Essential Skills for Your Career Development (Coursera)

You’ll learn how to navigate the process of applying for jobs and interviews by getting practical advice from like-minded individuals who propelled their careers forward. You will also consider the importance of transferable skills such as creating the right professional networks and developing soft skills and resilience.

What You Will Learn

- Identify different approaches to growing your career by exploring a roadmap and vision board, and be able to explain your career vision clearly.

- Identify key individuals, organisations and platforms for your network, and develop communications to engage key leads.

- Evaluate the impact of your strategy and iterate accordingly.

Syllabus

WEEK 1

Week 1 - Defining your career

In Week 1 you will begin by considering what direction you want for your career by identifying your ideal job. Along the way you will hear from Benjamin Buzense, a fellow student, who will share how he has done the exercises you will be doing throughout the week. You’ll explore the risks and benefits of having a presence online and explore what you can do to improve your online presence or make it more professional. At the end, you will find out how to articulate your career aspirations to mentors, potential employers and at networking events.

WEEK 2

Week 2 - Growing your career

In Week 2 you will focus on building networks and relationships in order to develop your career. You will hear from experts about different approaches that can be taken to do this. During the activities, you will find out how to identify key individuals, organisations and platforms for your network. You will learn about the network effect and you will hear from three professionals about developing your network. You will develop your communications skills in order to engage key leads and receive guidance on communicating across platforms such as LinkedIn, as well as for cover letters and networking events. At the end of the week you will evaluate your career strategy and explore how to use feedback constructively and look at the advantages of continuous learning for career growth.