University of Washington Bothell
Career Exploration
Summer 2013, BISSKL 250 A, Full Term
Tuesdays 9:00 – 11:30
UW1 020
Instructor Name(s): Kim Wilson, Career Counselor
Contact Information: kwilson@uwb.edu; 425.352.5306
Office Hours: drop in 11:30 – 12:30p Tuesdays in UW1 167 or by appointment. My calendar is available online at
http://www.uwb.edu/careers/advising/ by clicking on the “Make an Appointment” button. You will be able to make an
appointment under any of the white opened spaces on the row that corresponds with 3. Assessments/Graduate School
Advising (Kim). If none of these times fits into your schedule, let me know some that might and I will try to
accommodate an alternate time.
Course Description
This course addresses personal, educational and career choices. We will read about, discuss and reflect on the work
world, career options, and the process of selecting an academic and/or career path. You will research and gather
information, assess your strengths, develop job search tools and learn how to make quality career decisions. This will
involve career exploration, life/career planning, identifying resources, and developing goals based on individual
preferences, skills and work values and interests.
Course Learning Objectives
In this course, you will:
1. Learn how to identify educational and career options through research, critical thinking and reflection.
2. Develop communication skills in networking and informational interviewing.
3. Identify strengths, abilities, values and interests.
4. Create job search tools and a career development action plan.
Major/degree objectives are available on the UWB website on the dedicated major/degree pages; overarching IAS
learning objectives are described in detail here:
http://www.uwb.edu/ias/undergraduate/iasdegreeportfolio/learningobjectives
Requirements, grading, and evaluation
Canvas
Canvas, UW Bothell’s e-learning environment, is an online resource that the University provides for students and faculty
free of charge. Canvas will be utilized as an essential component of this course. It is important that you take
responsibility for accessing your Canvas account within the first week of class and regularly thereafter. Class resources,
presentations, assignments, handouts and ongoing grade tracking are examples of ways we will use Canvas. Students
can access Canvas from links on the UW Bothell home page http://www.uwb.edu/learningtech/elearning/canvas.
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Methods of Evaluation
There are a total of 300 points available in this course. This is a 2 credit course that is graded as Credit/No Credit ONLY.
Credit will be given for all assignments turned in by the due date and a minimum of 180 points must be earned to
receive credit for the course. Check with your academic advisor to make sure these credits fit into your graduation
requirements.
Evaluation Criteria
How to Submit
Due Date
Points
Two Worksheets for Occupational Information
(10pts each)
Resume review in Career Center
On Canvas
July 9
20
Appointment with the Career
Center
Connect with
www.linkedin.com/in/uwbcareerse
rvices/ . Click on blue button that
says Connect (if it requests an
email address use
careers@uwb.edu)
On Canvas
In class presentation
On Canvas
July 23
30
July 30
50
August 6
August 20
August 20
50
20
130
300
LinkedIn Assignment
Career Development Action Plan
Informational Interview Presentation
Informational Interview Report
Total
All assignments will all be listed in detail on Canvas
Resume review in the Career Center
Develop a resume and have it reviewed by the Career Center Staff by scheduling a 30 minute resume review
appointment at http://www.uwb.edu/careers/appointments. Resume guidelines and examples can be found at
http://www.uwb.edu/careers/job-search-tools/resumes .
LinkedIn Assignment
Create a fully completed LinkedIn profile at http://www.linkedin.com/. Follow the LinkedIn Assignment Instructions on
Canvas and guidelines for creating and completing your profile, getting started and resources can be found on our
website at http://www.uwb.edu/careers/job-search-tools/networking/linkedin-tips.
To SUBMIT your assignment: Connect with www.linkedin.com/in/uwbcareerservices/ . Click on blue button that says
Connect (if it requests an email address use careers@uwb.edu). Send an invite to connect with you on LinkedIn. This
will enable me to review your full profile.
Informational Interview Report and Presentation
Seek out one or two individuals currently working in the career field you selected. (These individuals should not be in
your immediate family.) Request a 20-30 minute in-person or telephone interview. Use the informational interview
guidelines provided in the Guidelines for Completing the Informational Interview Report and Presentation on Canvas and
at http://www.uwb.edu/careers/job-search-tools/informationalinterviewing.
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Note: most students procrastinate obtaining this interview, and most students report that this is one of the most
valuable learning experiences from this class.
Type and submit a 1-2 page report and give a class presentation
During the last week of class you will be asked to share highlights of your informational interview in 5 - 10 minutes,
including your conclusion and next steps.
 Come prepared, this should be a professional presentation.
 Clearly identify what you have gained from the learning objectives of this course.
 Focus on your informational interview and the lessons learned.
Late policy
Submit your assignments at the beginning of class on the date they are due. Late assignments lose 1/10th points the day
after they are due, and for each week they are late, unless—under exceptionally rare instances—you are excused from
this. After two weeks, assignments will receive zero points. Please inform me before class if you must miss class or if
an assignment will be late due to emergency. Whenever possible, you should arrange to have your work turned in on
time by one of your fellow students. If this is not possible, in the case of an excusable absence, you may make up the
assignment or turn in late assignments.
Class Involvement and Participation
To create the very best environment for supporting your success and the success of your classmates, please follow these
guidelines.
1. Arrive to class on time. In the rare event that you must miss all or part of a class session, contact me via email or
phone to notify me of the class or portion of class you will miss and the reason. Treat such notifications as you
would expect to in a professional work environment.
2. Do your very best work in preparing all assignments and hand them in on time.
3. Read the articles assigned to participate in active class discussion.
4. Stay involved in every class, offering comments, questions, answers and participate in discussions.
Classroom Conduct: As experienced students, you will appreciate that we need a focused environment to get our
work done. I ask that you arrive on time at the beginning of class and after break, and not wander in and out or
leave early. This will be a laptop-free classroom, and I ask you to put away and turn off all cellphones and electronic
devices. Please avoid noisy food and extraneous conversation.
Required Reading – be prepared to discuss these readings in class
Reserves (http://library.uwb.edu/reserve.html) - BISSKL250, Summer 2013
Burtnett, Frank. (2010). Bound-For-Career Guidebook. Chapter 5, The Dynamics of the American Workplace:
Past, Present, and Future. (pp 35 – 47). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Davies, Anna., Fidler, Devin., Gorbis, Marina. (2011). Future Work Skills 2020. Institute for the Future for
University of Phoenix Research Institute (2011).
Safani, Barbara. (2011, January 27). The Ultimate Guide to Networking. Retrieved from AOL Original – AOL Jobs
Week 2011.
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Anderson, Paul. (2011, March). Just because we just met, doesn’t mean I want your resume. Hire Ground,
NWjobs. Retrieved from The Seattle Times Company
Youngquist, Matt. (2012, August 7). Unfocused networking: the hidden job-search killer. Career Center Blog,
NWJObs. Retrieved from The Seattle Times Company
Burtnett, Frank. (2010). Bound-For-Career Guidebook. Chapter 2, Understanding the Career Development
Process. (pp 7 – 12). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Burtnett, Frank. (2010). Bound-For-Career Guidebook. Chapter 3, The Importance of Career Exploration,
Decision Making, and Goal Setting . (pp 13 – 18). Process. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Additional Resources:
UW Career Center, University of Washington. (2012). The Career Guide 2012-2013. Seattle, WA: University of
Washington and College Recruitment Media. http://careers.washington.edu/Career-Guide
Myers, Isabel Briggs., Kirby, Linda K., Myers, Katharine D. (6th Ed.). (1998). Introduction to Type: A Guide to
Understanding Your Results on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Mountainview, CA: CPP, Inc.
Academic Integrity
All University of Washington students are expected to conduct themselves as responsible members of the academic
community. Among the standards of conduct for UW students includes the responsibility to practice "high standards of
academic and professional honesty and integrity." WAC 478-120-020(2) (a).
http://www.uwb.edu/academic/policies/student-guide.
Academic misconduct includes but is not limited to cheating, facilitation, plagiarism, and fabrication in connection with
any exam, research, course assignment, or other academic exercise that contributes, in whole or in part, to the
satisfaction of requirements for courses or graduation. This list, while not exhaustive, is intended to provide examples of
the types of activities that can result in a charge of academic misconduct.
IAS Portfolio
IAS is a portfolio-based program. Students majoring in any degree offered by IAS begin the process of creating a
capstone portfolio in BIS 300: Interdisciplinary Inquiry and conclude it in BIS 499: Capstone Portfolio. IAS students
should maintain an archive of all of the work they have done in (or in relation to) their undergraduate education,
preferably through their UW Google Site. For more information about the IAS portfolio, visit
http://www.uwb.edu/ias/iasdegreeportfolio.
For help on the technical or rhetorical development of your IAS portfolio, visit the Writing Center or Learning
Technologies ( http://www.uwb.edu/learningtech/eportfolios ).
Disability Accommodations
Americans with Disabilities Act: Accommodation for disabled students is a campus priority. If you believe that you
have a disability and would like academic accommodations, please contact the Disability Resources for Students Office
(DRS) at 425.352.5307, 425.352.5303 TDD, 425.352.5455 FAX, or at drs@uwb.edu.
http://www.uwb.edu/studentservices/drs .
Inclement Weather
Please check if the campus may be closed due to weather. Information on suspension of operations will be made public
and available through the media. Students can learn of campus operations status from the website or by calling the
Campus Information Hotline 425.352.3333. You may also sign up with an alert system that will contact you via email or
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text message if classes are canceled. For more information on the alert process, please see http://www.uwb.edu/alert.
Class activities will be rescheduled as needed.
Student Support Services:
Career Services: www.uwb.edu/careers, 425-352-3706;
Library: www.uwb.edu/library, 425-352-5340;
Writing Center: www.uwb.edu/WritingCenter/, 425-352-5253;
Quantitative Skills Center: http://www.uwb.edu/qsc; 425-352-3170;
Student Success: http://www.uwb.edu/studentservices/success-services, 425-352-3776;
Student Counseling Services: http://www.uwb.edu/studentservices/counseling, 425-352-3183.
Respect for Diversity:
Diverse backgrounds, embodiments and experiences are essential to the critical thinking endeavor at the heart of
university education. In IAS and at UW Bothell, students are expected to:
 Respect individual differences which may include, but are not limited to: age, cultural background, disability,
ethnicity, family status, gender presentation, immigration status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual
orientation, socioeconomic status, and veteran status.
 Engage respectfully in discussion of diverse worldviews and ideologies embedded in course readings,
presentations, and artifacts, including those course materials that are at odds with personal beliefs and values.
Students seeking support around these issues can find more information and resources at
http://www.uwb.edu/diversity.
Schedule of course meetings, including readings and due dates for assignments:
Week
1
June 25
2
July 2
3
July 9
Topics
 Welcome and Introduction
 Career Decision Pyramid
 LinkedIn Introduction
 Assessment Instructions
 Assessment Interpretations
 Occupational Information
and Research
 10:30 – 11:30 Job Search
Tools – Resumes, Cover
letters, References and
LinkedIn – Bonnie
Monteleone
 9 – 9:45 Work Values
Auction – David Brown
 Networking
 Informational Interviewing
 Elevator Speech
 Action Plan
Readings prior to class



The Ultimate Guide to
Networking. (Safani)
Just because we met
doesn’t mean I want
your resume
(Anderson)
Unfocused networking:
the hidden job-search
killer (Younquist)
Assignment due
 Career Decision Pyramid

Complete 3 on-line assessments:
StrengthsQuest, MBTI and Strong
Interest Inventory by end of day
Sunday June 30th

Complete at least 2 Worksheets for
Occupational Information after
researching 2 to 5 occupations using
ONET and/or WOIS – (you may chart
your research if you choose rather
than using the forms)
Draft Resume & make an
appointment for a resume review
with the Career Center
Be prepared to discuss the
Networking readings


5
4
July 16
5
July 23




Recruiting Trends
Developing Skill Sets
Job Search Strategies
10:30 - 11:30 Workplace
Etiquette & Skills - Jim Reed


9:00 – 10:00 Special guest
George Northcroft
Changing World of Work


Future Work Skills
2020. (Davies)


Chapter 5 The
Dynamics of the
American Workplace:
Past, Present, and
Future. (Burtnett)




6
July 30




7
August 6


8
August
13
9
August
20




9:15 – 9:45 Community
Based Learning Information
Session - Paul Markham
Eportfolios
Career Genealogy
10:30 – 11:30 Credit
Reporting 101 – Karen
Childs, WSECU
9:15 – 9:45 Scholarships
and Study Abroad
Interviewing
9:15 – 10:15 Alumni Panel
Academic Pathways
Career Development and
Decision making
Presentations


Complete LinkedIn Assignment

Turn in Career Development Action
Plan
Bring to class a list of questions,
similar to those in an informational
interview, to ask the Alumni Panel
Be prepared to discuss the career
decision making and development
process as described in our readings
and how you might use those in the
future
Conduct informational Interview



Chapter 2,
Understanding the
Career Development
Process. (Burtnett)
Chapter 3, The
Importance of Career
Exploration, Decision
Making, and Goal
Setting . (Burtnett)
Be prepared to discuss the Future
Work Skills article
Develop a list informational interview
opportunities and questions based on
research findings and class discussion
Set up Informational Interview
Be prepared to discuss one topic
from The Dynamics of the American
Workplace and how it is relevant to
what you have heard recently in the
news
Bring to class a list of questions,
similar to those in an informational
interview, to ask George Northcroft
Complete having resume reviewed by
Career Center



Present on Informational Interview
and turn in Informational Interview
Report during regularly scheduled
final time - reflect on your first
assignment regarding the Career
Decision Pyramid, have you moved in
the pyramid? Why/Why not
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