[MUSIC] Welcome to the capstone project for this specialization in job interviewing and resume writing in English. A capstone project is designed to demonstrate your mastery of the specialization material. It's a culminating project that challenges you to demonstrate mastery of the course content you've learned at the same time you apply your learning to the real world. And for this specialization there's really only one capstone project that makes sense, that's to land a job. Not get a job, but land a job. You've heard me use this collocation before. To land a job, or land a contract, or land an interview. To land something means to achieve something good. The idiom comes from fishing, where a fisherman is said to land a fish. Using the right bait and equipment, the right mindset, and suitable skills, the fisherman catches the fish and brings on to land. That is a good metaphor for what you're going to do in this capstone. You're going to go fishing for a job that you can love. One that gives a deep sense of fulfillment that you can grow in and feel committed to. Like a good fisherman, you need the right bait and equipment. That's your cover letters, and another device you're going to learn about later called the gist card. It's like a business card on steroids. That's your bait, together with your resumes. A good fisherman thinks like a fish, not like a fisherman. Entrepreneurs know that to sell a product or promote a business you need to think like the customer, not like a businessman. And the same goes for you in your job search. This doesn't mean you simply parrot what you think a hiring organization wants to hear. It means you think about the organization. Its mission, and the competencies needed to excel in the position you are targeting. You think about how the organization's mission aligns with your goals, and how your competencies align with the organization's needs. The last secret of a successful fisherman is to exercise patience and awareness. In seeking to land a job you'll love, you exercise the patience to research yourself, to understand the contributions you want to make, and the impact of those contributions on the world. Then, you develop the awareness to recognize the many opportunities available, and select those that fit you best. You started on this path back in the first course, identifying the kind of work that you feel most committed to. The kind of organization you want to work with. And the kind of position that you can excel at. You learned about finding your why. I want to remind you what you heard from Steve Jobs back in course one. >> Your work is going to fill a large part of your life. And the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. >> To do what you believe is great work, to love what you do. That is the mastery challenge I've set for you in this capstone, to land that work. It might not be your next job, but it should be on your radar. You might not get there at the end of this capstone, but you should be well on your way. In fact, your dream job might not even exist yet out in the world. You may well have to create it, but this slide captures an idea you may or may not have already discovered. Your life is a do-it-yourself project. Finding and creating your great work is no less one. The key idea at this point is that your next job should help you get to that great work. It should be a step in that direction, toward that work that you are committed to. The milestones in this project will help you get there. In your first milestone you'll leverage the homework you did on yourself in course one. The interest profiler, the neuroscience, your interpersonal style inventory, your dependable strengths, your enjoyable accomplishments. You'll use the the insights you gain to visualize your ideal work. Writing it down in week two will take you one step closer to making it real. In week three, you'll develop your personal marketing plan using the resources from course two to identify industries and companies you can target. You'll also create a campaign strategy for making contacts and getting interviews. This plan should serve as a roadmap for your job search. Think of it as a living document that you can update as you move forward. In week four, you'll build your pitch repertoire. You'll write and practice short and long pitches for at least three different positions that you identified in your marketing plan. You'll also learn how to write jist cards that serve as mini resumes and provide a great alternative to business cards. In week five, you'll write resumes and cover letters for the positions you targeted in week four. The materials you put together for your pitches and gist cards will help you in that. In week six and seven, you'll practice responding to interview questions. At the same time, you should be working your marketing plan. And, if things work out, preparing for real interviews. The first set of questions you practice will be standard interview questions, as you learned about in course two. The second set of questions will be the advanced interview questions you learned about in course three. Your task this week will be to meet with your peers in discussion forums. Because many of you may find it uncomfortable to market yourself, having a peer offer feedback may let you see your skills and capabilities in a new light. Think big, and you get big. As you go forward in this capstone and in your job search keep this thought in mind, it's the working philosophy of the high achiever. [MUSIC]
