Foundations of Professional Identity (Coursera)

Foundations of Professional Identity (Coursera)

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?

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

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 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.
Course 1 of 4 in the Professional IQ: Preventing and Solving Problems at Work Specialization.

Syllabus

WEEK 1
Course Orientation
You will become familiar with the course, your classmates, and our learning environment. The orientation will also help you obtain the technical skills required for the course.
Introduction and Who Are You?
Find out how the course will run and how we’ll use 2-Minute Challenges and expert commentary to give you a 3-D understanding of the material in this course. Establish and clarify your values and learn how they underpin your career.

WEEK 2
Opening Up Problems through the Decision-Making Framework (DMF)
Learn a systematic approach to tackling any decision.

WEEK 3
Career TRAGEDIES: Recognizing and Avoiding Them
Find out about nine common sources of problems at work, and how to identify them and stop them from derailing your day, your job, or your career.

WEEK 4
Knowing What To Do Isn't Enough – How Do You Say It?
Develop personal scripts for difficult situations.

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Standardisation & Technology (Coursera) Coursera
EIT Digital

Standardisation & Technology (Coursera)

Welcome to the course standardisation and technology! Do you already know what standards are? Could you image a world without standards? It is certainly not easy to visualize a world without standards and the huge importance of standards is often underestimated in our society. That is because such a vast amount are common to us and have been for ages. We don’t even realise they are standards anymore.

Nov 2nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Las redes sociales en acción (Coursera) Coursera
Tecnológico de Monterrey

Las redes sociales en acción (Coursera)

Como un mercadólogo, tenemos claro que nuestra función principal en las empresas es identificar las necesidades del mercado y con base en ellas establecer estrategias de compra – venta que causen impacto y satisfagan las necesidades de los consumidores. Éste es un reto importante, pero además de ser creativos en la definición de estas estrategias, tenemos que tener en cuenta el desarrollo que a través de los últimos años ha tenido el Internet y atrás de él las redes sociales.

Nov 2nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Business Implications of AI: A Nano-course (Coursera) Coursera
EIT Digital

Business Implications of AI: A Nano-course (Coursera)

In this course you will learn what Artificial Intelligence is, from a leaders point of view. How shall we, as leaders, understand it from a corporate strategy point of view? What is it and how can it be used? What are the crucial strategic decisions we have to make, and how to make them? What consequences can we expect if we decide on doing AI-projects and what kind of competences do we need? Where shall we start, and what could be a good second as well as third step? What implications for the organization can we expect? These are the questions answered in this course.

Nov 2nd 2026
4 Weeks
Developing Innovative Ideas for New Companies: The First Step in Entrepreneurship (Coursera) Coursera
University of Maryland, College Park

Developing Innovative Ideas for New Companies: The First Step in Entrepreneurship (Coursera)

This course assists aspiring and active entrepreneurs in developing great ideas into great companies. With strong economies presenting rich opportunities for new venture creation, and challenging economic times presenting the necessity for many to make their own job, the need to develop the skills to develop and act on innovative business opportunities is increasingly vital.

Nov 2nd 2026
4 Weeks
E-Business: Negocios Online (Coursera) Coursera
Universidad de Palermo

E-Business: Negocios Online (Coursera)

El mayor servicio de transporte urbano del mundo no tiene ni un solo auto. El mayor servicio de alojamiento del mundo no tiene ni una sola habitación. La tienda de comercio más grande del mundo no tiene ni un local, y ni siquiera depósito. Uber, AirB&B y Alibaba son tan solo tres ejemplos de los cambios que ha producido en el mundo la tecnología y en particular Internet. Evidentemente, el mundo cambió. Al realizar este curso comprenderás las características que hacen a los negocios en la nueva economía apoyados en la tecnología, para que puedas diseñar tu propia estrategia de e-business.

Nov 2nd 2026
4 Weeks
Financial Reporting Capstone (Coursera) Coursera
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Financial Reporting Capstone (Coursera)

The Capstone is the culminating project in the Financial Reporting Specialization. You will have the opportunity to combine the concepts and techniques obtained through all the courses in this specialization (Accounting Analysis I: The Role of Accounting as an Information System, Accounting Analysis I: Measurement and Disclosure of Assets, Accounting Analysis II: Measurement and Disclosure of Liabilities, and Accounting Analysis II: Accounting for Liabilities and Equity) and apply them to a real world accounting project.

Nov 2nd 2026
3 Weeks
Business Implications of AI: Full course (Coursera) Coursera
EIT Digital

Business Implications of AI: Full course (Coursera)

In this course you will learn what Artificial Intelligence is, from a leaders point of view. How shall we, as leaders, understand it from a corporate strategy point of view? What is it and how can it be used? What are the crucial strategic decisions we have to make, and how to make them? What consequences can we expect if we decide on doing AI-projects and what kind of competences do we need? Where shall we start, and what could be a good second as well as third step? What implications for the organization can we expect? These are the questions answered in this course.

Nov 2nd 2026
4 Weeks
The Art of the Job Interview (Coursera) Coursera
Big Interview

The Art of the Job Interview (Coursera)

Learn how to prepare for a job interview the right way! This unique collaboration between Big Interview and Coursera will teach proven techniques to help you turn your interviews into job offers. You'll learn what interview questions to expect and how to answer them. You'll also get access to interactive tools to guide you in outlining answers to key questions and practicing until you feel confident. The course also provides guidance on how to optimize your resume using the Big Interview resume builder and how to use networking to uncover more job leads.

Nov 2nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Finance For Everyone: Value (Coursera) Coursera
McMaster University

Finance For Everyone: Value (Coursera)

In Value, you will explore the most powerful generator of value in the world – ideas. Ideas are the engines of productivity, both in the private and public sectors. You will learn about the universal frameworks that determine how ideas and money interact, leading to the allocation of financial resources. We will identify components of cash flow for any project, business or venture as the most essential ingredients of value. We also assess the investment techniques used to give life to some ideas while killing others.

Nov 2nd 2026
4 Weeks
¿Cómo convertir mi idea en empresa? (Coursera) Coursera
Universidad de los Andes

¿Cómo convertir mi idea en empresa? (Coursera)

Este curso te ofrece un entrenamiento para la tarea de descubrir quién será el consumidor de tu producto o servicio y cuáles serán los atributos y características del mismo. Al terminar el curso, habrás identificado una oportunidad de negocio que te permitirá utilizar tus fortalezas personales; habrás identificado un grupo de consumidores y sus necesidades; habrás creado un producto o servicio para atender esas necesidades y lo habrás prototipado con consumidores reales, obteniendo claridad con respecto a cuáles son los atributos del producto que el consumidor realmente desea y por los cuales está dispuesto a pagar.

Nov 2nd 2026
5-12 Weeks