Careers in Animal Science 11:067:101 Spring 2016; 3 credits Instructor: Dr. Kathleen Rahman Bartlett Hall, Room 213D (848) 932-1168 rahman@aesop.rutgers.edu Office hours by appointment Undergraduate Teaching Assistant: TBD Class Time: Mondays; Wednesdays 3:55-5:15pm Location: CDL 103 Course Description: Students will gain a broad understanding of the variety of careers available to Animal Science majors and minors. The course will also provide students with lectures on professional development including electronic portfolio, resume, and cover letter development as well as practice interviewing and networking skills. Typically, one class day a week will be dedicated to instruction on a professional development topic while the second class day will be feature a guest speaker from an Animal Science-related profession. Learning Goals: By the end of this class, students will: 1) Identify one or more career fields of interest. 2) Know the components for and learn to critique electronic portfolios, resumes, and cover letters. 3) Develop and practice interview and networking skills. Course Website: https://sakai.rutgers.edu Login to the site using your NetID and password. If you are enrolled in the course there should be a tab identified by the course name (Careers in Animal Science S16). All course materials including the syllabus, readings, and guest presentations can be found on Sakai. Additionally, you will upload all course assignments to Sakai for grading. Academic Integrity: All students are expected to follow University policies on academic integrity: http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/ Student Absence: Students are expected to attend all classes. If you expect to miss a class, please use the University absence reporting website https://sims.rutgers.edu/ssra/ to indicate the date and reason for your absence. Students are responsible for all course material. Special Needs: Accommodations will be given to all students who submit an official letter from the Office of Disability Services. Course Assignments (400 points total): 1. Comment Sheets (participation and attendance- 140 points): a. Participation (5 points): Comment sheets will be passed out each class featuring a guest lecturer from an Animal Science-related career. These sheets will be used to monitor your attendance and participation. You will receive a blank sheet for you to sign your name and answer one of two questions during the speaker’s presentation. These completed sheets will then be collected at the end of class and graded. b. Attendance (5 points): Arrive on time to class to avoid being rude to our guest speakers. Arriving more than 10 min late will result in no points awarded for attendance, beginning with the second offense. If you are going to be absent, please enter it into the RU Absence Reporting System (https://sims.rutgers.edu/ssra/). 2. Resumes (first draft, revised draft, final copy- 60 points): Please use Microsoft Word a. First draft (20 points): You will compose the first draft of an entry-level resume for your indicated field of interest. This first draft will be uploaded onto Sakai by ##/##. b. Revised draft (20 points): After the in-class resume critique, you will make changes to your resume and post the revised draft on Sakai by ##/##. c. Final copy (20 points): Dr. Rahman will review and edit your uploaded revised draft by ##/## using Track Changes. You will then make the recommended changes and post the final copy of your resume on Sakai by ##/##. 3. Cover letters (first draft, revised draft, final copy- 60 points): Please use Microsoft Word a. First draft (20 points): You will compose the first draft cover letter for (1) an internship and (2) entry-level position for your indicated field of interest. This first draft will be uploaded onto Sakai by ##/##. b. Revised draft (20 points): After the in-class cover letter critique, you will make changes to your letters and post the revised drafts on Sakai by ##/##. c. Final copy (20 points): Dr. Rahman will review and edit your uploaded revised drafts by ##/## using Track Changes. You will then make the recommended changes and post the final copy of your cover letters on Sakai by ##/##. 4. Online portfolio (first draft, revised draft, final copy- 60 points) Please use Weebly a. First draft (20 points): You will compose the first draft of your electronic portfolio. The link to your site will be uploaded onto Sakai by ##/##. b. Revised draft (20 points): After the in-class cover letter critique, you will make changes to your site. Post a list of all changes made and the link to your site on Sakai by ##/##. c. Final copy (20 points): After the second in-class cover letter critique, you will make changes to your site. Post a list of all changes made and the link to your site on Sakai by ##/##. 5. Interview preparation and evaluation (40 points) Please use Microsoft Word a. Preparation (20 points): You will identify one employer within your indicated field of interest and prepare background material for interview regarding an internship and an entry-level position. Post this document on Sakai by ##/##. b. Evaluation (20 points): You will summarize the in-class interview experience both as the “employer” and “candidate” and discuss what you learned. Post your document on Sakai by ##/##. 6. Elevator speech (rough draft, final copy- 40 points) Please use Microsoft Word a. Rough draft (20 points): You will compose the first draft of your elevator speech. The document will be uploaded onto Sakai by ##/##. b. Final copy (20 points): Dr. Rahman will review and edit your uploaded elevator speech by ##/## using Track Changes. You will then make the recommended changes and post the final copy of your speech on Sakai by ##/##. Grading: Comment Sheets: Resume: Cover Letter: Portfolio: Interview: Elevator Speech: Total: 140 points 60 points 60 points 60 points 40 points 40 points 400 points Each assignment is due to be uploaded on Sakai by 11:59pm on the listed due date. **For every day an assignment is late, 5 points will be automatically deducted.** A = 90-100% B+ = 85-89.9 B= 80-84.9 C+ = 75-79.9 C = 70-74.9 D = 60-69.9 F = Below 59.9% Careers in Animal Science Course Schedule Week Lecture Focus 1 Course Overview and requirements + TA Intro Assignment: Identify one Animal Science field of strong interest as well as the minimum credentials common to jobs in this field. Post to Sakai by (date ##/##). Not graded. 2 Professionalism (dressing and writing to impress) Readings: Posted to Sakai. 3 Professional resumes Reading: Rutgers Career Services Career and Internship Guide (pp 9-19). Assignment: Draft a resume for an entry-level professional position of your indicated field of interest. Post on Sakai by (##/##). Bring two copies to the next lecture-focused class. 4 In-class exercise: critiquing resumes Assignment: Prepare a revised resume based on in-class critiques. Post on Sakai by (##/##). 5 Cover Letters Reading: Rutgers Career Services Career and Internship Guide (pp 20-23); Sakai resources on cover letters Assignment: Draft different cover letters for (1) an internship and (2) entry-level professional position for your indicated field of interest. Post on Sakai by (##/##).Bring two copies to the next lecture-focused class. 6 In-class exercise: critiquing cover letters Assignment: Revise the cover letters based on in-class critiques. Post on Sakai by (##/##). 7 Portfolio development Readings: Rutgers Career Services Career and Internship Guide (p 30); Sakai Resources Assignment: develop a professional portfolio using Weebly. Provide online site address to Dr. Rahman by date (##/##). 8 In-class exercise- critiquing rough draft electronic portfolios Bring computer to class Assignment: Revise electronic portfolio by date ##/## 9 Online Networking Readings: Weiss, 2013.; Rutgers Career Services Career and Internship Guide (p 6); Sakai Resources 10 Critiquing revised electronic portfolios 11 Preparing for Interviews Assignment: identify one employer within your indicated field of interest and prepare background material for interviews Speaker Focus TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD 12 13 14 regarding an internship and an entry-level professional position. Post on Sakai by date ##/##. In-class exercise: interviews Assignment: Summarize the in-class interview experience, both as the “employer” and the “candidate” and discuss what was learned. Post on Sakai by date ##/##/ The Elevator Speech Assignment: Finalize your own elevator speech based on your indicated field of interest. Post on Sakai by date ##/##. The Job Search (Career Fairs, etc) TBD TBD TBD