1. Making the Right Career Choice
One of the reasons most students attend college is to learn skills they can apply to a job or career. In this lesson we’ll look at ways to make career decisions, and steps to take to get a job. Does anyone have any questions before we start?

2. Careers and the New Economy
Characteristics of today’s economy
Global
Unstable
Innovative
Without boundaries
Changing
Social
A college degree does not guarantee employment
You are solely responsible for your career
To advance your career, you must accept the risks and plan for the future
Career choice is not permanent
Over the past few years, the global economy has experienced extreme ups and downs. Economic uncertainty is a reality. Todays economy is defined by the following characteristics:
Global. Many corporations are multinational, so US college graduates compete for jobs with others around the world.
Unstable. Having a college education gives you an advantage over those without degrees in an unstable economy.
Innovative. The economy depends on creativity to generate consumer interest.
Without boundaries. In almost every organization, teams need to work together.
Ever changing. New jobs in nearly all industries require you to keep learning throughout your life.
Social. You will have to work with others, no matter what career you choose.
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3. Self-Exploration in Career Planning
Values: things you feel most strongly about
Aptitude: natural or acquired proficiency
Skills:
Personal: come naturally or learned through experience
Ex: Punctuality, self-motivation, conflict management
Workplace: learned on the job
Ex: designing websites, bookkeeping
Transferable: gained through previous experiences
Ex: planning events, attention to detail, motivating others
Personality: characteristics or qualities that form character
Self-assessment is a good first step in setting your academic and career goals. Factors that can affect your career choices include your values, skills, aptitudes, personality, and interests.
Your values, formed through your life experiences, are the things you feel most strongly about.
Your skills, or ability to do something well, normally fall into three categories: personal, workplace, and transferable. You may bring different skills to different situations.
Aptitude refers to you natural or acquired proficiency in a certain area, which makes it easier to learn or to do certain things.
Your personality makes you who you are, and cannot be ignored when you make career decisions.
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4. Planning for Your Career
Create a career plan
Important steps:
Take a variety of classes
Visit the career center
Take self-assessments
Prepare a draft of your résumé
Create professional profiles
Get involved
Network
Volunteer
Research possible occupations
Build on your strengths and develop weaker skills
Get a job
Just like you should have an academic plan to navigate your time at college, you should create a career plan to guide the process of making a career choice.
Start by understanding yourself and what you want out of a career. Then, begin creating a professional image – draft a résumé, create a LinkedIn profile, and network by attending career fairs and connecting with instructors, family, and friends to find contacts. Next, it’s time to start getting some experience – volunteer, do research, conduct informational interviews and shadow professionals, and get a job.
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5. Getting Experience Experiential learning opportunities Working
Service learning/volunteer activities
Internships/co-ops
Student projects/competitions
Working
On-campus/Off-campus employment
Work-study
Gaining experience in your field while in college can help you meet people who may later serve as important references for employment, and can teach you things you won’t learn in the classroom.
Service learning a required part of a course in which you perform unpaid service work. Some instructors build these opportunities into their classes, but if not you can volunteer!
Co-op programs allow you paid work assignments. Students usually alternate taking classes for a term and working in a co-op program. They are particularly common in the engineering field, though can be found in other areas as well.
Working while in college allows you to gain professional experience, earn money, network and make connections, and develop key skills. You will have to decide if you want to work on or off campus – on-campus employment is often more flexible in terms of scheduling, but you might make less money than you would in an off-campus job.
Be careful of overextending yourself, no matter where you work, and don’t let your academics slide.
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6. Job Search Strategies
Learn the names of major employers
Check postings
Be aware of un-posted openings
Market yourself
Building a résumé
Chronological format vs. skills format
Write a cover letter
Get the most recent name and address
Interviewing
Conduct research
Mock interviews
Dress appropriately
Be on time
Follow up
You may need a job while you are in college, or after you graduate. Check online job postings, classified ads, and opportunities in your college’s newspaper. This will help you find jobs that are geographically close, and employers who favor hiring college students. Be aware, though, that many job openings are never posted. Employers usually prefer to hire people who are recommended to them by current employees, friends, or the person leaving the position: who you know is important.
You also need to market yourself. This involves developing a presence at your college and within your industry – if you can create a name and reputation for yourself, you can shape your future. Think about how you can stand out from your peers (in a good way!).
A résumé is necessary for marketing yourself. Employers spend an average of 7-10 seconds screening résumés for the first time, so make sure yours is concise and well organized. If you are a new professional, a one page résumé is appropriate.
Your cover letter is more important than your résumé and much harder to write. Make sure you address the letter to the right person – this is type of detail employers pay attention to.
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7. Skills Employers Seek Content skills Transferable skills
Cognitive, intellectual, or “hard” skills
Acquired as you gain mastery in your academic field
Ex: writing proficiency, computer literacy, and foreign language skills
Transferable skills
Skills that apply to or transfer to a variety of settings
Ex: solid oral and listening abilities, leadership skills, critical thinking, and problem solving
One of the many important purposes and outcomes of your college experience is gaining a combination of knowledge and skills.
You need both content skills – “hard” skills such as writing proficiency and foreign language skills – and transferable skills – skills that apply to a variety of settings such as teamwork and communication skills.
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8. Staying on the Path to Success
When you finish a course, take a step back and reflect
What did I learn in this course?
How can I apply what I have learned?
What challenges do I still face?
Your completion of this course is a good predictor of your overall success in college. You have learned many success strategies that can help you throughout your entire college experience. For many students, the first year is by far the most challenging time in college. Now, you have some strategies to help you throughout the adjustment.
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9. Tech Tip: Conduct Industry Research
Use O*NET and other resources to conduct industry research
Visit O*NET
Search by keyword or occupational category
Identify desired role within industry
Identify promising companies
Research individual employers
Information about industries and the companies that represent them is essential for anyone who wants to get a sense of how careers are trending, what the most innovative sectors are, which college majors are most beneficial, where the money is, and who’s hiring. Use O*NET Online to conduct industry research.
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