LinkedIn has always intimidated me due to being marketed toward professionals. However, my research into the social media site has eased my anxiety as I now fully understand how the site works. I feel more confident in making a profile now as I know how to make a standout profile and realise the importance of LinkedIn. I realise the site can help me find like-minded professionals who can guide me and help me find a job. My research into LinkedIn has made me realise that it is not just a social media site for mature business professionals, but a tremendous and resourceful tool.
I have been excited about my report on attracting customers to The Kings Arms. While working at The Kings Arms, my manager has often asked me if I have any ideas on how to attract more customers. I have witnessed the destruction of the COVID-19 pandemic and have often pondered upon what could be done to help The Kings Arms, so getting to write about how I can help the pub is a great opportunity. While the idea for my report came almost instantly, having to look at all the little details of my research was a struggle for me. So many elements go into this report; it can be a little overwhelming and make writing a proposal a little daunting. However, I found the advice from the Instructor’s blog and the textbook very helpful, and it truly helped guide me through the proposal writing process. I also found writing an outline beneficial as it laid out exactly what I had to research and do for my report. Writing the progress report made me realise how much research will have to go into my report, which is a little intimidating because I have never had to conduct interviews or surveys before. I am confident in being able to analyse my research findings because, as a history major, I am often required to analyse research and compile an argument. Thus, I feel that my skills as a historian will aid me in writing my report.
Peer reviewing Danae’s work was an excellent exercise for me. Practising reviewing other people’s work allows me to develop critical skills in editing and reviewing that I can apply to my own work. Peer reviewing is making me look at my work more critically, and I have found myself better able to recognise mistakes. I found it very interesting reading Danae’s work as she is also writing about the struggles of the hospitality industry. It is interesting to see how the pandemic affects hospitality globally, impacting customers and staff. I felt more confident writing my second peer review. Last time I was worried about hurting someone’s feelings; however, this time, I used the tip of avoiding making the review personal, and I found I was much more comfortable writing this review. Overall, I think my proposal was quite good with only a handful of mistakes in need of correcting, most of which were grammatical. Juanita thankful identified my mistakes for me. Juanita pointed out that I fell into an old habit I thought I had broken: using multiple tenses. I have since corrected my work. The peer review of my work has made me realise that when faced with a big challenge with lots of elements, I am more likely to get overwhelmed and slip up. I re-read my work before submitting it, but if I had taken a break and returned to re-read it with fresh eyes, I would have caught more of my mistakes.
Unit 2 has allowed me to practice and learn many skills, such as report writing and creating a LinkedIn profile. I feel as if I have walked away from Unit 2 with lots of new skills that will help me in the professional world, which is precisely why I took this course.
Revised Proposal:
Peer Review of Proposal: