Creating A Meaningful Career

Discovery Core Experience: Special Topics Course

B CORE 211; 2 Credits; for students with 45 credits or more.

60-Second Syllabus: Creating A Meaningful Career

About This Course:

A UW education is more than a degree.

“By more we mean skills, knowledge and abilities gained through classroom learning as well as high impact experiences such a studying abroad, jobs and internships, research and leadership projects, and participating in clubs and community organizations that prepare you for a professional career path.”

You are a proud Husky at the University of Washington either considering a major or have already declared your course of study. Part of your motivation to do well academically aligns with preparing for a career. Do you know the most sought-after attributes and skills that hiring managers want from college graduates? Do you know how to develop those skills to be prepared for the workplace?

In this class we will answer these questions as you examine how individual talent and a university education link with the core skills employers seek. An employer hires you for your strengths. This class will show you the skills you have developed, as well as the ones you need to develop, while at UW, to level up your core skills and advance your career prospects.

Why Should I Take This Course?

You should take this class to better understand your talent and core skills, as well as learn to provide evidence for your abilities and learn how to articulate those skills to an employer through your resume, cover letter, LinkedIn profile and in an interview.

A degree alone is not enough. To level up your career opportunities you to articulate your value and core skills to an employer. The core skills employers are most interested in are how you manage yourself, engage others and produce results in the workplace.

What Kind of Things Will We Do In This Course?

Students will develop an electronic portfolio of information to tap for internships, scholarship applications and future career applications, that will evidence your talent, core skills and preparation for the workplace. This will elevate your preparation to effectively communicate your strengths and core skills, to “connect the dots” for employers, and assist you in showcasing that the combination of your degree, talent and core skills make you the best fit for a specific position, organization, or industry.

The course will be enriched by the perspective of professionals who will share views on how to manage one’s career and the importance of core skills. At the end of the course students will be better prepared to successfully address the job search and workplace.

How Is This Course Taught?

This is a hybrid course, meaning students will access most information, activities, and assignments online. Assignments will be submitted through the Canvas portal, and the online portfolio. Students participate in activities that examine individual strengths, employer skill preferences, the benefit of academics in skill development, and crafting all of this into meaningful work. Students compile their activities into an online collection (portfolio) of artifacts that provide evidence of learning through writing, images, and video.

Susan Terry, M.S.W. (She/Her/Hers)

First Year & Pre-Majors Program

About Professor Terry

Susan Terry, a lecturer in UW Bothell’s Discovery Core Special Topics is the former Executive Director of UW Seattle’s Career & Internship Center. She has been teaching and working in the career development field throughout her career. In addition to teaching at UW Bothell, she is currently providing leadership to the Center for Dependable Strengths, founded on the premise that everyone has excellence in the form of a unique pattern of strengths. Helping students better understand their talents, skill and strengths has been a core motivation throughout her professional life.

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