17 Jan 2.2: Locate and access sufficient

In this project, you will create a professional presence on LinkedIn (a professional social media network that is widely used by professionals and employers in most industries). If your profession or personal beliefs prevent you from establishing a LinkedIn site, ask about an alternative to building a live LinkedIn profile. As part of this project, you will conduct research into your present or desired industry, you will create a branding statement, and finally, create or revise an existing LinkedIn profile, using what you have learned about the industry and yourself.

There are four steps in this project that will lead you through each deliverable. Most steps of this project should take no more than two hours to complete. Begin by watching the video above, which introduces the project as it might occur in the workplace, and then continue with Step 1: Engage in Analysis and Reflection.

When you submit your project, your work will be evaluated using the competencies listed below. You can use the list below to self-check your work before submission.

1.1: Organize document or presentation clearly in a manner that promotes understanding and meets the requirements of the assignment.

1.2: Develop coherent paragraphs or points so that each is internally unified and so that each functions as part of the whole document or presentation.

1.4: Tailor communications to the audience.

1.5: Use sentence structure appropriate to the task, message and audience.

1.6: Follow conventions of Standard Written English.

2.1: Identify and clearly explain the issue, question, or problem under critical consideration.

2.2: Locate and access sufficient information to investigate the issue or problem.

2.3: Evaluate the information in a logical and organized manner to determine its value and relevance to the problem.

2.4: Consider and analyze information in context to the issue or problem.

For background information, read Professional Use of Social Media and LinkedIn on the Using LinkedIn resource page.

Are you seeking to advance in your current field? Are you changing fields? Where are you right now in your career? Where do you want to be? Will you be seeking a new position in your field or will you need to seek opportunities for getting experience in a new field? What are your goals and objectives? What particular positions do you want, and what is your time frame for obtaining them? For example, you might ask yourself “Why am I pursuing a graduate degree?”

Next, answer the question: What’s the market like in the industry or field in which you’d like to apply your degree? Is the demand for employees increasing, decreasing, or remaining steady? Does the geographic region play a role? Does specialization within the field matter? Use the UMUC library to locate journal articles, books, and other sources that will enable you to identify information about your industry or field. You can refer to the Project 2 information on Business Research.

Finally, you need to think about what’s competition like? Who are the other competitors seeking positions in this profession? Who are the primary competitors for employment and upward mobility in this field? Can you identify particular individuals who are your main competition (which will be the case if you are competing internally). How do you compare to these competitors? What do you need to do to become more competitive? Look at Competitor Analysis for some guidance on these issues.

Next, you will work on your branding statement.

Now that you’ve analyzed the situation, you can start on your branding statement.

See Branding Statements for some resources and tips to create your statement. Draft a personal branding statement of 200 words or less. Edit for clarity and conciseness. It should be error-free as the representation of you!

Next, you will create or revise a LinkedIn page. If you have an issue with this assignment, consult with your instructor.

Once you’ve completed the prior step, submit the following deliverables to the assignment folder:

Personal Branding Statement in a Word document

URL link to your LinkedIn Profile

PDF of your LinkedIn Profile

Share your link and summary in the discussion area. Discuss your experience with LinkedIn and what you learned from this activity.

Submission Notes:

How to create a PDF of your LinkedIn Profile Page

Create a PDF of your LinkedIn profile page by right clicking and choosing “print”. When your printer selections come up, select the Destination as “Save to pdf” and your profile should save to a pdf document. Submit that doc to your assignment folder.

If you revise your existing LinkedIn page, submit a copy of the original LinkedIn page to show a comparison with the newly revised page.

Before you submit your assignment, review the competencies below, which your instructor will use to evaluate your work. A good practice would be to use each competency as a self-check to confirm you have incorporated all of them in your work.

1.1: Organize document or presentation clearly in a manner that promotes understanding and meets the requirements of the assignment.

1.2: Develop coherent paragraphs or points so that each is internally unified and so that each functions as part of the whole document or presentation.

1.4: Tailor communications to the audience.

1.5: Use sentence structure appropriate to the task, message and audience.

1.6: Follow conventions of Standard Written English.

2.1: Identify and clearly explain the issue, question, or problem under critical consideration.

2.2: Locate and access sufficient information to investigate the issue or problem.

2.3: Evaluate the information in a logical and organized manner to determine its value and relevance to the problem.

2.4: Consider and analyze information in context to the issue or problem.