Welcome to MyTurnship! This is the first of eight modules to be completed on a weekly basis. The goal of this course is to provide you with the tools and knowledge to pursue your professional goals, not matter where those goals take you. In this course, we hope to spark your interests and provide the framework for you to best communicate your talents to the world. You will find this course will be very interactive and far from what you may be used to. We encourage you to take risks, explore new pathways, to think critically about the world around you, and absorb and retain as much as you can over the next eight weeks. 

Let's begin... 

First, let's get to know each other and your classmates better. This will not be your typical introduction. For this introduction, we will be creating resumes. Resumes are often the first mode of interaction between yourself and your employer. However, the obstacle is that you may never have the opportunity to speak the employer on your behalf. The resume could be the only resource that the employer uses to understand who you are, where you have been and where you want to go. For this reason, we must compose resumes very carefully and strategically. 

How do we start? 

Begin with examining Eric's Resume. This is an example of what not to do on a resume. This is meant to be a comedic example of a resume gone wrong. 

Now, that we have seen what to do on a Resume... Let's learn how to compose our very own resumes. Below, please watch the video How To Write A Resume - Our Top 5 Resume Tips That Will Get You The Interview

With this in mind, let's take a look at some Do's and Don'ts from Harvard University's Career Services:

http://ocs.fas.harvard.edu/files/ocs/files/hes-resume-cover-letter-guide.pdf

 Now, I think you are ready to try for yourselves.

Discussion: Now, knowing what you do about resumes, why are they so important? What was so wrong about Eric's resume? 

Update: Attached is a template of a suitable high school level resume. Use this template to add your own information on your resume and then post it for the class. Review up to three of your peers resumes. NOTE: You do not have to include any addresses, phone numbers etc. for this assignment, feel free to make those up. 

Sample taken from http://www.aie.org/find-a-job/write-your-resume/sample-resumes-and-templates/Resume-Sample-High-School-Student-Academic.cfm

Now that we have reviewed each other's resumes, we are somewhat familiar with the members of our class. But, do we really feel like we know one another based off the resume alone? Do you feel like your classmates really know you now? Typically, the answer is no. A one-sided sheet of paper can only say so much about you. For this reason, employers will typically ask candidates to interview with them to learn more. 

Take a look at the Top 10 Job Interview Tips for High School Students:

1. Arrive for your interview about 15 minutes in advance.

2. First impressions have a high impact.

3. The receptionist, secretary or another staff member who greets you may not be your interviewer.

4. Greet the interviewer with a firm but not crushing handshake

5. Turn your cell phone off or to vibrate

6. Exude energy, enthusiasm and a positive attitude at all times

7. Take inventory of your strengths prior to the interview

8. Be prepared to say why the job interests you

9.  At the end of the interview, be prepared to ask a few questions about the job

10. Effective follow up after your interview can separate you from the other candidates.

http://jobsearch.about.com/od/justforstudents/fl/interview-tips-high-school-students.htm

Discussion: After reading the complete article of the Top 10 Job Interview Tips for High School Students, which of the 10 tips stands out to you as the most important? Why is this tip important for you and why might it be important for the interviewer? 

Update: From lesson 1, revisit the resumes you reviewed and now follow up with those students and either conduct a face-to-face or phone interview. Interviews do not have to be anymore than 30 minutes. Below, you will find a guide of questions to use when being the interviewer. By next week, you should have interviewed at least three of your peers and been interviewed by three. Comment what you learned from the interview that you did not from the resume. Also, include any observations you have had from either side of the interview spectrum. 

Sample questions:

Would you be so kind to tell me about yourself?

How do you feel about working with others?

What do you consider your greatest strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities to grow? 

Describe your most rewarding experience in school.

Where would you like to be in 5 years?

Again, this what you should not do. Enjoy! 

As we discovered in the previous lesson, it takes quite a bit of time to sit down and interview someone. As well as from the lesson before that, we learned that the resume is limited in what it can communicate. What if I told you, professionals have their own Facebook-like website that serves as a happy medium for interviews and resumes? LinkedIn, as we call it, has become one of the most important tools for landing a job. LinkedIn is successful in that it connects people, companies, employers to each other with a click of a button. 

Take a look at mine: 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuadevincenzo

Each profile is unique, as you can include as much or as little information as would like. You can even attach the resume you created in week one, directly to your profile! So, let's create your very own LinkedIn profile using this checklist:

https://university.linkedin.com/content/dam/university/global/en_US/site/pdf/LinkedIn%20Profile%20Checklist%20-%20High%20School%20Students.pdf

Discussion: What are the similarities and differences between Facebook and LinkedIn? When would use one opposed to the other? 

Update:  Post the link to your new LinkedIn profile to the class. Using the checklist rubric below, connect with and peer review at least two of your peer's profiles to ensure they have all the elements of a complete profile. Use the rubric as the criteria for creating a profile instead of the checklist. NOTE: Ask parent or guardian permission before making your profile. Parents are free to contact me with any questions. After completing the rubric, include one thing you liked most from your peer's profile, along with endorse your peer for one of their skills. 

LinkedIn Profile Peer Review Rubric

Keeping on with the technology trend, this week's lesson is going to take a look at Microsoft Office. Microsoft Office houses tools such as Excel, Microsoft Word, Outlook and Powerpoint. All of these tools are used to drive business and organizations in the modern workplace. Such tools are essential across the board, and after this class will be skills you may include on your new LinkedIn Profiles. ** Keep in mind that you will be asked to utilize these tools when creating your final presentations at the end of this course.

Take a look at the links for Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Outlook as well as some helpful tricks with all four tools: 

Word: https://products.office.com/en-us/word

Excel: https://products.office.com/en-us/excel

Powerpoint: https://products.office.com/en-us/powerpoint

Outlook: https://products.office.com/en-us/outlook/email-and-calendar-software-microsoft-outlook

Discussion: Pick one of the Microsoft Office tools, Why might this tool be useful in the workplace? Give an example of how a professional would use it. 

Update:  KNOWLEDGE SURVEY! Now that we are at the halfway mark of the course it is time to assess what you have learned so far. For this week, select either Word, Excel, Powerpoint or Outlook, as a means of recapping all that we have learned so far about building a resume, interviewing and LinkedIn. You only have to select ONE option. For Word, please write a one-page summary and upload it to the class. For Excel, please create a table to organize your thoughts about each of the three lessons and upload it to the class. For Powerpoint, please make an eight-slide presentation about what you have learned and upload it to the class. For Outlook, please compose an email written to me about what you have learned throughout the class and I will screen shot and post to the class. 

Now that we have touched upon the technical aspects of professionalism, it is now time to learn to look the part. Local organizations have collaborated with MyTurnship by donating professional attire to our course, so we can ensure each of you can now have a proper look in the eyes of employers to accompany your resumes, interview skills, LinkedIn accounts, and talents! 

Tips to dress for positive impact according to Forbes 

1. The appropriate interview attire depends on the industry in which you’ll be interviewing, as well as the geographic location and time of year.
2. Spend time on the Internet researching the company, industry and competitors to determine suitable interview outfits.
3. Still not sure? Call the company’s HR department and ask what they recommend you wear.
4. When in doubt, err on the side of being slightly overdressed, rather than show up looking too casual.
5. Don’t have an appropriate outfit? Go to a large department store like Nordstrom or Macy’s and ask for help from a personal shopper or hire a personal stylist.
6. Ensure that your clothes are cleaned and pressed.
7. Avoid wearing perfume or cologne.
8. Wear makeup and jewelry that are appropriate to the job/company/industry.

Below you will find helpful images of The Five Levels of Business Attire:

Discussion: Why do you think attire and your look are so important for interviewing for a job? Do you agree that appearance should play a role in the hiring process? Why or why not? 

Update: Take a look through magazines, newspapers, internet etc. post one image of someone dressed professionally and explain why you believe they are dressed for the part. Next, find an image of someone who does not appear to look the part and provide suggestions for this person to look the part. 

When he was just 14 years old, Malawian inventor William Kamkwamba built his family an electricity-generating windmill from spare parts, working from rough plans he found in a library book.

Ideas come in many forms and for many reasons. Businesses really exist as solution mechanisms. Of course, the added aspect of competition, profit making, etc. masquerade this. However, as we see from the video with William Kamkwamba, this young boy had an inner motivation to improve his environment for others. This is an example of innovation in its purest forms. Now it is time to look for our inner motivation. It is not so much, what keeps you up at night, as much as it is what are you doing during the day so you can sleep soundly. 

Take a look at 10 Awesome Business Ideas For Teen Entrepreneurs

Discussion: What about William's story stood out to you the most? 

Update: With a partner come up with an idea for a business. Share with the class what product or service you will provide. 

So that idea from last week, let's take it a step further. As we reach the conclusion of MyTurnship, we hope to tie in all we have covered in a final presentation. We will use all the tools we have acquired to present your business in a professional way. Never fear, in this lesson we will go over the way to make great presentations. 

Discussion: What aspect of presenting are you the most excited about? Which aspects are you the most worried about? 

Update: With your partner, comment the name of your business and which day you would like present to the class. 

The presentations will be 10 minutes, where you will be asked to present your business. Cover the following concepts in your presentations:

1. Name and location of your business
2. Product or service 
3. Why you selected this business 
4. How many employees will you need 
5. What kind of employee you will look for 
6. What does your business contribute to society 

You will be asked to dress business casual and to Microsoft Powerpoint for your presentations.

The following rubric will be used to assess your final presentation in one final Knowledge Survey:

We have come a long way in eight lessons! We have covered a lot of ground and have developed invaluable skills. We have put you in the driver seat of your career. In this last lesson, we hope to now give you a road in which to drive on. Below you will find two different career tests that may help you to apply your skills to a more specific goal. These tests are not definitive in any way, simply suggestions of potential paths for the future. 

1. Finding the Career that is Right for You 

2. Your Career Test

Discussion:  Do you believe that there is one concrete career path? Why or why not? 

Update: Using your results from both tests, do you agree with your results? Discuss how you will use components from MyTurnship in pursuing your results.