LIT 199/Career Planning for English Majors – Spring 2018

LIT 199/HSS 201
1/2 course unit (2 credits)
Term:  Spring 2018
Time:  5:30-6:50pm T
Place:  Bliss Annex 153		 Prof. G. Steinberg
Office: Bliss Hall 128 (inside Bliss Hall 129)
Office Phone: 771-2106
Office Hours:  12:30-4:30pm R, 3:30-4:30pm T
Email: gsteinbe@tcnj.edu

REQUIRED TEXTBOOK:
TCNJ Career Center Handbook (provided in class)

COURSE DESCRIPTION.  This course is designed to help students understand and articulate their own career goals and develop short- and long-term plans for their TCNJ education to help meet their career goals.  Topics covered include:  career opportunities in business, government and non-profit sectors, interviewing, networking, internships, cover letters, resumes, graduate and professional school opportunities, statements of purpose, degree audits, internships, study abroad, undergraduate research, experiential learning.

When the College went through a curriculum revision several years ago, the vast majority of undergraduate courses were “transformed” from 3-credit to 4-credit (1-unit) learning experiences.  While most of the classes continued to meet for only 3 academic hours per week (typically 150 minutes on the TCNJ schedule grid), it was understood that the “transformed” courses offered a depth of learning with additional learning tasks unfolding in the equivalent of a fourth hour, including, sometimes, an actual additional hour of class interaction.  As the equivalent of the fourth hour in this course,

F) The students are assigned additional learning tasks that make the semester’s learning experience more deeply engaged and rigorous, and no other additional classroom space is needed.

GOALS.  By the end of the course, I want you to

  1. have learned about and considered potential careers,
  2. have researched those potential careers and learned what kinds of qualifications and skills they require,
  3. have learned the basics of professional etiquette and networking,
  4. have learned the basics of written business communications (especially résumés and application letters), and
  5. have realistically appraised your prospects for a successful career and job search.

This course also contributes to the following goals for the School of Humanities & Social Sciences and the English Department:

#1 Written Communication
#5 Critical Analysis and Reasoning:  Ability to critique the arguments of others in the discipline and the construction of one’s own arguments in the discipline, using data/evidence are a focus of instruction and/or the ability to analyze linguistic and cultural patterns

REQUIREMENTS.  There are four requirements for this course:

  1. You must submit eleven “reports” listed in the course outline below and participate in the discussion of the reports in class.  Each report is worth 3 points.  If you submit a report but are absent from class on the day that the report is discussed, you will get only 2 points.  If you are present and participate in class but do not submit the report due that day, you will receive 1 point (with the possibility of receiving a second point if you submit the report later).  Normally, reports are to be submitted in hard copy in class.  When a report is a page from the TCNJ Career Center Handbook, I will look over and “grade” the report in class.  Total Points:  33.
  2. You must attend one Career Center special event and write 1 page about what you experienced/learned at the event (due in hard copy in class within one week of the event).  Suitable events include the Spring Career & Internship Fair (February 21), the HSS Networking Event (February 28), Dining Out in Professional Style (March 7), or, if you’re a senior Education major, an Education Interview Day (March 23, April 13, or April 26).  For any other event, you must get prior approval from the instructor.  Total Points:  6.
  3. You must attend one Career Center workshop or individual appointment and write 1 page about what you experienced/learned at that workshop/appointment (due in hard copy in class within one week of the workshop/appointment).  Suitable workshops/appointments include a career counseling appointment, a résumé review session, an interview prep session, or a Career Center-sponsored workshop (see “Services Available,” TCNJ Career Center Handbook, p. 6).  Total Points:  6.
  4. Your final, culminating assignment is to produce an application letter and résumé for an existing internship or job opening (or to produce a grad school personal statement).  Total Points = 10.

This course is graded Pass/Unsatisfactory.  To pass the course, you must accumulate at least 49 out of the 55 total points possible.  Normally, as long as you have done a reasonable job on the assignment, you will receive all the points that the assignment is worth (although a careless job may only get a portion of the points).

OFFICE HOURS.  My office is inside Bliss Hall 129 (the main English Department office), and my office hours this term are 1:30-5:30pm on Tuesdays and 1:30-3:30pm on Mondays and Thursdays.  If you cannot see me during these hours, feel free as needed to call my office (771-2106) or talk to me before or after class to arrange an appointment at another time.  You may also contact me by email (gsteinbe@tcnj.edu), or you may leave a message for me in my box at the English department offices in Bliss 124.  Email is generally the fastest way to contact me.

ATTENDANCE.  For more information on the College’s attendance policy, please go to http://policies.tcnj.edu/policies/digest.php?docId=9134.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY.  Academic dishonesty is any attempt by a student to gain academic advantage through dishonest means, to submit, as his or her own, work which has not been done by him/her or to give improper aid to another student in the completion of an assignment. Such dishonesty would include, but is not limited to: submitting as his/her own a project, paper, report, test, or speech copied from, partially copied, or paraphrased from the work of another (whether the source is printed, under copyright, or in manuscript form). Credit must be given for words quoted or paraphrased. The rules apply to any academic dishonesty, whether the work is graded or ungraded, group or individual, written or oral.  TCNJ’s academic integrity policy is available on the web at http://policies.tcnj.edu/policies/digest.php?docId=7642.

ACCOMMODATIONS.  The College of New Jersey prohibits discrimination against any student on the basis of physical or mental disability or perceived disability.  The College will also provide reasonable and appropriate accommodations to enable students with disabilities to participate in the life of the campus community.  If you require special assistance, I will make every reasonable effort to accommodate your needs and to create an environment where your special abilities will be respected.  For more information, please go to http://policies.tcnj.edu/policies/digest.php?docId=8082.

FINAL EXAM.  As required by the College’s Final Exam/Evaluation Policy (http://policies.tcnj.edu/policies/digest.php?docId=9396), this course has a culminating final assignment; the assignment is comprehensive and integrative in nature and counts for at least 15% and not more than 50% of your final grade.

COURSE SCHEDULE.  This schedule is subject to revision at the discretion of the professor.  Changes in the schedule made after the first day of class will be in red.

Dates Topic(s) Assignments
T Jan 23 What do you want to be when you grow up? ———–
T Jan 30 Researching potential careers TCNJ Career Center Handbook, pp. 11, 23, 25,
“What Can I Do with an English Degree?” (in Canvas);
REPORT 1 DUE:  Go to http://career.pages.tcnj.edu/online-resources/subscriptions/focus/.  Log in or register (to register, use the access code “tcnj,” choose a username and password, and fill out the requested information).  Do at least the Values Assessment, Work Interest Assessment, and Personality Assessment.  Explore the link for “What can I do with a major in … at The College of New Jersey?”  In 1-2 pages, describe what you learned.
T Feb 6 Networking
and
Online “Branding”

TCNJ Career Center Handbook, pp. 14, 22, and
“Building Your Brand Through Social Media” (TCNJ Career Center Handbook, p. 16)
REPORT 2 DUE:  Research 1-3 careers that interest you (using resources at the Career Center, Career Insider, and/or Google).  In 1-2 pages, answer ALL the following questions:  What skills are required in the career?  What kind of work does a person in the career do? What does an entry-level position look like?  What promotions and advancement are possible? What kinds of limitations/challenges/opportunities/attractions exist in the career (travel, salary, job availability, job security, geographical limits, working conditions)? What are some of the businesses or organizations for which you might work in this career?
T Feb 13 Branding and Networking (Debra Klokis from the Career Center)

REPORT 3 DUE:  Fill out “Make a Preliminary Decision” (TCNJ Career Center Handbook, p. 12).
T Feb 20 Alumni panel REPORT 4 DUE:  Create a Linked-In profile, personal website, and/or blog.  Email me the link or send me a “friend” request.
T Feb 27 Internships and Lion’s Link (Handshake) No report due
TCNJ Career Center Handbook, pp. 13, 15-16, 18, 21
T Mar 6 Grad school (Felicia Steele)
and
Internships (Jo Carney)		 REPORT 5 DUE:  Search Lion’s Link (Handshake) for internships (or jobs) in fields that are of interest to you.  In 1-2 pages, answer ALL the following questions:  How easy was it to find appropriate internships/jobs?  What kinds of requirements and skills do the ads request from applicants?  Are you qualified for the kinds of internships/jobs that you would like to get?  What kinds of things do you need to do (classes to take, experience to get) to make yourself better qualified?
T Mar 13 NO CLASS Spring Break
T Mar 20 Transferable skills TCNJ Career Center Handbook, p. 26
REPORT 6 DUE:  Write 1 page on the desirability of advanced degrees in your chosen career (what kind of advanced degree, gotten when, from what kind of schools/programs) OR 1 page on what you learned about career/internship opportunities at home (or wherever you went for Spring Break) or from specialized internship listings online.
T Mar 27 Résumés and Grad School Personal Statements TCNJ Career Center Handbook, pp. 24, 29-46
REPORT 7 DUE:  Draw up 1 page listing and describing your transferable skills (and where you got them – e.g., past jobs, classes, extracurriculars).
T Apr 3 Cover letters TCNJ Career Center Handbook, pp. 49-53
REPORT 8 DUE:  Fill out TCNJ Career Center Handbook, pp. 27-28.
T Apr 10 Interviewing No report due
TCNJ Career Center Handbook, pp. 54-60.
T Apr 17 Business expectations (Dean William Keep of the School of Business) REPORT 9 DUE:  Fill out TCNJ Career Center Handbook, pp. 47-48.
T Apr 24 Ethics of the job search (Debra Kelly from the Career Center) REPORT 10 DUE:  Research a list of at least three real internships (or jobs) for which you could apply.
S Apr 28 TCNJ English Alumni Reunion 1:30-3:30pm, Bliss Hall lounge and patio (optional but strongly encouraged)
T May 1 Workshopping drafts

REPORT 11 DUE:  Bring a draft of your application letter and résumé (or grad school personal statement) to class.
T May 15 NO EXAM APPLICATION LETTER AND RÉSUMÉ DUE in Canvas