Creating a LinkedIn profile

Although this may have not been the first assignment in unit two, it was the most daunting.  My LinkedIn was nothing more than an empty hyperlink.  The amount of effort and time I imagined going into the LinkedIn was intimidating and had me procrastinating the task, with the assignment providing much-needed motivation.  Having some prior research on the Top 10 LinkedIn practices as per the assignment assisted in my understanding of what I should prioritize in the initial construction, such as my biography and prior experience.  There were many practices that I discovered which I would have never considered if not for the preliminary research, such as customizing my hyperlink and understanding the importance of a profile picture.  Slowly, my network has started to expand, another key part of garnering employer attention.  While there are still many experiences I wish to add, I am now satisfied with the current state of my LinkedIn and am not afraid of people viewing it.

In addition, the opportunity to provide and receive feedback on the LinkedIn of my peer within my professional writing group was presented.  When reviewing my peer’s profile, it came to my understanding that the best way to improve my own LinkedIn was to gather ideas from those around me.  Through the peer’s feedback, I understood that I had to expand my volunteer section, which I had previously left blank, dismissing my experiences as not up to par compared to my colleagues’ professional  presence.  In addition, in reviewing the peer’s LinkedIn, their athleticism and extracurricular emphasis inspired me to expand my LinkedIn to include more on my musical and sports background.  Primarily, I came to the conclusion that all recruiters would deem a well-rounded candidate crucial, no matter the position.

Drafting the Formal Report Proposal and Outline

This was the first assignment of unit two, and one that stretched out over the rest of this course, with an eventual 12-15 page product.  I found the idea of a formal report both interesting and practical, considering that the requirements were to improve/impact some community/organization that you were already involved in.  Immediately, the topic idea was obvious: there could not be an aspect in my life more suited to this style than implementation of a large-scale project, such as the one my principal investigator was initiating at the British Columbia Children’s and Women’s Hospital.

Surprisingly, I found the proposal-writing process quite refreshing, a pleasant procedure that would surely ease the future formal report to come.  The proposal structure followed a logical template: background of the topic, introducing the problem, then outlining a solution, with the scope,  methods, qualifications, audience, and conclusion afterwards.  Probably the most important sections for the audience were the background and the problem statement.  It was integral that these features effectively communicated the problem in an attention-grabbing and stimulating fashion to ensure the reader would both have an understanding and investment in the report’s contents.  For me, the solution outline and scope proved extremely helpful in planning the paper’s layout and interview/survey questions for data collection, respectively.  Overall, the proposal was an interesting and solid foundation for the formal report I would write over the course of the semester.

Reviewing A Peer’s Formal Report Proposal

Following the LinkedIn assignment, we returned to the formal reports with the opportunity of reviewing those within our professional writing team.  This allowed me to better understand the breadth and scope of the proposals written by my peers.  My peer wrote a proposal detailing the implementation of a 3D anatomy software in anatomical courses that have transitioned online.  It was concise, clean, and above all else, attainable.  When reviewing this formal report, I came to the realization that my report could be refined as well, ensuring that it was attainable via a series of practical steps.  Again, I appreciated the unique skills that all my writing team members bring to the table, with their widely differing perspectives broadening my horizons.

Receiving a Peer Review For My Formal Report Proposal

The final part of this assignment was a peer feedback on our own proposals.  I found it surprising that my peer decided to reject my report on the basis of its open-ended nature.  With this novel feedback, I immediately noticed the gaps: the scope of my proposal was large, requiring a multi-faceted solution that was explored in all but one paragraph.  I have subsequently expanded this paragraph into multiple that focus on each facet of the solution.  I am thankful that my peer caught this error, as it may have hindered the implementation of the suggestions that my proposal intended to provide.  In addition, I was notified of multiple tricky grammatical errors which I lacked the syntactical knowledge to resolve on my own.  Ultimately, I am grateful to my writing team member for providing such a thorough, yet constructive review conducive to a well-written final draft in December.

Please find my revised proposal and the review that influenced the revisions below.

Link to my revised proposal: 301 Quentin Michalchuk Revised Report Proposal

Link to Hilton Ma’s review: 301 Assignment 2-1 – Peer Review of Quentin Michalchuk’s Proposal