Module 6: Networking and LinkedIn
Weeks 11 to 12
Objectives
Module 6 objectives. By the end of this module, you will be able to:
- 6.1 Use LinkedIn (or a Google Sites profile page) to connect with five professionals and write three specific comments in your field. (Course Competency 4)
- 6.2 Draft a mentor outreach message that names a specific person or role, where you found them and a small request. (Course Competency 4)
- 6.3 Give three classmates portfolio critique that names a specific project, one strength and one concrete change. (Course Competency 8)
- 6.4 Walk an interviewer through one project and ask two researched questions about the organization, on camera. (Course Competency 7)
- 6.5 Evaluate a working professional’s portfolio the way a hiring manager would, naming what works and one change. (Course Competency 8)
- 6.6 Produce a complete LinkedIn profile (or Google Sites profile page) with a headline, About section, experience, skills and portfolio links. (Course Competency 2)
Overview
Most creative jobs are filled through people as much as postings. This module builds your professional profile, puts it to work with real connections and a mentor search, checks your portfolio with peer critique, and finishes the interview practice series with the question every portfolio interview asks: walk me through a project. LinkedIn requires members to be 16 or older; students under 16 complete the same work on a Google Sites profile page.
About 14.5 hours in all.
Watch
- Networking and LinkedIn (slides, PDF), with the instructor walkthrough video posted in Canvas
Read
- Learning LinkedIn for Students (LinkedIn Learning)
- Tailoring With AI: The Iteration Loop
- LinkedIn User Agreement, section on eligibility
Practice
- Rewrite your headline three ways and ask a classmate which one says most clearly what you do.
Assessment
| Item | Group, points and time | Due |
|---|---|---|
| Networking on LinkedIn | Exercises, 5 pts · about 2 hrs | Week 11, Thu Apr 8, noon |
| Discussion: Hiring Manager Portfolio Review | Exercises, 5 pts · about 1 hrs | Week 11, Thu Apr 8, noon |
| LinkedIn Profile | Exercises, 10 pts · about 2.5 hrs | Week 11, Sun Apr 11, noon |
| Finding a Mentor | Exercises, 5 pts · about 2 hrs | Week 11, Sun Apr 11, noon |
| Portfolio Check-In | Process Work, 10 pts · about 2 hrs | Week 12, Thu Apr 15, noon, Discord the day before |
| Updated LinkedIn Profile | Exercises, 5 pts · about 1.5 hrs | Week 12, Sun Apr 18, noon |
| Interview Practice 6: Project Walkthrough | Exercises, 5 pts · about 1.5 hrs | Week 12, Sun Apr 18, noon |
Critique (Discord)
Post your portfolio for the check-in by noon Wednesday of week 12, and leave three comments that each name a specific project, one strength and one concrete change. Discord: course channel invite.
Due
All times are noon, Arizona time. Each item’s page gives its Discord, due and hard-close times. Work submitted after the due time and before the hard close (noon the next day) loses 10%; nothing is accepted after the hard close.