Career Exploration 101 Is This Career for ME?




What is?

Job-Shadowing "Job shadowing is a work experience option where students learn about a job by walking through the work day as a shadow to a competent worker. The job shadowing work experience is a temporary, unpaid exposure to the workplace in an occupational area of interest to the student. Students witness firsthand the work environment, employability and occupational skills in practice, the value of professional training and potential career options. Job shadowing is designed to increase career awareness, help model student behavior through examples and reinforce in the student the link between classroom learning and work requirements. Almost any workplace is a potential job shadowing site." -- Paris, K., & Mason, S. (1995). Planning and Implementing Youth Apprenticeship and Work- Based Learning. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin, Center on Education and Work.

Instructions for the Career Shadow Project:

Dear Students, I am excited to offer you the opportunity to conduct a job shadow on November 13th, 2015. Please plan to be on sight at the job shadow location for 4 hours minimum. As you begin this project, read the question and incorporate the resources offered.

“How do I conduct a job shadow which includes my interests, explores or confirms a career goal and clarifies next steps in my educational plan?”

You will be released from school all day on November 13th. Conduct the job shadow, organize what you learned and upload it to your Google site. Complete the project and upload by Wednesday, December 2nd to your Student Google Site. As you prepare for, and enjoy your job shadowing experience, make sure to check out the career exploration links, research the career location and person you are shadowing and set up an appointment to shadow at least one week in advance of the job shadow. You will be able to discuss this project during mentoring class prior should you have questions. PRESENTATION: Make sure all 9 questions and the 7 requirements are represented in your presentation. You may use PREZI or other web tools as an electronic presentation format. Do not submit a powerpoint. Your teachers and I can’t wait to view what you learned,

Mrs. Searles


Process
 Investigate Gain confidence from advanced preparation about the industry, technology or types of jobs through resource links before you conduct your job sha dow interview.

Question and LISTEN

se while Ask many questions with purpo r and other talking with job shadow mento company representatives. e notes and Listen to their responses, tak day. pictures and reflect on your

Share Report your ex perience on yo ur Google site and your te achers, parents and classmates will be able to read a bout and appreciate your experience.

9 Key Interview Questions Worksheet Here are some tips to help you with the interview: 1st - Enter the company and job shadow profile information as you prepare for your shadow day, then ask your job shadow mentor if it is correct. 2nd - If your job shadow mentor is ok with this, tape record your interview on your phone or iPad. It’s helpful to listen to your discussion when you are writing the report. You can also record notes on this worksheet during your discussion as you tape record. 3rd - Download this document into your ipad PlainText App or other, and type your notes into the “9 Key Questions Report Template” document below and save. This becomes your first rough draft of the interview that will become your career profile write-up. If you need more space for your notes for each question, use the return button to add space. COMPANY PROFILE: Company Name: Location: (Address, City, State)

JOB SHADOW PROFILE: Your job shadow mentor’s name: Job Title: 1.What are your current job responsibilities?

2. Please describe what a typical day or week would be for your job?

3. How has your education and other kinds of learning (classes, on the job) prepared you for this job?

4. Why did you choose the field you are in now?

5. Describe the types of technology that you work with to accomplish your job?

6. What advice would you give to students exploring a career in your industry and your field?

7. What has been the most challenging for you in this role?

8. What do you predict about the future of your industry 1 year from now? 5 years from now?

9. Where do you see yourself in 3 to 5 years? Ask your job shadow mentor if their company has produced any videos about their products, services, or commercials, technology informational videos, etc. The company might also have video materials that are publicly available (e.g. You Tube) from the internet. Videos: File or URL: File or URL: File or URL:

Job Shadow Mentor Signature: Duration and time of the Job Shadow:

7 Essential Requirements Key Job Shadow Interview Questions In addition to questions you plan to ask, make sure to include information from the 9 key interview questions into your project presentation. Your job shadow “at work” pictures Ask your mentor’s permission to take their picture, for example, at their desk and at a place in their facility that shows them in a work setting. Most digital cameras should work fine for digital resolution. Try not to stand too far away when you take your pictures. It’s nice to be able to recognize that this is your job shadow mentor. Short paragraph for advice about their job Select one or two sentences from the job shadow interview for the space next to the mentor’s “at work” pictures. This might be a great place to place your mentor’s tip or advice to you about entering into their career. Company logo link It may be appropriate or helpful to include your job shadow’s company logo graphic (e.g. the .jpg image) Ask your mentor for a .jpg file that would be approved to use. Another way to get the logo is from an internet search for the image, such as using Google. Save the .jpg logo file to your PC, and also be sure to ask your job shadow mentor to confirm that the logo is appropriate to use. Some companies have several logo’s, so please make sure you check. Hyperlink the logo to the company’s website. Your job shadow’s main quote Select an “exemplary” saying from your mentor during the interview (see your question write up) or ask your mentor to provide a specific quote they would like you to use in your presentation. A good quote size is around 40 words. Don’t forget to have your Job Shadow Mentor e-sign on your 9 Question Worksheet. Image representing a project by the job shadow In addition to the pictures representing your mentor’s job and career, one image will be used to represent a project (or a process) your mentor worked on at his/her company. The image can be a picture that you take, or a graphic (.jpg) representative about the project. If you use a graphic image from the internet, it cannot be a copyright protected image. Ask your GLBEC mentor if you have any questions about copyrights and what image you should use.

About the job shadow’s project (or process) project The second part that helps describe what your job shadow mentor does during the day, is to write about either a project they have worked on, or a process/activity that they perform for their company. When you spend the day with your mentor, you will talk about a lot of things. Ask your mentor about a project that they completed that was challenging or would be interesting to explain their work. This only should be less than a 1⁄2 page long since you’ll be presenting in an electronic format. Ask your GLBEC mentor for ideas and help if you aren’t sure what would be a good project or process description.

Telephone Appointment Template Below is a template you may use when setting up the job shadow appointment: Hello, My name is ___________________. I am a high school student in the Great Lakes Bay Early College Program. I am interested in shadowing your __________( office, position, etc...). I am being released from school on the day of November 13th for a job shadow. Would I be able to set this up at your _______(business name)? I will come prepared with 9 questions that I can email to you ahead of the job shadow on the 13th. Thank you for your consideration. OR, I appreciate the opportunity. Make sure you write down the name and contact of the person to whom you are speaking and the name and phone/email contact of the person who will be your job shadow mentor. Name______________________________________________________ Phone:_______________________ Email:________________________ Address:____________________________________________________


Career Exploration Links Free Career Assessments onetonline.org or mitalent.org Career Assessment INFO

My NEXT Move My PLAN

Career Assessment Fee for Service: Strong Interest Inventory

Health Careers http://explorehealthcareers.org/en/home

In Demand in the Next 10 Labor Statistics and Job Trends http://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/10-hot-jobs/1.html http://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/10-best-college-majors-for-your-career/1.html http://www.onetonline.org/ http://www.bls.gov/ CNN Report Hot Jobs 10 Jobs Big Demand 25 Science Careers

Great Lakes Bay Early College Prospective Career Shadow Mentor, I introduce our student as a participant of the Great Lakes Bay Early College Program. We are one of thirty-five Early College Programs in Michigan where students attend classes on a college campus while in high school and earn college credits toward a certificate, associates or bachelor’s degree. We are an extraordinary opportunity of personalized education designed to fully immerse high school-aged students into the college learning environment. The efforts of this program are focused on inspiring more students to study in STEM fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Students who complete the early college program will be credentialed in College Readiness and successfully persist toward completing a technical certificate, associates or bachelor degree, prepared to enter careers in high-demand occupations. This program can provide skilled workers in key growth areas of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine.  Part of each student’s coursework is dedicated to Career Exploration. At this time, our students are required to explore a career and publish their findings to other early college participants. It is our hope, with multiple shadow opportunities, that the students will refine their career selection and select coursework necessary to earn a credential or degree. Would you mentor our student for an afternoon so they may explore and find the career that fits their interests and abilities? Thank you for your consideration,

Marlene Searles web:www.sisd.cc/glbec email:[email protected] 989.964.2047

Newsweek's Top High Schools in America, 2014 & 2015