Design Your Professional Presence
In this project, you will create a professional presence on LinkedIn, a professional social media network that is widely used by professionals and employers in most industries.
If your profession or personal beliefs prevent you from establishing a LinkedIn profile, you may submit a Word document with the same sections as a live LinkedIn profile.
As part of this project, you will conduct research into your present or desired industry, create a branding statement, and create or revise a LinkedIn profile using what you have learned about the industry and yourself.
There are four steps in this project that will lead you through each deliverable. Most steps should take no more than two hours to complete. Begin by watching the video above, which introduces the fictional scenario that provides the framework for the project. Then continue with Step 1: Engage in Analysis and Reflection.
STEP 1
You now know your assignment, but before you get started, take a few minutes to think about a strategy for success. First, watch the See Yourself in a New Career Video for some inspiration and ideas.
Are you seeking to advance in your current field? Are you changing fields? Where are you right now in your career? Where do you want to be?
Will you be seeking a new position in your field or will you need to seek opportunities to get experience in a new field? What are your goals and objectives? What particular positions do you want, and what is your time frame for obtaining them?
Consider what the market is like in the industry or field in which you’d like to apply your degree. Is the demand for employees increasing, decreasing, or remaining steady?
Does the geographic region play a role? Does specialization within the field make a difference?
Use the UMGC library to locate journal articles, books, and other sources that will help you identify information about your industry or field. You might revisit Business Research for support.
Finally, you need to think about what the competition is like. Who else is seeking positions in this profession? Who are the primary competitors for employment and upward mobility in this field?
Can you identify individuals who are your main competition (e.g., if you are competing internally)? How do you compare to these competitors? What do you need to do to become more competitive? Check out CareerQuest for guidance on making your résumé stand out, virtual interviews, and more.
Step 2: Create a Positive Personal Branding Statement
Now that you’ve analyzed the situation, you can start on your branding statement. Draft a personal branding statement of a few sentences. Edit for clarity and conciseness. It should be error-free and a positive representation of you.
Step 3: Create or Revise a LinkedIn Page
Next, you will create or revise a LinkedIn page. If you cannot or do not want to have a social media presence, you can create your profile in a Word document and submit that to your instructor.
You’re now ready to start writing your profile. Check out this blog post from UMGC’s Career Services to get started with LinkedIn. Your branding statement could become the summary statement in your LinkedIn profile.
Draw on your research and exploration from the previous steps to develop your page. CareerQuest also offers several resources to help with LinkedIn. Once you have created your page, use this list to be sure you have the basics covered and make revisions as needed.
Next, you will submit your project.
Step 4: Submit the Deliverables
Once you’ve completed the prior step, submit the following deliverables to the Assignment folder:
Your personal branding statement in a Word document
URL for your LinkedIn profile (or your Word document)
