2. Preparing for Your Career
CHAPTER 1
Preparing for Your Career

3. Outcomes Explain the concept of career preparation.
State the purpose of a career plan.
Discuss the importance of self-assessment as a step in career planning.
Identify two types of personal skills that should be a part of a skills assessment.
Explain the purpose of setting SMART goals.
Discuss career pathing options.
Define a career portfolio.

4. Glossary Terms ability aptitude career career ladder career lattice
career plan
emerging occupations
hard skills
job
keywords
Occupational Information Network (O*NET)
personality
portfolio
skill
SMART goal
soft skills
values

5. Career Preparation Career preparation varies from person to person.
Difference between a job and career
A job is short-term employment for compensation.
A career is a long-term progression in one particular field with opportunities for growth and advancement.
A career generally requires more education than a job.
It may change multiple times during a person’s working years.

6. Career Preparation (continued)
Career pathways are broad categories that focus on specific skills and competencies for various types of jobs.
Pathways are part of 16 recognized career clusters
Specific industries are referenced in each pathway
Career pathway should be chosen that is best suited to a person’s aptitudes, skills, abilities, and values

7. Career Preparation (continued)
Emerging occupations are new occupations that have developed or changed due to technological or other advancements.
Occupational Information Network (O*NET) is an occupational resource that provides descriptions of in-demand industry areas in emerging occupations.
US Department of Labor offers job information, hourly standards for jobs, wage information, and occupational safety information.

8. Career Preparation (continued)

9. Career Plan
A career plan is documentation of where a person is today in the job-search process and where he or she would like to be over the course of a career.
Items listed in a career plan are called action items.
Before creating a career plan, it is helpful to:
conduct a self-assessment;
conduct a skills assessment; and
set SMART goals.

10. Career Plan (continued)

11. Career Plan (continued)

12. Self-Assessment
A self-assessment is a measurement of an individual’s actions or attitudes as they relate to student and career performance.
Enables a person to focus on career direction
Provides information about self:
Aptitudes
Abilities
Personality
Values

13. Self-Assessment (continued)
An aptitude is a characteristic that an individual has developed naturally.
When a person has an aptitude for something, he or she learns it easily and performs it well.
Aptitudes can be cognitive (mental) or physical.
A key to job success is to find work in an area that matches aptitude.

14. Self-Assessment (continued)
Assessment can help identify a person’s aptitudes and natural interests.
An informal aptitude test helps distinguish personality and skill set.
Formal aptitude placement tests are used to measure overall achievement and compare performance to others.
SAT
ACT
ASVAB

15. Self-Assessment (continued)

16. Self-Assessment (continued)
An ability is a mastery of a skill or the capacity to do something.
Aptitudes and skills are supported or limited by abilities.
Common must-have abilities in job postings:
Assist others with little or no direction
Effectively handle multiple projects
Think logically
Work long hours without tiring

17. Self-Assessment (continued)
Personality is the unique blend of qualities that predict attitudes, values, and work habits, such as dependability, loyalty, and natural motivation.
Many personality assessments available
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) measures a person’s psychological preferences and view of the world.
Employers often rely on personality tests to predict job success for potential candidates.

18. Self-Assessment (continued)
Values are principles and beliefs that a person considers important.
Examples include the belief in working hard or the importance of caring for others.
Values are important principles in working relationships and environments.
It is important to identify values in order to focus on finding a career that aligns with them.

19. Skills Assessment
A skills assessment is another step in creating a career plan.
A skill is something an individual does well.
Soft skills are applicable skills used to help an individual find a job, perform in the workplace, and gain success in any job or career.
Hard skills are measurable, observable, and critical skills necessary to perform the required, work-related tasks of a given position.

20. Skills Assessment (continued)

21. Skills Assessment (continued)
Employers list skills as part of job requirements.
Keywords are used to describe skills required for a position.
Keywords are words that specifically relate to the functions of the position for which the employer is hiring.
Examples include:
Social skills
Time-management skills

22. Skills Assessment (continued)
Technology skills are important in today’s workplace.
A technology skills assessment can help when creating a career plan.
Process in which an individual documents software and technology skills
Begins with individual identifying specific technology and then determining his or her level of skill with it
Helps identify gaps in skills needed for career

23. Skills Assessment (continued)

24. SMART Goals
A SMART goal is a goal that is specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely.
Specific: easy to understand and track
Measurable: determines if the goal was achieved
Attainable: goals should be attainable
Realistic: goes hand in hand with attainability
Timely: allows for tracking and prioritizing of goals

25. SMART Goals (continued)

26. Career Pathing
Career pathing, not to be confused with career pathways, is a strategy an employee can use to determine personal career development.
Career ladder is a sequence of work in a career field, from entry to advanced levels.
Career lattice is a series of lateral and vertical moves in one career field.

27. Career Pathing (continued)
Career ladder
Entry-level: first career step; little to no experience
Career-level: requires preparation and skills
Specialist-level: employee has worked in a specific career field for at least a few years
Supervisory-level: specialists with people skills and specific work knowledge to manage others
Executive-level: all of the above plus the ability to plan, organize, and manage a company; highest level

28. Career Pathing (continued)

29. Career Pathing (continued)
Career lattice
Ladder refers only to the upward mobility of an employment field
Lattice also accounts for lateral transitions

30. Career Pathing (continued)
Reasons to consider lateral moves
More opportunities for advancement
Higher wages
New, valuable knowledge and experience afforded by new job
Continued growth
Career development

31. Career Pathing (continued)

32. Career Portfolio
A portfolio is a compilation of materials that provide evidence of a person’s qualifications, skills, and talents.
Format
Print portfolio is hard copy
Electronic portfolio is digital form
Types vary and should be appropriate for career field

33. Career Portfolio (continued)

34. Review 1. Differentiate between a job and a career.
A job is short-term employment for compensation. At different times in a person’s life, jobs help to pay bills, school costs, and help to meet other financial obligations. A career is a long-term progression in one particular field with opportunities for growth and advancement. It is a lifetime endeavor that utilizes particular skills and expertise. It generally requires more education than a job, and during your working years, it may change multiple times.

35. Review (continued)
2. Identify steps an individual can take to evaluate career opportunities.
One of the ways to analyze the future employment outlook is to compare yesterday’s job trends with current market advertisements. The federal government, as well as many individual states, compile and publish data for emerging occupations. The Occupational Information Network (O*NET) is an occupational resource that provides descriptions of in-demand industry areas in emerging occupations. O*NET OnLine is a tool job seekers can use for career exploration and job analysis. The US Department of Labor is another resource for job seekers. Through the Department of Labor, users can view job information, hourly standards for jobs, wage information, and occupational safety information. According to the Department of Labor, in-demand occupations are vital to our economy’s health.

36. Review (continued) 3. Summarize the development of a career plan.
Before creating a career plan, it is helpful to first conduct a self-assessment and skills assessment, and then set SMART goals. A well-developed career plan contains all goals and milestones a person hopes to achieve within a given time period. These goals can range from the creation of a résumé or portfolio to establishing a retirement plan. Once you have drafted action items that are important for your future, you can start writing your actual career plan. There is no right or wrong way to format this document.

37. Review (continued)
4. Describe the importance of self-assessment in career planning.
Conducting a self-assessment enables a person to focus on career direction and provides information about his or her natural aptitudes, abilities, personality, and values. Discovering this information can help identify job opportunities that result in successful and gainful employment.

38. Review (continued)
5. What is an aptitude? How can aptitudes lead to job success?
An aptitude is a characteristic that an individual has developed naturally. One key to job success is to find work in an area that matches your aptitudes. Understanding your aptitudes can provide clues regarding how to begin the job-search process. In order to plan a career, experts suggest selecting opportunities that match your strongest characteristics.

39. Review (continued)
6. What is an ability? How does it differ from an aptitude or skills?
An ability is a mastery of a skill or the capacity to do something. Having aptitudes and skills is supported or limited by your abilities. For instance, a college student who has a musical aptitude and skills to reinforce it might not have the ability to perform under pressure in musical concerts.

40. Review (continued)
7. Explain two types of personal skills that should be a part of a skills assessment.
A skills assessment should take into consideration both soft skills, which are applicable skills used to help an individual find a job, perform in the workplace, and gain success in any job or career; and hard skills, which are measurable, observable, and critical skills necessary to perform required, work-related tasks of a position.

41. Review (continued) 8. Explain the purpose of setting SMART goals.
A SMART goal is a goal that is specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. SMART goals help students ground themselves in the reality of making an income after college graduation.

42. Review (continued) 9. What is career pathing?
Career pathing is a strategy an employee can use to determine personal career development.

43. Review (continued) 10. Explain the purpose of a portfolio.
A portfolio is a compilation of materials that provide evidence of a person’s qualifications, skills, and talents. When applying for a job, it will help demonstrate qualifications for the position.