1. and used with the permission of the author.
JOBTALKS
Lab Session Introduction
Indiana University Kelley School of Business
Contents used in this presentation are adapted from Career Planning Strategies
and used with the permission of the author.

2. Business X420
Describes your entrance into the world of work as a full-time employee
Required course for all business seniors
Required by all non-business seniors who wish to use the many services of the UCSO
This two-credit-hour course is designed to facilitate your entrance into the world of work. It serves as a road map to reach employment goals by showing useful techniques to communicate with employers in an efficient and effective way. Business X420 is a required course for all business seniors in order to graduate. It is also required of all non-business seniors that desire to use the many services of the Undergraduate Career Services office, known as the “UCSO.”

3. Course Purpose: “FACILITATE” Career Planning and Strategies
This career planning course is designed to aid in your transition from a college student to a professional level employee. Our goal is to assist you in identifying and obtaining a starting assignment that has the potential to lead to a long-term career position.
As you prepare for the journey from college to career, many decisions face you. Any professional assignment will require excellence in communication skills.
The final project will be a collection and repackaging of the various written projects that you will complete each week. The Career Portfolio is the foundation for a long-term career plan.
College to Career! Result: A Strategic Career Portfolio

4. The Basic Components Lecture Section Discussion Section Lab Section Details: See Online Syllabus in Oncourse
When you signed up for the X420 course, you were required to sign up for a lecture, lab and discussion section. You will receive more information about these sessions later in the lecture and online syllabus.

5. Course Syllabus Located in Oncourse
Discusses requirements for the course week by week.
Read it carefully and follow the weekly schedule.
You will find the course syllabus located on the Oncourse website. The requirements for the course are discussed week by week. Many of the grading and project details will not be covered in the lectures and discussions. Everything that you need to do is discussed in the syllabus. Read it carefully and follow the outline.
Start reading the syllabus now to plan the grade you want. Don’t jeopardize your grade by relying on second-hand information: READ the syllabus with care and avoid embarrassing miscalculations later. Don’t get your course information from other students. They may not have read the syllabus carefully.

6. Grading Method Based on Point Accumulation
Optional Ways to Gain Points
Grading of Projects during weekly meeting
Select Grade Desired
Balance: Attendance and
Written Projects
GRADE SHEET
Grade Event
Points
Lecture 1 XX
Project 1 XX
Lecture 2 XX
Project 2 XX
Grading Method
Your grade is based upon a point accumulation scheme. You have several ways to earn points to be applied to your grade. Grades may be earned from attendance events and from written projects. In essence, you can select your own grade by how you choose to earn your points.
The written projects are graded on an “A”, “B”, or “C” basis. You receive 4, 3, or 2 points corresponding to the assigned letter grade. “A” level work denotes a nearly perfect written paper in terms of content, length, grammar, and structure. A quality effort is required. A “B” is assigned for projects of passing quality but not as high a level work as “A’s”. Work that is not of “A” or “B” quality may at the discretion of your career counselor be reworked but then if satisfactory can only earn a “C” grade. You can see that it pays to do quality work the first time. Projects are usually graded on-the-spot in your weekly meeting with your career counselor.
The syllabus identifies some constraints on how you earn your points. Since a major objective of the course is to encourage you to write well and frequently, special constraints force you to balance your points between written projects and class attendance. : : : :
Class N XX
Project N XX
Total Points XX

7. Final Grade Ranges A A xxx to xxx xxx to xxx B B xxx to xxx C C
Point ranges found in X420 Syllabus A A
xxx to xxx
xxx to xxx B B
xxx to xxx C C
xxx to xxx
xxx to xxx D D
xxx to xxx
xxx to xxx F F
xxx to xxx
xxx to xxx
Final Grade Ranges
The final grade ranges are provided in the syllabus. The amount of work, written and participative, required to earn an “A” or “B” is consistent with that required in most other two-credit-hour courses.
Pluses and minuses are not used in the final reporting of your grades.
This course will demand a reasonable amount of your time so plan accordingly.
Requires Commitment for a High Grade (plus and minus marks are not given)

8. Collect Grade Points Lecture events bonus points
Print form ed to you the day before
Complete the warm-up questions, when included
Turn in the form during the event
Discussion sessions activity points
Participate in the discussion activity
Turn in activity form at end of discussion
Written projects
Class attendance is one of the ways you collect course points. You will receive a coupon for each event which you must take to your career counselor at your next lab meeting. You will also receive an evaluation form which you will complete at the end of each event and turn in as you leave. Please be thoughtful in your evaluation responses since we use these in redesigning the course each year.

9. Tracking Your Grade Monitor via Oncourse website
If you have questions, your career counselor
Grade Appeal to your career
counselor (wait two weeks after
event for grade to be logged)
You will have access to your personal X420 grade screen through the login-protected area of the Oncourse website. At any time during the semester you can check this screen to make sure that we credited you for your level of participation in the course.
Your career counselor will log-in the grade coupons that you receive for every attendance grading event and written projects. Your grade screen will be updated several times a week.
If you have a question about credit for an event that is not correctly represented on the grade screen, file a grade appeal with your counselor. You must keep your own good records of everything you do in this class in the event there are any website problems with Oncourse.

10. Attendance Rules Punctuality is extremely important for all events
Late arrivals may attend but will receive no grade points
There will be no late admittance permitted for the SCOOP sessions
Punctuality is extremely important for all attendance events in the course. Late arrivals may attend a session but will receive not receive any grade points. If you arrive late, you will not be given an evaluation form nor a coupon. For the SCOOP lectures, it is disruptive for our speakers if you enter late and try to find a seat. Therefore there will be no late admittance for the SCOOPs, lectures, or other class programs.

11. Course Structure: Lecture
75-minute presentations
3 types
Course Faculty
SCOOP
Focus Lectures by Industry Guests
Weeks 1-9
Grade opportunity

12. Select Career Opportunities Orientation Program
SCOOP
Select Career Opportunities Orientation Program
Feature guest speakers from businesses and industries
Discuss representative training programs and career prospects in their particular field or industry
For seven of the regular lecture sessions, the faculty step aside to make way for guest speakers from business and industry. We call this program the Select Career Opportunities Orientation Program.
These speakers are typically managers at the corporations that recruit at Indiana University and are often the same representatives that return to campus several weeks later to conduct the interviews. They will discuss representative training programs and career prospects in their particular field or industry.

13. Focus Lectures Presented by Industry Guests Focused on “Hot Topics”
Interviewing Techniques
Corporate Hiring Perspective
Salary and Benefits
Creative Job Search
On-the-job Success Skills
Life Balance

14. Discussion Sections Designed to share career knowledge
Topical discussions by
Course Discussion Leaders
Guest speakers
UCSO Staff
Panel discussions
Another component of the course is the discussion section. These sessions are designed to share career knowledge through guest speakers, panels, career experts, and professionally produced video tapes. The sessions are offered on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings.

15. Discussion Session TIPS
“First come, first seated” priority
Overcrowding of the rooms is not an option
All sessions are offered at 5:30
One will repeat at 7:00pm each evening
Seating is limited and some programs are very popular. You may have to be refused admission on the basis of a “first come, first seated” priority. You cannot borrow movable chairs from nearby classrooms. This would create dangerous overcrowding in an emergency. We can only use the furniture assigned to that classroom. When those seats are filled, we must stop admitting. Please cooperate with the Leader in charge and the room proctor so the session can begin on time. Most sessions are repeated once each evening.

16. Week 1 Discussion Sections
Taught by UCSO staff
One-page UCSO Hiring Resume
During the first week of the course, all discussion sections will feature the program “Creating Your Resume.” We urge you to attend this information-packed presentation for details on most effectively creating a resume to use in the X420 class in the Undergraduate Career Services Office.
Please attend at the time assigned by the Registrar for your discussion session. If that is not possible, if space permits, you can attend at 7:00 or 8:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday, during Week 1. The Help Desk in the CSO can direct you to the available rooms.

17. UCSO Workshops Taught by UCSO staff UCSO Services Bidding
Professional behavior
Unique Job Concerns

18. Discussion Topics Look for the these topics among others:
Team building Professional etiquette
Business attire Changing jobs
Managing people Performance appraisals
Graduate school Successful interviewing
Controlling interruptions
Discussion sessions end Week 8. Plan ahead.
All the DISCUSSION topics will be published in advance in the Oncourse schedule. You will be able to plan ahead for the topics that are most relevant to you. Look for the these topics among others:
Team Building Professional Etiquette
Time Management Listening Skills
Managing People Conducting Meetings
Graduate School Successful Interviewing
Resumes that Work Controlling Interruptions
The Discussion sessions end Week #8 so please plan your attendance points carefully in advance.

19. Laboratory Section One-time meeting as group
You will be assigned to a Lab Counselor who will meet with you for 20 minutes each week
This is the only time that this lab class will meet as one group. The counselors in charge will soon divide up the group. In future weeks, you will come to the lab session every week, but you will not need to spend the entire 75 minutes here. Instead, you will be given a 15- to 20-minute reserved time which will be used for either a one-on-one or a small group discussion.
You will be expected to arrive 15 minutes early. Expect to stay 15 minutes after your appointment for administrative and grading purposes.

20. Lab Objectives
1) Discuss your written projects with a lab counselor and have the counselor grade each project on the spot
2) Ask questions about the course or UCSO services or job search strategies
3) Meet alumni and receive suggestions on resume, interviewing skills, and career desires.
There are four primary reasons why we offer a lab section:
First, it gives you a chance to discuss your written projects with your counselor and have the counselor grade each project on the spot. You will know your project grade status before you leave the session.
Second, it allows for your counselor to record your attendance points (based on the coupons you turn in) into oncourse.
Third, it provides an opportunity to ask questions and get answers about the course and/or career services.
And finally, it gives you a chance to meet and network with alumni, receive suggestions about your resume, practice your interviewing skills, and update your career interests.

21. Labs Meet Every Week
Report each week at the designated time
Be sure to send to your CC via OnCourse any written projects due that week well BEFORE your appointment time!
Always bring a printed copy of your current project to lab
Be prepared to make an oral presentation of your project to your CC
Notify your CC if you are unable to attend
In a few minutes this class will be divided up. A specific career counselor will be assigned to you. You will need to report each week to your Career Counselor at the designated time for credit. Before your lab appointment you will need to send via oncourse attachment any of the written projects due that week for grading AND bring a printed copy to your lab meeting. Projects will ONLY be graded when you are face-to-face with your career counselor.
Record the name and address of your Career Counselor and the location where you will meet.

22. Personal 20-minute Appointment
You will come to lab every week
You will only be in lab for the 20- to 25-minute slot that is reserved for you
The counselors will divide up the class by assigning you a 15- to 20-minute appointment time. For example, one student will be assigned a time of 7:00 PM, another a time of 7:15 PM, another a time of 7:30, and so forth. In future weeks, you will come to lab every week for just that 15- to 20-minute slot that has been reserved for you.
Please arrive early and expect to occasionally stay for up to 30 minutes when we have corporate and alumni guests.

23. You can choose from over 20 different written projects.
The written component in X420 is very important. Companies want employees that can write and speak successfully. There are 20 different written projects that you can elect to write.
The first project, your basic resume, is due at the end of the first week of class. It must be uploaded onto the UCSO website by 4:00PM this Friday in order to be considered “on time.”
You must also bring a hard copy of your resume with you to your appointment next week for discussion with your counselor.

24. Required Projects
You must complete Project 1 (Initial Resume), Project 2 (Career Plan),
and Project 23 (Career Portfolio) to pass the
course!
Other than Projects 1, 2, & 23, you are free
to choose from the remaining projects to
meet your grade goal.
In order to pass the course, you must complete Project 1 (the resume), Project 2 (Career Plan), and Project 23 (Career Portfolio). The number of projects required to obtain a certain grade in the course may vary, but that number always includes Projects 1 and 23. Other than these two required projects, you are free to choose from the other written projects to meet your grade goal.
The UCSO resume is extremely important to you, even if you already have a job. We recommend that you take a near final draft with you to the “Creating Your Resume” Discussion session so you can write on it as ideas are shared with you. It will improve your current draft.

25. Required Project #1
Required Project #1, your UCSO resume, is due at the end of the first week of class.
Upload via UCSO website by 4:00PM this Friday!
Bring a printed copy of your resume to your lab appointment the following week.

26. Project 2: Your Career Plan
Choose projects from list
Discuss additional choices with your CC
Write at least one sentence for each project
“I choose this project because….”
Project 2 is due in week 2
Project is discussed and graded in week 3

27. Project 2: Your Semester Plan
Plan wisely
Read syllabus carefully
Review textbook
Look to future
Review your plan as semester progresses
You are not “bound” to your plan; you may revise as semester progresses

28. Required Project # 23 Serves as Final Exam
Create a 10-minute presentation
Present your competencies in “elevator speech” presentation
Reorganize and enhance past projects (bring hard-copies with you)

29. Portfolio Content
Each project may provide elements of your portfolio content
Projects may be used to form your presentation outline
Add other “artifacts” to talk about
Career portfolio presentation delivery is graded immediately

30. General Project Requirements
All projects must be completed in Microsoft Word
All projects must be submitted to your CC via Oncourse BEFORE your lab meeting
Read project descriptions in syllabus carefully. Projects are NOT discussed in lecture

31. Plan Your Projects in Advance
Some projects require research—plan ahead
If you plan to submit more than one project in a week, discuss with your CC in ADVANCE
Start planning now! Which projects do you plan to submit? There may be some weeks where you do not want to do any of the topics that fall due that week. There may be other weeks where you want to do all of the projects that fall due. All projects must be completed in WORD and correctly uploaded to the UCSO website before your assigned lab appointment. See the syllabus for complete details on each project.

32. Choosing Your Projects
Do projects that you will use in the future
Review Career Track description in online syllabus
Read the instructions carefully
Insert personal experiences in project
Consult your career counselor weekly
Get change approved in advance
Choosing Your Projects
You are encouraged to complete projects that you will really use outside of class, now and in the future.
Review the description of CAREER TRACKS for more guidance.
Linking from the Project Planning Form title takes you to the detailed description.
Make sure you discuss your future project plans, not just that week’s project, with your career counselor; especially if you have a more productive proposal.

33. Minimum Written Projects
There are certain minimum numbers of passing projects associated with certain grade levels.
Again, please read the syllabus carefully
There are also certain minimum numbers of passing projects associated with certain grade levels. For example, to get an “A” in the course you must achieve a certain number of total points but you must also complete and submit eight passing projects (regardless of the grade earned for each).
For a “B” in the course you need to submit seven passing projects plus accumulate a certain number of possible points. Please read the syllabus carefully. You must bring a hard copy and send an electronic copy before your appointment.

34. Project Assignments Word-processed
Please keep a signed and dated paper hard copy of each assignment
Discuss your project with your career counselor during your scheduled appointment time
Review track definitions in syllabus
Select projects jointly. Read descriptions
Modifications are possible if approved in advance
All X420 written projects must be word-processed. Please keep a paper copy signed and dated by your career counselor of each assignment. Projects stored on hard disks on your computer can be “written over” and floppy disks can physically deteriorate. Never keep your projects on diskette only. You will need to be prepared to discuss your project with your counselor during your scheduled lab period. Give yourself some hard copy protection for grade appeals.

35. CREATE  PLAN  DEPLOY  SUCCEED
Career Lab Concept
Lab: Career Counselor with one-on-one advice
Strategy – Long-term Goals/Plans
Tools and Techniques
Portfolio – Take-Away Value Kit
UCSO Lab
Interviews: Campus, Job Fairs, Referrals, Listings
Marketing Outreach: Sell your credentials to hundreds
CREATE  PLAN  DEPLOY  SUCCEED
UCSO
In essence, you will have 2 labs in this course. In addition to the one-on-one approach to developing career tools, you have a real world deployment of your learning called the UCSO. The course faculty helps you create your portfolio of employment strategies and the UCSO provides the vehicle for your real world application.
A major responsibility of the UCSO is to reach out to employers and market the credentials of the student body. With several hundred employers visiting campus and thousands of job listings, we can see that they bring significant resources for you to use.
This course teaches you the fundamentals and helps you create long-term strategies with a portfolio of ready-to-use tools and techniques. The Career Counselors give you deployment advice to enhance your portfolio. The UCSO allows you to apply your ideas in the real job market.

36. Career Services
Majority of X420 students elect to utilize UCSO services
No points are given towards the course for using UCSO services
You must be taking or already completed Business X420 by the semester that you start interviewing for full-time employment
The majority of the students in X420 also elect to use the services of the UCSO. There are no points given toward the course for using UCSO services. You must be taking or have already completed taking Business X420 by the semester that you start interviewing for full-time employment. If you drop X420 for any reason, a regular, computerized audit will show you are no longer in the course and your registration with the UCSO will be suspended.

37. Use final portfolio to manage critical networking partnerships
A Creative Concept
Designed to facilitate networking relationships
Course and UCSO labs enhance your career portfolio
Relationships jumpstart contact with your partners
Career Portfolio: packages and markets credentials
Use final portfolio to manage
critical networking partnerships
This creative career educational lab concept is designed to facilitate bringing together various networking partners. By designing a high quality set of career tools for your final portfolio, you have the option to seek outside input in order to enhance your tools via the course lab and UCSO lab.
When properly designed and applied, you will have generated many relationships with networking partners before your lifetime of applying career strategies.
This classroom experience, with the final career portfolio, offers you an approach that will jumpstart career relationships with potential network partners.
The course and the UCSO staff provide a long-term strategy that you can use for many years in managing that all-important networking relationship with your career portfolio.

38. Results of Lab Concept
High investment in career education and career services
Counselors – Professional Staff – Superior facilities
Well-trained and highly motivated staff to help you
Hundreds of employers participate
SCOOPS, Networking Partners, Fairs, Interviews, Listings
Result: Hundreds of partners on campus and thousands of interviews
Employers: Best Prepared Students Anywhere!
Results
Your university has contributed much time and funds to create this opportunity for you. There is a significant investment in career education and career services.
The Career Counselors and professional staff of the UCSO are well trained and are motivated to serve you.
The quality of the facilities are superior. The financial resources are significant. Literally, a massive number of students and employers, as you will observe, elect to participate in services like SCOOPS, Roundtables, Career Fairs, weekly counseling, on-campus interviews, etc.
In a typical year, the result is hundreds of job offers and thousands of interviews. Compared to any other university, the IU placement record excels.
Employers constantly tell us that Indiana University graduates are the very best prepared students that they interview anywhere!
You will see positive results from your work in X420.

39. Career Planning Strategies
Textbook: Career Planning Strategies (Fifth Edition) written by Dr. C. Randall Powell
Concepts discussed in lecture will be more thoroughly covered in the textbook
Project assignments in the textbook with clarifying details in the syllabus
The course textbook is Career Planning Strategies (Fifth Edition), written by Dr. C. Randall Powell. Reading assignments and class projects will require extensive use of Career Planning Strategies. Key page numbers in the textbook for many of the projects will be cited in the syllabus so you must make sure you have the fifth edition. The basic concepts discussed in the lectures will be more thoroughly covered in the text.
You are encouraged to “scan” this lighthearted style of textbook material first. Then read the assigned chapters in detail. Project assignments are explained in the textbook with clarifying details in the syllabus. When in doubt between directions in the textbook and in the syllabus, always follow the syllabus directions.

40. VALUE Depends On Attitude
Like any academic course, you will get value from a career planning strategies course to the degree you put effort into it.
As attested to by former participants, you will gain a great deal of value from this course.
The extent of that value will largely depend upon your attitude and effort. This is similar to the benefits gained from any other course.

41. You will now be assigned to your Career Counselor
Additional Questions
Before or after lecture as time permits
written messages to your lab counselor
You will now be assigned to your Career Counselor
If you have additional questions, they can be addressed before or after each lecture, as time permits. Your counselor will respond to and written messages.
You will now be assigned to your Career Counselor.

42. If you would like to learn more, Career Planning Strategies textbook will supply additional information on this topic.