What is the average length of time that people stay in the organization?

Week 4: Information & Mock Interviews

Tip: The Discussions for this week involves sharing the information you learned regarding setting up, conducting, assessing / evaluating Information Interviews and Mock Interviews - and what you will do differently as a result of what you observed or learned.

Week 5: Course Learnings & Takeaways (400-500 words)

1. What did I learn? How has this affected my understanding of the job search / interviewing process - from the perspective of employee and employer (hiring manager).
2. What will I do differently? How Will I Handle Challenging Situations? How will I demonstrate this learning (i.e., experiment, put it into practice?)
3. What are the Top 3 Actions that I will take to learn more / achieve my goals? Make them SMART (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic and Time-based).

NO REPLIES DUE THIS WEEK