Taking the Guesswork Out of Choosing a Career

The formation of a personal career identity or work personality is essential to helping students understand the type of careers that they will find fulfilling. The key is guiding the students through assessments then identify thematic or repeating characteristics across the assessments. Students need the help of teachers, counselor, or other adults to accomplish that. Appreciative Inquiry is introduced in lesson 2.4. This is a unique element in career development with adolescents, but it is a dynamic way of students reflecting on their real-life experiences. Don Schutt describes this approach saying, "The approach is grounded in the theories of positive psychology and focuses on building the strengths that clients already possess as a way to create positive change." It also identifies the driving forces for the student and consequentially their passions. Current career development research and thought emphasize this reflection on life events, driving forces, and a positive approach to the selection of careers. Pragmatically, it makes sense. We choose what we are good at. However, adolescents are emerging abstract thinkers and need the help of a caring adult to assist with this process. 

In activity 2.4, it is essential that students are asked to reflect on those moments in their lives that they loved what they are doing so much that they had to be called to dinner many times before they could stop. It will be an activity that they did over and over and never were tired of. This should be done individually without coaching. This collection of lessons has been used successfully with "at-risk" youth many times.  Appreciative Inquiry is important for them because it takes them back before they were labeled or a role was assigned to them that perhaps filled a purpose for the system they were functioning in.   That does not mean the role accurately described the student. When all this is combined, is conceptualized by the student, expressed as a self-description, and explained in a personalized way the student has conceptualized their work personality/career identity. 

The student identifies career clusters of interests then correlates their work personality/career identity to the pathway within career clusters of interest. This strategy helps organize the world of careers into a more manageable one so the student can conceptualize the selection of careers using a simple guided process. 

There are written assessments for use and links to online resources. Given the nature of the Internet, some links may not work. There is a large number of easily identifiable substitutes available. They are often the exact same assessment, just in a different location. Educators may want to utilize tools and current online platforms that are available to them. Teachers working with homeless and "at-risk" youth have indicated that the hard copy assessments are necessary to their work so they remain available. The process will remain the same regardless of the assessment format. It is important that the students see the results of the assessment and descriptions in one place to assist with the identification of reoccurring themes. 

Last, a simple action list sets the stage for the student to move forward by putting self-knowledge into action. One element introduces the student to the important action of developing personal and professional networks. There is a misguided notion that people move their career development process without help from others. In reality, it limits opportunities and options. The action plan addresses this in a simple way. It asks the student to identify someone who could help them, if they need it, with each step of the action plan.