1. Career Exploration
What draws you to your perfect job? What about it is interesting? What parts of the job will you enjoy? What parts will you dislike?

2. So what do you want to do with the rest of your life ??????

3. How do we decide? Abilities/Aptitude Interest + Personality/Motivation
= Career Choice

4. THE CAREER DECISION-MAKING PROCESS
1. Self Assessment
2. Career Exploration
3. Analyze Information
4. Make a Career Choice
5. Develop a Plan of Action
1. Self Assessment - (discovery of values, interests, personality
traits, skills, deficiencies, etc.)
2. Career Exploration - (exploration of different majors and
related career options, its characteristics, work settings,
employment outlook, etc.)
3. Analyze Information - (evaluate, review information about
self and other personal circumstances, and relate this information
to career options of interest.)
4. Make a Career Choice - (choose your best fit career option.)
5. Develop a Plan of Action - (develop a plan to get where you
want to go.)

5. Holland’s Hexagon
Doer
Organizer
Thinker
Creator
Persuader
Helper

6. High School Student Career Planning
Orientation

7. Questions for Students
How many hours have you invested in school between grades 1-12?
Why do you go to school?
Is it smart to select a HS extracurricular activity at random? A career?
What is the best career in the world?
When are you required to decide on your career?

8. Think About It
People Often Invest More Time Planning Their Vacation Than Planning Their Career.

9. Career Decision Determines
How you spend most of your "awake" hours for the next 40 years?
Your opportunities for personal satisfaction and growth?
Your ability to meet your family's needs (e.g. housing, medical, college)?
Your ability to eventually retire with the financial resources to enjoy it?

10. Career Planning Dilemma The Stakes Have Never Been Higher
The Tools are Available
The Challenge is to Inform & Motivate

11. Lifetime Value
of Education

12. Hours Invested

13. How Much Income
Do I Need?

14. How Much Will A
House Cost?

15. Why Motivating Youth is Difficult Easy to procrastinate.
Parents “fell into their jobs”.
Too scary to think about.
Too busy. No more homework!
Don’t know where to begin.
Don’t see the value.

16. Result: Poor Choices, Waste and Frustration
“My son just graduated from college. He doesn’t have a clue what he wants to do. Maybe forensics. Maybe art.”
“My daughter is a sophomore in college and she hates her major (accounting). She is changing majors, but doesn’t know what to choose. That means at least one more year of college that we cannot afford.
“Now that I have a college degree, I need to think about a career. I majored in Marketing, but I’m not sure that’s what I want to do.”
“I hate my major, but switching involves two more years of college. My parents would kill me. I’ll gut it out. Maybe I’ll learn to like it.”
“I wish I had known four years ago what I know now. I would have taken career and college planning more seriously. My major was easy and fun, but now I cannot get a decent job.”

17. “Typical” Resources Used to Pick a Career
TV => There is a big difference between TV drama and “real life”. 
Friends => They’ll know what sounds “cool”, but unless they have proactively used the career /college tools available, they are probably not a knowledgeable source of information.
Life’s Interactions => OK, you have used the services of Dentists, Pharmacists, Teachers, etc. but… Do you really know what it is like to do their job?
Parent => A great source, if your parent’s career happens to be “the right one” out of several hundred possibilities for you.

18. Better Resources to Pick a Career
“Free” on-line resources
To clarify your interest/fit with various careers
To compare your personal skills/strengths against those required by various careers
To determine which careers offer the most opportunity
To develop your list of careers for consideration
To learn about the nature of work, education requirements, job outlook, earnings, etc.

19. Better Resources to Pick a Career
Talk to People in Careers of Interest
Parent’s Friends
Friend’s Parents
Acquaintances from “Life’s Interactions” (e.g. teachers, dentists, store managers)
Career Day Presenters
Volunteering, Internships, Job Shadowing

20. Suggestions Before Starting
Don't select a career based solely on $$$.
Do pick a career for which jobs are available with income levels adequate to meet your family's financial needs.
Don't expect a quick, easy answer.  The career planning process requires time and effort.  Invest the time to identify/evaluate careers that "fit" your needs, interests and abilities.
Do use a variety of tools and talk to several people in each career of interest.
Don't get discouraged or discredit the process when some “obviously” unacceptable careers appear on a list generated by an interest assessment tool (they will).  Career planning is not a precise science.  Reason and judgment must be applied.

21. Suggestions Before Starting
Do think about the process as a way to significantly improve
your odds (with no guarantee) of selecting a great career.  The
following table is my rough estimate of how your odds for
choosing a great or "perfect" career improve by making an
informed decision.
                                        Random            Gut               Informed
                                     Decision          Feel                Decision  
        Perfect Career           1%                   5%                    20%
        Great Career             4%                 20%                    50%
        Acceptable Career    60%               50%                    20%
        Terrible Career         35%              25%                    10%
    For example, I estimate that your probability of selecting a "perfect career“ is about
1% if you make a random decision vs. 20% if you make an informed decision.

22. Career Planning Process
Your Strengths
(e.g., creativity,
leadership, writing)
Your Interests
(e.g., people, math, science)
Your Needs
(e.g., income, growth,
personal fulfillment)
Identify Career
Possibilities
Occupational Outlook Summaries
Networking, Internships, Job Shadowing, Volunteering
CareerOneStop Job Summaries & Videos
Evaluate/Select a
Career

23. Career Planning Process
Get motivated
Self Analysis
Develop a list of jobs to consider
Get on-line information for evaluation
Evaluate job options
Prepare a job comparison summary
Talk to people in occupations of strong interest.
Choose the “right” industry and company.

24. Web Site Tool Demo www.collegecareerlifeplanning.com Tools
College Planning Tools (Selecting, Applying & Financing)
Career Planning Tools (Self-assessment, Identify Careers Prospects, Retrieve Required Information, Evaluate Careers, Company/Industry Information, Evaluate Companies/Industries, Job Basics)

25. Your Future Depends On It
The Door is Open.
Will You Enter?
Invest time to review/use the tools
to make informed decisions.
Tell others who might benefit (friends,
cousins, neighbors, siblings)
Your Future Depends On It