Following is a homework assignment that I used with undergraduate students in a leadership development class in our honors program. The novelty to the assignment was having students work on their resume at the same time they worked on their personal mission statement. The result was students putting much thought into how their career path would align with personal goals and values. The students found this exercise to be very rewarding. Here is the assignment:
TO: Honors 101 Students
FROM: Dr. Percy Trappe
RE: Assignment #2 – Personal Mission Statement and Resume
DATE: August 28, 2013
The first step in your “leadership journey” is to reflect on what you have accomplished and what would you like to become. In this exercise you will develop/update your resume (accomplishments) and will develop a first draft of a personal mission statement.
Resume: Submit a one page resume. A resume is one of the tools you will need to introduce yourself and your experience to employers. It provides prospective employers with their first impression of you-it is an advertisement about you. Your resume is your chief marketing tool in the job search process. Therefore, your resume should be well-organized and highlight your background by emphasizing your skills and qualifications. Be sure to emphasize your accomplishments. For guidelines and examples on creating an effective resume be sure to see “Writing an Effective Resume” (http://career.ucsd.edu/undergraduates/prepar-resume-covlet/writing-effective-resume.html)
Personal Mission Statement: Submit a personal mission statement. Your personal mission statement focuses on:
- What you want to be (character)
- What you want to do (contributions and achievements)
- Principles upon which “being” and “doing” are based
Your mission statement should be no more than one page in length. In addition, to the mission statement itself, you should submit an “Explanation of My Mission Statement” where you summarize two things: (1) describe the process you used to develop your mission statement, and (2) describe how the three elements of the personal mission statement have been integrated into your final product.
Some resources to help you construct a personal mission statement:
- “Build a Mission Statement – Live With Purpose”, Franklin Covey, http://www.franklincovey.com/msb/
- “Five Step Plan for Creating Personal Mission Statements”, Randell S. Hansen, http://www.quintcareers.com/creating_personal_mission_statements.html
Due Date: Thursday, September 5, 2013
– from the pen of Dr. Percy Trappe
The Academic Anchor 
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