Unit 3: Career Exploration
Unit 3 is an exciting opportunity to examine how your college experience can prepare you for a specific career. This unit will help you distinguish between jobs and careers, give you ideas about college majors you might choose to aim toward a career, and present techniques for building certain skills. As you gain confidence about career possibilities, you learn how to network, how to construct a strong résumé, and how to interview for a job. At the conclusion of this unit, you should have stimulating ideas about attaining your career goals.
Completing this unit should take you approximately 7 hours.
Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- identify the value of, and your motivations for, attending college and being college and career ready;
- explain the five-step process for choosing a career, which includes aligning your personal interests and skills with appropriate fields;
- identify sources for learning more about specific careers;
- list key strategies for selecting a college major, taking into consideration the ways in which a major can impact career;
- identify sources for learning more about specific majors and related careers;
- list specific skills and transferable skills that will be needed along your career path;
- explain how to acquire necessary skills, both in and out of class, for achieving your career goals;
- describe the stages of career development, and identify the stage you're currently in;
- identify career development resources in your school, community, and beyond;
- define network and identify strategies for networking;
- define the purpose, contents, and characteristics of an effective résumé;
- identify characteristics of an effective cover letter;
- identify strategies for preparing for and participating in common types of job interviews; and
- analyze different question types common in interviews
3.1: Why It Matters: Career Exploration
Your decision to be in college is likely related to a career in one way or another. So how do you move from college to a career? What kind of self-examination may be needed? Will you explore a range of classes and experiences? Finding a good mentor can help.
3.2: The Big Picture
Knowing what you truly want to gain from your college experience is the first step toward achieving it. But reaching your goals doesn’t necessarily mean you are college and career ready. Ultimately, college and career readiness means that you have content knowledge and the ability to build upon that knowledge in solving problems.
3.3: Career Paths
You can chart your professional path and attain ample reward in many ways. Start by comparing and contrasting jobs and careers. Then look at how to match up your personal characteristics with a specific field or fields. Be sure to analyze processes for actually choosing your career. Throughout these steps, find resources for learning more about the expansive topic of planning for employment.
3.4: College Majors
In United States colleges and universities, roughly 2,000 majors are offered. Why is your college major important, how do select your major, and how does your major correlate with a career? To help you navigate your pathway from your college major to career success, take advantage of the many resources available to you.
3.5: Professional Skill Building
Employers want individuals who have the necessary hard and soft skills to do a job well and to adapt to changes in the workplace. What are examples of hard and soft skills, and which ones are necessary for your career? Which skills might you be able to transfer between one career and another?
3.6: Career Development
Career development is a lifelong process in which we become aware of, interested in, knowledgeable about, and skilled in a career. Which stage of career development do you feel you are in currently? What challenges are you facing now? Where are you headed? Explore resources for planning your career.
3.7: Networking
Networking is the process of building relationships with others for the purpose of mutually achieving professional goals. What are the best ways to exchange information when you network? What resources are available to help? What if English is not your first language? Imagination and creativity may be your best assets when you network.
3.8: Résumés and Cover Letters
A résumé is a "selfie" for business purposes – a promotion of you as an ideal candidate for any job you may be interested in. What are the elements of a successful résumé? What must you be especially careful about? And how can your cover letter best complement your résumé to help you win a job? Explore some of the many ways you can design and develop both for the greatest impact on your job search.
3.9: Interviewing
Learn about how to get ready for an interview, what types of interviews you might need to engage in, and what kinds of questions you might be asked.
3.10: Putting It Together: Career Exploration
How are you striving to achieve your career goals? And how will you measure your success along the way? Rather than letting your college degree define who you are, let the knowledge and skills you acquired in college come to the fore and shine brightly.