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INTRODUCTION: As an advisor to
undecided students, I offer workshops in Career Exploration and Decision Making.
In choosing careers, some students are more focused on “How much money will I
make?” rather than “What do I value, what are my skills, and what interests
me?” As a consequence, I developed an activity designed to help students
explore what is important to them, find a compatible career, and experience
higher achievement motivation in college. While I use this activity in a
workshop setting, it could easily be adapted for use in any career-oriented
course (nursing, accounting, electrical engineering, etc.) to help students
discover their degree of compatibility with the career for which they are
training. Upon identifying such a personally appealing career, students’
motivation often increases dramatically. Preparation for the activity takes
approximately 60 minutes; the workshop itself takes 30-50 minutes, depending on
amount of discussion. PURPOSE
SUPPLIES
SET UP 1. Write the name of a career and estimated
salary on each 3”x5” card, enclose it in an envelope, and seal the envelope.
Intersperse some traditional careers (e.g., teacher) with some non-traditional
careers (circus clown). Create one envelope for each student with 6-10 extras. 2. On the front of each envelope, write a
career value, one skill, and one interest that matches the career. Example:
For Clown--Values creativity, is physically agile, and likes working with
children. DIRECTIONS: 1. Hand each student an envelope and say,
“Inside your envelope is the career you will have for the next 40 years.
Before opening the envelope, please review the values, skills, and interests of
someone who is ideal for this career. Does your unknown career seem to match who
you are? How do you feel about your career choice?” Discuss. 2. Tell students, “It seems that some of
you are content with your career choice, but I hear others saying that it
doesn’t seem to fit them. You now have a choice: You may keep the career you
were given or trade your envelope with another student.” 3. Allow time for students to trade.
Offer the extra envelopes to students unhappy with the descriptors for their
career but unable to find someone willing to trade. 4. When trading is finished, say, “Is
everyone satisfied with the information on the envelope? Does it seem as though
you have found the right career for you?” Ask them to explain why or why not.
Guide students to articulate the importance of matching their personal values,
skills, and interests to a career. 5. Invite students to open their envelopes.
Ask for their reactions and why they feel either happy or unhappy with their
career “choice.” Discuss the importance of making a Wise Choice when
it comes to career planning. Solicit stories about people the students know who
are happy or unhappy in their career choices. Use these examples to illustrate
how a career decision affects many aspects of a person’s life. Explore how
having a clear career path affects their motivation to succeed in college. EXPERIENCES & OUTCOMES Upon receiving their envelopes, some
students say, “This is great, I’ll take the job,” but others say, “This
is so NOT me!” or, “I like the idea that I’ll be working with
people, but I don’t value a high stress career.” When given the chance to trade, students are
often careful to make sure they are getting a better match between their own
values, skills, and interests and the mystery career in the envelope. One
student said, “I like how much travel I would be doing, but I don’t want to
work alone.” Another student said, "I value making a lot of money, but I
don't want to deal with hazardous waste. I realize that it's not just making
money that's important, it's how you make the money." When students agree that they are content
with the envelope they have, they are often amused, surprised, and/or
disappointed by the actual career choice inside. As one fairly serious student
said, “I know it said ‘likes working with children’, but I just can’t
imagine myself becoming a clown!” Others said, “I like what it said on
the envelope, but the salary was so low I would need to work a second job- and
there are no benefits either.” The discussion about career decision-making
offers some excellent insights into the life/career relationship. “I
realized that I could make good money at this job, but if I traveled half the
time, I would give up time with my family.” “If I have a high paying
stressful job, how am I going to enjoy my money?” One of the experiences that I think is
particularly valuable is the realization that other people may have very
different career interests and values. After trading envelopes one student
said, “I can’t believe you want a career where you use math and computer
skills. That would drive me nuts!” After this exercise, many of my students are
interested in learning more about their career interests, skills and values.
They are able to discuss the importance of values, skills and interests in
career decision-making and by virtue of finding the right envelop for them, they
become more aware of some of their own values, interests and skills. By working
together and sharing career interests, values and skills, the students create a
sense of community and interdependence. In one group, two students took it upon
themselves to be career brokers, helping others find the right envelope to match
with their personalities. LESSONS LEARNED: After facilitating this activity it was
evident to me that many students feel overwhelmed and incapable of making one of
the most important decisions of their lives. Consequently, they are tempted to
settle on a career area prematurely, often based on very little information
about the actual career and lifestyle implications. I am aware how I was
in that very situation many years ago, and how helpful it is for students to
have experiences that assist them in making these wise choices that will have
far reaching implications for their lives. NOTE: Have fun during this activity.
Encourage students to change envelopes with each other if they are not 100%
happy with what it says on the outside. I always make sure I choose some careers
that sound too good to be true (and are!), so that when they look inside the
envelope they realize that there is a good deal more to a career than first
impressions. --Robin Middleton, Counselor, * * * * * The ON COURSE NEWSLETTER publishes innovative strategies for helping students become active, responsible learners. To subscribe to this bi-weekly (monthly in the summer) e-newsletter, click here and send the resulting e-mail. No need to type anything. Our computer will automatically add your return address to the list of subscribers. You're always in charge of your subscription, with a subscribe/unsubscribe link in every newsletter. Have a best practice to share? Click here and request our publication guidelines.
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