Kelsey Sierras CNS 220 Final Project

Part 1: Personal Action Plan

First, begin by answering these questions for yourself. Be as complete as you can, using a
sentences or two for each prompt:
I enrolled in this course for this primary purpose or because:
When I started this class, I was considering this/these options in the world of work:
At the beginning of our course, these were my initial assumptions/thoughts about
myself and the world of work as it related to me
1. I enrolled in this course because I wanted to learn more about
getting internships.
2. When I first started this class i was considering Marketing,
Advertising, Communications, or HR in the world of work,
3. At the beginning of our course, I thought I was going to have trouble
getting into Marketing without going to the business school. I also assumed
it was going to be very difficult to get a good internship with my GPA. I also
assumed that I dont have to start worrying about job searching until senior
year.
Next, continue by considering the results of your self-assessment undertaken through our
course. You may wish to review the Self-Assessment section of your ePortfolio. Write a
sentence or two to answer these prompts:
What are the key points you have learned about yourself as it relates to your current
ideas related to career goals? Which projects, experiences or readings provided this
learning? List 3-5 key learnings and the rationale/or sources for class that help clarify this
self-assessment.
1. I am very interested in event planning- (Job Shadow Assignment)
2. I think that I would do well in Public Relations (Group Project)
3. I think I would like to live in Chicago someday (Applied Research
Project)
4. I have strong social and artistic interests (Strong Interest Inventory)
5. I have family members that all enjoyed event planning (Career
Genogram)
What has been the most valuable piece of information you have learned about
yourself as it relates to opportunities of value to you? How did you learn this as part of
our course?
I think that the reading of Luck is No Accident was very valuable to me because
I was able to understand the opportunity that lies in happenstance, and I am very
encouraged by it as well as I begin job-searching.
Now, think about the exploration and research you have conducted and write a sentence or
two to answer the following for yourself. Again, you may wish to look at your Career
Research and Exploration section of your ePortfolio.
How did you explore and research career-related opportunities and options? How
would you summarize the resources/experiences that have been most helpful?
We were introduced to handshake in class which is very helpful for
searching for available internships. I did a lot of research on Linkedin and
the OPCD website. Through various projects in class I learned more about
jobs that are suitable for communication majors. The most significant
project was the careeropolis powerpoint.
What do you need to be doing now based on your class year at Wake Forest and the
options you are currently exploring? hint: take a look at the OPCD site (it lists activities

by year and the explore careers tab here: http://career.opcd.wfu.edu/explore-careers

gives a timeline for specific career fields)
Intern in Communication or Marketing. Continue to take
Communication courses. Do info interviews. Start searching for actual jobs,
and internships that are likely to turn into full-time paid entry-level
positions.
My list of key points and valuable personal learning is the following:
Send thank you notes, interviewing is good just for practice, people
will agree to info interviews more often than you would think
My plans for growth are:
Networking, resume workshopping, being more consistent/focused
with internship searching, developing a more focused potential career path,
being more in touch with what city I would like to work in
Options in the World of Work: Career Action Plan
[December 2nd 2015]

Step 1: Self-Assessment

Self-Assessment/Career Related
Knowledge
I have strong social skills, fostered
by my family for generations

Course Citation/Experiential Source

Career Genogram

Money is not as important to me

as family time/good location to be
with family

Values Lecture

I am extremely interested in
event planning

Info Interview 3

Step 2: Short-Term Goals for the Next Thirty (30) Days

Short-Term Goals for the Next Thirty
(30) Days
Goal 1: Set up 2 Info Interviews over
Break- December 31st
Action Step a. Reach out on LinkedIN by
December 12th
Action Step b. Meet for Coffee or have a
phone call by December 22nd

Rationale/Source from Course or

Exploration
1. Info Interviews were more
accessible than I thought

Goal 2: Workshop my resume with OPCDDecember 31st

Action Step a. Email my resume to a
career coach asking for assistance
before break

2. OPCD career coaching appointment

suggestion

1a. Build my LinkedIN network

1b. Network with professionals

2a. Polish my resume

Action Step b. Make edits by Decmeber

31st

2b. Maximize positive feedback from

potential employers

Now that youve spent some time identifying your short-term goals for the next thirty (30)
days, I want you to think about any potential obstacles you may encounter in the process of
reaching these goals and completing your action steps. Additionally, please identify
resources you may use to overcome these obstacles (e.g., identify the tools, information,
planning and/or people who can help you).
Potential Obstacles to Completing
Resources to Overcome Potential
Short-Term Goals
Obstacles
1. Be organized and efficient when preparing
1.Being preoccupied preparing for
for abroad to make time for career related
abroad
tasks
2. Ask my friends and family to help keep me
2.Being lazy over winter break
on track
3.Patrick Sullivan lecture- encouraged us to
3.Non-responsive professionals
keep reaching out to people
Step 3: Long-Term Goals for the Next Three (3) Months

Long-Term Goals for the Next Three

(3) Months
Goal 1:Apply to 20 internships by
February 15th
Action Step a. Research internships via
LinkedIN and Handshake before Feb
15th
Action Step b.Find applications and
apply by Feb 15th
Goal 2:Have at least one interview with a
potential internship site by March 30th
Action Step a. Follow up on my
applications by March 1st
Action Step b. Mock Interview by
March 15th

Rationale/Source from Course or

Exploration
1.OPCD website- Handshake and LinkedIN
1a. Lots of internships posted here
1b. Get my name out there

2.OPCD site: Interviewing is good practice

2a. Show persistency
2b. Interview could possibly lead to an
internship

Just as you did with your short-term goals, I want you to think about any potential obstacles
you may encounter in the process of reaching your long-term goals and completing your
action steps. Additionally, please identify resources you may use to overcome these
obstacles (e.g., identify the tools, information, planning and/or people who can help you).
Potential Obstacles to Completing
Resources to Overcome Potential
Long-Term Goals
Obstacles
1. Work with career coach in OPCD bi-weekly
1.Being Abroad will distract me from
to help keep me accountable for my
applications
applications while abroad
2. Reaching out to Wake Alums at company
2.Potential Employers not offering me
(through linkedin groups) to help me get an
interviews
interview
3.I interview but dont land the job
3. Write thank you note anyways and move on

to the next potential employer

Accountability Partner (with whom will you

share this plan):

Amy Willard

Meta-Reflection
Focusing my attention on exploring the world of work has impacted my
thinking in a very positive way. I am realizing that I need to make this process a
priority, of equal importance as my academics. I wish I would have started this
process earlier, but I am confident that I am on my way to a meaningful career after
graduation. I have become a lot more confident about job searching because in this
course we learned about so many different resources available to us, such as
LinkedIN and Handshake. I think it is really special that some internships posted on
Handshake are available to Wake Forest Students, but may not be available online
for all students to see. I am also encouraged by all of the alumni resources we have
available to us. In the future, I think I will feel comfortable reaching out to a Wake
Forest alumni to help me secure an interview for an internship.
The creation of the ePortfolio allowed me to compile all of the career
exploration assignments throughout the course. I am now able to see my progress
throughout the semester, and new discoveries I have made. It also made me feel
professional to have my own web page. I enjoyed adding things to my portfolio and
writing them in a way that would be attractive to potential employers. I thought
adding my informational interviews was beneficial so potential employers know I am
currently networking and eager to learn about career paths I am interested in. I
think it was important to add my top 3 values and top 5 skills to my ePortfolio so
potential employers know what they are. This would be useful to see if I was a good
fit for the position, or for their company as a whole. I also feel that this applies to

listing my top three occupational themes on my ePortfolio, as those align closely

with career paths I am pursuing.
I was surprised at how willing professionals were to interact with me, and
agree to informational interviews. Networking during my job shadow at Susan G.
Komen was very effortless and I realized that it was not as frightening as I thought
it was. I was very excited to see all of the free resources available to us as Wake
Students, especially HandShake. I think that I will use it a lot this winter break to
search for internships. I think that this process can be helpful to all undergraduates
and should be required because it forces us busy students to take some time to
think about what matters the most: our future. Self-assessment, career exploration,
and networking are all things that need to be prioritized during our undergraduate
career. It is hard to make the time individually, so this class would hold them
accountable.