Back to Foundations of Professional Identity
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Foundations of Professional Identity

Many find themselves frustrated in their careers by lack of preparation for dealing with predictable dilemmas that regularly arise in the world of work. Two in five professionals fired in their jobs after college are terminated for lying, or misuse of technology. Easy to avoid! Or is it? What if you find you have to compromise your values to keep your job? What if they ask you to lie or cheat, even though you know if you are found out you will be fired? What if you find out the company is breaking the law? Successful people know about and have the skills taught in this specialization. You should, too. Those who wish to make a difference, build positive reputations, become leaders, and advance in their careers must cultivate professional success skills, along with their specific job skills. The central themes of this course – knowing yourself and your values, recognizing and meeting ethical challenges, using an analytical decision-making framework, identifying potential pitfalls, and developing tools to use in the moment – are essential soft skills for succeeding at work. In short, an ethical framework is necessary, and not just nice; smart ethics, as we define them, are integral to success.

Status: Ethical Standards And Conduct
Status: Professional Development
BeginnerCourse28 hours

Featured reviews

SM

5.0Reviewed Jul 28, 2016

This was a great course, lots of information on analyzing problems at work and coming up with the best solutio

YZ

5.0Reviewed Feb 23, 2018

My Alma Mater! Life-saving course for a rookie professional like me. Thoughtfully designed and presented. Thanks!

SS

5.0Reviewed Jan 22, 2021

Excellent course, with many practical hints that I could apply at work to improve my performance and get recognition. Strongly recommended.

NM

5.0Reviewed Sep 22, 2021

The course is insightful, provoking, enriching and educative. i also appreciated the course facilitators and wish to to be thankful to Professor C.K. Gunsalus and team for job well done.

CD

4.0Reviewed Aug 3, 2016

I think the Course has great content but there´s too many activities per week, most of the time if you don´t have time free you will loss the deadlines and after all loss the certificate.

All reviews

Showing: 20 of 21

Constantinos Paizanis
5.0
Reviewed Jun 14, 2022
Neringa Banyte
5.0
Reviewed Oct 18, 2018
Bernard De Villepin
5.0
Reviewed Jun 27, 2020
Heena Hussain
5.0
Reviewed Jan 5, 2020
Kelvin Williams ASUMA
5.0
Reviewed Dec 6, 2016
Tryntsje Boersma
5.0
Reviewed Aug 7, 2016
Ndudi M. Mwabueze
5.0
Reviewed Sep 23, 2021
Julien Petit
5.0
Reviewed Aug 12, 2016
Simone Scremin
5.0
Reviewed Jan 23, 2021
Pedro Prescott
5.0
Reviewed Jan 3, 2017
yanqi zhang
5.0
Reviewed Feb 23, 2018
Stuart McNeill
5.0
Reviewed Jul 29, 2016
Carey Duncan
5.0
Reviewed Aug 24, 2018
Yohanes Ismantoro
5.0
Reviewed Apr 11, 2025
sana mahdi
5.0
Reviewed May 26, 2025
Lisa Bell
5.0
Reviewed Jun 1, 2017
Rebecca Zhang
5.0
Reviewed Dec 23, 2016
Hermione Fricker
4.0
Reviewed Aug 22, 2016
Gabriel Figliuzzi
4.0
Reviewed Jun 9, 2016
Cristiano d'Alcântara
4.0
Reviewed Aug 4, 2016