Unit 1 Professional Presence

CS204: Professional Presence
Unit 1 Overview
Understanding Professionalism
Success in your chosen career is defined by many factors. As you will see in this course, professionalism is one of the key factors in every career. What is professional presence and how do you maintain and develop this presence both in your career and lifestyle? Professionals come in all shapes and sizes and are not recognized just by their attire, where they work, or the job title they have. It is their attitude and how they express themselves to others that set them apart.
This class is designed to help you identify and understand the concept of professional presence and in the process will help prepare you to build and maintain your professional image. You will start by meeting your classmates and sharing ideas and perceptions about each other. Then, you will complete a self-assessment that will help you to examine your current perceptions about professional presence.
As the course progresses, you will engage in activities to improve in areas such as personal image, intelligence about social and professional settings, and online communication.
In Unit 1, you will complete a self-assessment on professionalism and start to reflect on the results.
Outcomes:
After completing this unit, you should be able to:
Apply knowledge from self-assessment exercise to understand what you need to present yourself in a professional manner
Identify gaps in your personal profession presence
Course outcome(s) practiced in this unit
CS204-1: Identify techniques for maintaining professional presence.

What do you have to do in this unit?
Introduce yourself to classmates and professor.
Complete the required reading.
Respond to Discussion Topic.
Participate in Seminar.
Complete the Learning Activity.

Reading
Unit 1: Understanding Professionalism
Please take the time to thoroughly read the course Syllabus (found under Course Home). Your success in this class will be enhanced by understanding the policies contained in the Syllabus document and how to comply with them. In the Syllabus you will find instructor contact information, grading policies, late coursework policies, and specifics on what is expected of you throughout the term. If you have any questions you should contact your instructor. Remember that it is your responsibility to stay current with your coursework and the best way to do that is to spend regular periods of time working on it.
Most of your reading assignments for this course will be from the Kaplan Library. In order to do your searches more efficiently, please review the Video Introduction to the Kaplan Online Library. In your course, click on the KU Library link on the left hand navigation bar under Course Home to access the video.
1. Learn more about professionalism - what it is, why you need it, and how to develop it for career success. Professionalism: Developing this Vital Characteristic http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/professionalism.htm
Professionalism - Career Development from MindTools.com. (n.d.). Mind Tools - Management Training, Leadership Training, and Career Training. Retrieved from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/professionalism.htm
Use the Kaplan Library to locate the following articles:
2. Read the following article on the importance of combining technical competency and image-related skills for professional success in the workplace.
Reddick, E. (2011). Professional tune-up: Part one. The Enterprise, 40(32), 12.
3. Read the following article to learn about clues on how to enhance professional image in the workplace.
Hosking, R. (2009). Career ladder. OfficePro, 69(8), 5-5.