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CAREER EXPLORATION GUIDE
¨ Completed career exploration guide¨ 10 job ads printed and numbered to correspond with skills matrix¨ Print out the salary bell curve for your job title from Salary.com¨ 3 informational interviews¨ Current/updated resumé
NOVA Job Center Career Exploration Guide
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Career Exploration Guide
Name: Date:
Thisguideisatooltohelpyouexploreandcollectrelevantinformationsothatyoucandeterminethefeasibilityofyourcareerchoice,yourtrainingneeds,andyourfutureincome.Takethetimetothoughtfullyandthoroughlyanswerthesequestions.Remember,thisisyourfuture.
Focus
1. Whatisthetitleoftheoccupationyouareinvestigating?
a. Whatarerelatednamesforthisposition?
b. Isthisaskillupgradeoracareerchange?
Information about the position
2. Whatdoesatypicalworkdaylooklike?
a. Doyouhaveanyexperiencethatcouldtransferintothisposition?
b. Ifyouaremakingacareerchange,whydoyouwanttoenterthisnewfield?Whatexcitesyouaboutthefieldandwhataresomechallengesyoumayface?
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Can I Do This Job?
3. Arethereanycircumstancesfromyourpastthatcouldmakeitdifficulttogenerategoodreferences,passabackgroundcheckorcreditcheck,orobtainalicense,bond,orcertification?
4. Doyouneedanyhelporaccommodationstodothisjob? ¨ Yes¨No
Ifyes,whathelporaccommodationsdoyouneed?
Salary Information
5. Whatistheminimumhourlywageyoumustmaketomeetyournormallivingexpenses?
a. Howmanyyearsofworkexperiencedoyouhaveinthefieldyouareresearching?
b. Whatisthepayforthisjobatyourlevel?PrintoutsalarybellcurveforthisjobtitlefromSalary.com
• Range: $ to perhour
• Annualsalary: $ (hourlywagex2,080hours)
Local Labor Market
Whatskills,education,andexperiencedoIneedtobemarketable?
• Collect10detailedjobpostingsforthesamejobtitle/function(usemorejobpostingsforamoredetailedmatrix);listthemontheSkillsMatrix:JobDescriptions(p.3).
• CompletetheSkillsMatrix(p.4):
o Listallskillsmentionedinthepostingsandidentifywhichpostingsrequirewhichskills;
o Determinewhetheryoupossesstheskillsandeducationrequiredforeachpostion.
• AttachthejobpostingstothisCareerExplorationGuide.
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Skills Matrix: Job Descriptions
PastetheURLforeachofyour10identifiedjobs’onlinejobadintherespectivefieldbelow.
Job 1: Title/Company:
URL:
Job 2: Title/Company:
URL:
Job 3: Title/Company:
URL:
Job 4: Title/Company:
URL:
Job 5: Title/Company:
URL:
Job 6: Title/Company:
URL:
Job 7: Title/Company:
URL:
Job 8: Title/Company:
URL:
Job 9: Title/Company:
URL:
Job 10: Title/Company:
URL:
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Skills Matrix
IsitrealisticformetothinkthatIcanbecomeemployedinthejobIamresearchinginmytargetedlocation?Use10relatedjobadstodeterminetheskills,education,andexperiencerequiredtoapplyforthesepositions.Includebothtechnicalandsoftskills.
Current Skills + Training = Preparation to effectively compete for these jobs Required
Skills Job
1 Job
2 Job
3 Job
4 Job
5 Job
6 Job
7 Job
8 Job
9 Job 10
I Have Skill
I Need Skill
YearsofExperience
LevelofEducation
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Informational Meetings [Future Contacts]
Weaskthatyouspeaktothree(3)peoplewhoareknowledgeableaboutthecurrentlabormarketandthepositionforwhichyouareseekingtraining(hiringmanagers,recruiters,someonedoingthejob).Usetheattachedworksheetstorecordthefollowinginformationforeachoftheinterviews.• Nameofpersoninterviewed• Currentposition&company
Askyourcontactsthefollowingquestions:
o Whatareyourcurrentjobresponsibilities/tasks?
o Whatskills,certifications,andeducationarerequiredforthisjobtoday?
o Informyourcontactofyourcurrentbackgroundandask,“Withmybackground,whatchallengeswillIfaceinfindingajobinthisfield?”
o WhatdoyourecommendIdotohelpmegetajobinthisfield?
Youmayaskandincludeinformationfromtheadditionalquestionsattheendoftheworkbook.
AttachyourresumétothisCareerExplorationGuide.
• Ifyouhaveskillsandexperiencerelatedtothetrainingthatyouarerequesting,includeitonyourattachedresumé.
• Ifyouareenteringanewfield(careerchange),includeyourexistingresumé—youdonotneedtocustomizetheresuméforthefieldinwhichyouwanttraining.
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Informational Meeting 1
Contactinformation:
Full Name Company
Job Title
1. Whatareyourcurrentjobresponsibilities/tasks?
2. Whatskills,certifications,andeducationarerequiredforthisjobtoday?
3. Informyourcontactofyourcurrentbackgroundandask,“Withmybackground,whatchallengeswillIfaceinfindingajobinthisfield?”
4. WhatdoyourecommendIdotohelpmegetajobinthisfield?
5. AnythingelsethatyouthinkthatIshouldknowaboutthisfieldorneededtraining?
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Informational Meeting 2
Contactinformation:
Full Name Company
Job Title
1. Whatareyourcurrentjobresponsibilities/tasks?
2. Whatskills,certifications,andeducationarerequiredforthisjobtoday?
3. Informyourcontactofyourcurrentbackgroundandask,“Withmybackground,whatchallengeswillIfaceinfindingajobinthisfield?”
4. WhatdoyourecommendIdotohelpmegetajobinthisfield?
5. AnythingelsethatyouthinkthatIshouldknowaboutthisfieldorneededtraining?
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Informational Meeting 3
Contactinformation:
Full Name Company
Job Title
1. Whatareyourcurrentjobresponsibilities/tasks?
2. Whatskills,certifications,andeducationarerequiredforthisjobtoday?
3. Informyourcontactofyourcurrentbackgroundandask,“Withmybackground,whatchallengeswillIfaceinfindingajobinthisfield?”
4. WhatdoyourecommendIdotohelpmegetajobinthisfield?
5. AnythingelsethatyouthinkthatIshouldknowaboutthisfieldorneededtraining?
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Your time and resources
6. Whataresomeobstaclesthatcouldinterferewithyourtrainingorjobsearch?
¨None ¨Caringforchildren/elders ¨Familyresponsibilities¨Part-timejob ¨Volunteerwork ¨OutsideActivities¨Travel ¨Healthconditions ¨Other
Howwillyoumanagethesepotentialobstacles?
a. Doyouhaveaccesstothetechnologyrequiredforonlineordistancelearning?¨Yes¨No
b. Howwillyoufinanciallysupportyourselfwhileintrainingand/orjobsearch?
¨Family/Spouse ¨Part-timejob ¨Severance
¨UIBenefits: If“UI,”whendidbenefitsbegin?
Didyoudeclareaninterestintrainingpriortoweek16ofyourclaim?¨Yes¨No
¨Other
c. Basedonyourfinancialsituation,howmanymonthscanyoucommityourselftotrainingand/orjobsearch?(Note:Trainingcouldtake3–12monthsinadditiontojobsearch,whichcouldtake3+months.)