Unit VIII Scholarly Activity Professional Development Resource Assignment

Step 1: Choose a Topic Choose a topic that can help you enhance your professional development endeavors; one that inspires, fascinates, and speaks to you. To make this assignment relevant, approach it from your current role or a position you are hoping to fill in the future.

Decide on a topic of interest from any of the following:
• career exploration strategies,
• career satisfaction,
• career exploration strategies,
• career transitions,
• conducting interviews,
• cover letters,
• career portfolio,
• dress for success
• ethics and the interview process,
• how to conduct an interview,
• interview anxiety,
• interview follow-up strategies,
• interview questions,
• interview types,
• interviewing skills for job seekers,
• leadership development,
• mentoring,
• networking,
• nonverbal communication in interviews,
• personal branding,
• professional development for the self-employed,
• rejecting job applicants,
• resignation strategies,
• resumes,
• salary negotiation, or
• other topic approved by your professor.

Step 2: Choose a Source Find a credible source that provides useful information about your topic of interest. You will explain how the information from your source can be used to enhance your own professional development endeavors. Your source can include any of the following (minimum of one source required):

• CSU Online Library article,
• a resource or link found on the CSU Career Services Department website, or
• course textbook chapters 15 and 16 (Guffey& Loewy, 2015). CM 1010, Business Communication 6 Sources must be referenced in APA style and paraphrased and/or quoted content from the source should be cited using APA style citations.
• CSU Online Library articles can be accessed from the Student Portal by selecting Learning Resources, then clicking on CSU Online Library. Choose a database such as Business Source Complete, and search for an article by typing in relevant search terms for your chosen topic.
• CSU Career Services Department can be accessed from the Student Portal by choosing the Learning Resources link, then selecting Career Services.

Step 3: Analysis & Organization Explain how information/concepts from your source can enhance your development as a professional.
• Paragraph 1: describe your current role or a position you want to obtain in the future, and discuss why the topic is relevant to you.
• Paragraph(s) 2+: explain how content from your source is relevant to you and can enhance your professional development efforts.
Here are some questions to consider to get you started:
• What information from your source can be used to enhance your professional development endeavors?
• How can you apply what you learned from your source?
• Why is information in this source important to your career success or professional development efforts?
• What have you learned about yourself from this source?
• Are there any points you agree or disagree with? Why?

Final Paragraph: Summarize your main ideas and end with strong closing statement.