Succeeding in the World of WorkUnit 2:
Exploring CareersWebQuestsWebQuest Internet Project
Career Research and Evaluating Success Career research and evaluating success in it are keys to identifying career fields of interest and what success means in each field. Obtaining such information involves conducting research to learn the specifics of careers of interest and identify those that could be right for you. Matching your career choices to your interests and skills increases the likelihood for career success and satisfaction. The Task Many people find success in their careers, but others do not. Your task for this unit is to find information that gives someone your age tips about performing career research, matching skills to career requirements, and determining whether a choice has been successful. The project will include the following topics: - sources to use for researching careers;
- specific career information and a description or list of the skills that each requires;
- specific factors to consider in choosing a career that meets both lifestyle and career goals;
- steps to take to prepare for work a career of interest;
- ways to evaluate whether a chosen career is successful.
The Process Important information you need to successfully complete this task is available on the following Web sites. www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/rr_gateway/research_guides/career/career4.shtml#career_development [source of career descriptions and requirements]] cardinalcareers.stanford.edu/icareers/
[international careers] jobstar.org/tools/career/spec-car.php
[guides for specific careers] www.bls.gov/oco/
[ Occupational Outlook Handbook ] http://fishbowl.pastiche.org/2007/02/18/job_satisfaction
[job satisfaction checklist] www.entrepreneur.com/startingabusiness/startupbasics/article76814.html
[are you cut out to be an entrepreneur?]
- Describe five steps in obtaining career information.
- Give two examples of formal and informal sources of information.
- Give three suggestions for identifying a career that matches your skills.
- Explain the importance of matching lifestyle goals to career requirements.
- Explain the ten characteristics that are useful in evaluating career expectations.
- Describe the characteristics of entrepreneurship.
Guidance These are some questions and ideas that can help to meet the goals of this project successfully. - List sources of formal career research available in the library in your school or community.
- Explain the importance of work hours and flextime to you.
- Explain how work environment can influence the success of your work life, and list some workplace factors to evaluate.
- Describe the characteristics of an entrepreneur and the advantages and disadvantages of entrepreneurship.
- What benefit information should a person consider when making a career decision?
Conclusions These are some suggestions for finishing your project. - Prepare a booklet with visual elements to discuss careers of interest to you, their requirement, and the skills you have to meet those requirements.
- Create a graph to illustrate some statistics that are important regarding careers.
- If you have a computer at your disposal, provide an actual brochure or graphics to insert in your written report.
- Provide important Web sites for researching careers not given here.
Questions - What career-related questions would you ask a person who works in a foreign country?
- What do you consider to be the advantages and disadvantages of working in a family business?
- If your school were to give each student the opportunity to spend a day job shadowing, what two or three jobs would you choose?
- What actions would you take to ensure that you meet your short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals?
- Which of the four ways of owning business is most and which is least attractive to you?
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