Career Explorations

Task Definition:

Students will create a career portfolio that will be placed in their file in the guidance office. This portfolio will include the following:

1. Checklist from Planning My Career: Occupational Guidance by Vincent Capozziello, Jr.

• * Complete the worksheet in order to come up with a picture of who you are, which is the first step in determining how well a career would suit you and whether or not you would be happy and perhaps even successful.
  
  Directions: The lists contain some personal likes and dislikes, many of which relate to a variety of jobs. This should be completed in two sessions. Be sure to answer ALL questions.

2. Take the "Career Key" by Lawrence K. Jones, PhD (online). The "Career Key" can be found here.

• * Students will identify 5 or 6 possible careers for further research.
  * Be SURE to enter your name so that when it is printed, you can identify it.
  * Print your results page - use it to complete the Career Research Note-Taking Worksheet.

3. Career Research Note-Taking Worksheet: Research careers using the Occupational Outlook Handbook

• * Students will complete the Career Research Note-Taking Worksheet.

4. Occupation Interview

• * Students will interview an adult about career skills needed for success and share information in small groups.
  Click Here for an Interview Questionnaire

5. Reflective Writing Piece

You have completed a checklist, completed the Career Key, researched various careers online, interviewed someone about his or her career, and shared your interview to your classmates. Let’s take some time now to reflect on your research and make a plan as to where you want to go from here.

Content: Your reflective piece should include the following information.

PART ONE: Beginning of unit

• Include the journal entry you wrote on the very first day of this unit. Feel free to make small corrections (to spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc), but leave the content of the journal entry intact.

PART TWO: Reflection on each step of the unit

• At the end of each class day you took a few minutes to reflect on what you did and what you learned. Include each of those journals here. Again, feel free to make small corrections (to spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc), but leave the content of the journal entry intact.

PART THREE: End of unit

• Read over your parts one and two journals. Then respond to the following questions:
  * How has this week’s career research affected your original career plans? In other words, do you still want to do what you thought you wanted to do?
  * What surprised you in your research? For example, did you discover a job or field you hadn’t previously known about or investigated? Did you realize that you are not really as interested or as suited for a certain job or field as you originally thought?
  * Now that you have done this career research, where would you like to go from here? What is the next step? The next five steps?
  Don’t forget to proofread your reflective piece for proper spelling, grammar, punctuation, and usage!

Length: 1-2 pages, typed if possible
Mechanics: For the final draft, check for proper spelling, grammar, mechanics, punctuation, and usage.

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