This course introduces students to advanced topics in career self-management, individual skills management and development, self-marketing and personal branding. Throughout the course, students will engage in a series of interlinked learning activities aimed at identifying, benchmarking, evaluating, peer-reviewing, documenting, presenting, and improving their job-related skills. They will learn how to use contemporary learning theories and powerful management and marketing tools for effective self-development and self-promotion. The course is developed with senior undergraduate business students in mind, ideally working professionals, with prerequisite knowledge of management and marketing principles. We expect that students in this course are already familiar with basic career development tools and job search techniques (resume, cover letter, job applications, and interviewing) and are interested in further enhancing their career-building skills in a competitive job market environment. This course is offered as a standalone micro-credential or may be taken as an elective in a business degree (certificate) program. The enrollment is open to non-business and non-matriculated students provided they have possessed the required prerequisite knowledge. In addition, the course provides a pathway to college credit for learners who have completed “Career Brand Management” specialization on “Coursera”.

Currently, there is a growing understanding of the necessity to embed career competencies and skill-building activities in the design of undergraduate and graduate degrees, particularly within the business and management environment. In an ever-changing job market landscape, college graduates need to be prepared to professionally “manage oneself” (P. Drucker) by proactively scanning the job market, identifying and mastering the required skillsets, and developing effective strategies for individual skills management, self-improvement, and self-marketing. The amount of knowledge and skills that is needed for effective self-development is far beyond introductory career development courses; which is why forward-thinking institutions incorporate advanced career development learning at the senior undergraduate and graduate levels (for example, the MBA Leadership Development Lab at the University of Toronto). While career self-management is one of the most important graduate attributes, in many academic programs this life-saving skill is significantly overlooked (R. Bridgestock). This micro credential is designed to help individuals develop, implement, and sustain their personal strategy for success in the competitive marketplace. It is based on a popular and well-regarded by students educational planning course (pp. 27-31) that have been successfully implemented at the SUNY Empire State College since 2015. The same course has been used as a prototype for “Career Brand Management” specialization on “Coursera”. Since its launch in 2016, it has enrolled more than 75,000 learners from around the globe. This micro credential will provide “Coursera” learners with a pathway to college credit. In the future, this micro credential can be incorporated into advanced professional certificates and workforce development programs.

• Think strategically on how to develop, implement, monitor, and sustain an effective course of action to succeed in a competitive job market environment.
• Use business strategy methods to scan a competitive job market, identify and analyze necessary competencies and skills, and estimate the required level of skill acquisition to succeed in a competitive selection process for the position(s) of your interest.
• Apply performance management tools to develop required skills and to objectively evaluate and monitor your level of skill acquisition.
• Use strategic marketing techniques for collecting, organizing, peer-reviewing, and demonstrating evidence of your mastery of skills for successful job search/promotion.
• Effectively utilize information technology for managing your skills portfolio, maintaining career development workflow, and conducting self-administered, skill-building training interventions.
• Apply learning theories, such as self-directed learning, active regulation, goal setting, situated and transformational learning, for effective career self-management, skill-building, and career growth.