Outcomes. Upon completion of this unit, you should be able to perform the following:

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2 Outcomes Upon completion of this unit, you should be able to perform the following: 1. Assess and define your personal attributes and career skills. 2. Locate, evaluate, and retrieve information from job search websites. 3. Develop a plan for college graduation. 4. Analyze strategies for your career success. 2

3 Careers and You Your enrollment in a college program signifies you understand the action necessary to accomplish a goal or priority. Obtaining your college degree may have started for personal reasons to meet a personal goal, to demonstrate a great accomplishment to your children, or your spouse, etc. For others, attending college is primarily to achieve a career goal to be eligible to compete for your dream job, to advance or gain a promotion with your current employer, or to explore new career options. 3

4 The New Normal The new normal created by rapid changes in technology, economic uncertainty, and practices by companies and organizations focusing on the bottom line necessitates new approaches by those actively seeking employment or those preparing for career changes. This new normal demands attention for assessing and navigating the career landscape now and in the future. Knowing how to market yourself to current and future employers is a vital skill to master on the road to graduation. 4

5 Adapting to Change The willingness to adapt in a changing economy and to advance in your career requires the development of necessary skills and behaviors for positive change. Career counselors and coaches often highlight the necessity to develop transitional career skills and marketing techniques to prepare you to take advantage of career opportunities. To demonstrate your value in a changing economy, you must prepare by developing transitional skills needed by workers in the 21st century. 5

6 Transitional Career Skills What are transitional career skills? Lagena Bradley (2012) defines career transition as the ability to identify types of suitable employment, develop strategies to find jobs, implement an effective action plan to retrain or secure employment...[to] successfully move from one point in the...career to another point (p. 18). This process seems simple yet requires effective action to achieve career goals. Bradley, L. (2012). Transitions: A 21st century way of life. Career Developments, 28(3),

7 Transitional College Skills Starting a college program represents a major life transition period. You are already developing, or honing, your personal and career skills to meet the challenges of navigating this transitional time. As you adapt to the new life as a college learner, consider the advantages of preparing now for the next big transition period graduation! Your assignments in this course prepare you to succeed in college. Just as attending college requires a plan of action, focus, effort, persistence, and resilience, planning for the next career path requires this same level of effort. Transitional College Skills = Transitional Career Skills 7

8 Developing Career Resilience Bradley (2012, p.19) offers three steps to develop career resilience: the ability to accurately assess your personal strengths and abilities; look for ways to adapt to changes; and create a plan to meet market changes. Let's look at the three steps toward career resilience: Develop and implement realistic career plans Make connections with others in your career field Look for opportunities for self-discovery Take action and implement a plan Develop and maintain a positive view and confidence in your strengths and abilities Nurture a positive view of your future Change habits by fostering a positive attitude Develop awareness and ability to manage strong feelings and impulses Keep things in perspective, think through decisions, adapt, and accept change Use visualization and positive affirmations to foster successful habits Do you notice any similarities in the steps in the transition to college and career transitions? Adapting to a college program shares similar strategies and actions as a career transition. Attending a college program requires you to adapt, modify, and plan your daily priorities to accommodate the new responsibilities as a college learner; to focus on your goals to stay motivated as you attend college; to keep a positive mindset and attitude to face challenges in balancing multiple tasks and roles and relationships; and to create a plan to stay on track toward graduation. Make a commitment, now, to prepare to take the next step in your career path. Bradley, L. (2012). Transitions: A 21st century way of life. Career Developments, 28(3),

9 Move to Your Future Goals In most cases, the ability to secure a personally and financially rewarding career position requires more than a college degree. Although specific relevant work experience is a plus, it is possible to build a successful career path with concerted effort to assess, define, and market yourself to your current organization or potential employers. Start this process by assessing your skills, defining and developing a personal brand, and applying marketing strategies to achieve your career goals. 9

10 Assess Your Skills Often, when asked to define skills, the first thought is to report your current job position or previous ones. While these roles contribute to your skill set, look beyond this simple approach to explore skills relevant to today's workplace. Start your assessment by focusing on the foundational job category skills and competencies identified by the Department of Labor, Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS; Department of labor). Examine the five categories of job skills to gain an overview of your major skill sets: Resources the ability to manage, organize, and allocate resources: time, money, materials, facilities, and human resources. Interpersonal the ability to work with others: by teaching, group/team member skills, leadership, attention to customer needs, and cooperative effort with diverse populations. Information the ability to acquire, evaluate, organize, interpret, and communicate information Systems the ability to understand social, organizational, and technological systems with attention to monitoring, correcting, designing, and promoting effective and productive operations. Technology the ability to select and apply technology to specific tasks and problem solving, and to maintain up-to-date knowledge skills. Resources Interpersonal Information Systems Technology 10

11 Focusing Your Skills Individual levels of competency in the five categories of job skills vary due to life experiences, education, work roles, and personal interests. For example, scientists or information technologists are expected to have strong knowledge and applied skills in systems, resources, and technology. As you assess your skills and competencies in the five major skill categories, consider vital, relevant, and desirable competencies in your chosen career field or prospective career position. To advance to the next level, assess your current level of proficiency: preparatory, work-ready, intermediate, advanced, or specialist (SCANS report, n.d). Note strengths and less developed areas to focus on as you prepare for the next career role. This gives you an opportunity to adequately prepare and demonstrate your value to an organization. 11

12 Transferable Skills Communication The second area to assess is transferable skills. Transferable skills are general skills that are needed in a variety of jobs. They include communication, time and priority management, organizational, problem solving and critical thinking skills, all of which are vital in day-to-day work. The good news is your acquired work and college experience will help you develop, or hone, these skills as you work toward your degree. Time Management Organizational Skills Priority Management Critical-Thinking Skills Problem-Solving Skills 12

13 Transferable Skills Career to College Take a few moments to review this table, which compares the skills in careers to skills in college. Leadership taking the initiative, defining plans and taking action, setting an example, mentoring others. Priority Management setting priorities and scheduling time and resources to accomplish goals, dealing with interruptions and maintaining motivation in stressful times. Problem-Solving willingness to apply strategic assessment, evaluation, and action in key areas needing correction, innovation and development or to support the company's mission or goals. Communication ability to accurately define audience and effectively communicate ideas to meet task assignments and/or to promote the welfare of the group. Critical-Thinking ability to brainstorm, think through problems and make solid decision supported by data or evidence. College taking the initiative to lead class discussion, offer personal and professional expertise, and examples relevant to the discussion. College- setting priorities, defining a suitable study and work schedule to meet course requirements, and creating a stress management plan. College- assessing and applying academic strategies to master coursework assignments, identifying research themes & making choices that support success. College-asking questions, expressing ideas clearly and concisely which you find are suitable to the audience, both in oral and written forms. College-applying knowledge and principles from one course to another, determining bias, opinion and fact in practical and research situations. 13

14 Assessing Personal Characteristics The final area of personal assessment includes personal characteristics that impact success in college, the workplace, and life. The Framework for 21st Century Learning (Partnership for 21st century, n.d.) highlighted in your Keys to Learning Strategies for Success textbook (2012, p. 11) identify the following personal traits and qualities as essential to success: Flexibility and adaptability Initiative and self-direction Social and cross-cultural skills Productivity and accountability Leadership and responsibility The process of assessing your personal and professional skills can be a lengthy one, but it is a valuable and necessary step as you continue creating a personal brand for yourself. Take the time to build a template of current skills, traits and competencies; and a time for improving your skills throughout your college work and beyond. Now, let s move to the next step on the road to your ideal career position. 14

15 Create a Personal Brand The ability to obtain a desired occupation rests on building a knowledge base and transferable skills, which you acquire from work experience and a college degree. Then, it is your responsibility to translate your value to the market place or potential employers. How will you contribute to and fit within an organization? This is a key question for organizations as they recruit employees and evaluate candidates throughout the interview process. Meg Guiseppi, a 20 year veteran as a career coach, recommends developing a personal brand (Creating your, n.d.). A personal brand identifies and states how you are unique from others. Guiseppi recommends you ask four questions to start the process of creating a personal brand. What are you most passionate about? What do you care deeply about? What are your top 3 or 4 personal attributes the things that define how you make things happen? What are your 3 or 4 greatest strengths or top motivated skills (things you enjoy doing) that have benefited your company or employers? What differentiates you from other competition for your next job? What do you have to offer that no one else does? Think about how the answer to each of these questions contributes to your personal branding statement. Use action verbs to describe your passion, ability to marshal personal attributes and strengths to achieve personal and organizational goals. You may see examples of how to compose a personal branding statement by visiting Or, enter the key words into your favorite search engine: personal branding. A personal branding statement differentiates your personal attributes and potential contributions to an organization. Guiseppi, M. (n.d.) Creating your personal brand. Retrieved from 15

16 Market Yourself The final step in this discussion on preparing and achieving your career goals is exploring how to market yourself in a changing workplace. Emerging technology dramatically changes the job search process, the need to identify and brand oneself, and the ability to effectively deal with social and technological methods of personal presentation and job selection. Gone are the days of checking the newspaper and submitting a paper application. Most employers require an online application process, even if they later ask for a paper application too. If your goal is to advance in your current company or career field, or secure employment in a new area of expertise, utilizing the following steps will improve your overall success. 16

17 Define and Track Developed Skills Your ability to demonstrate knowledge and skills to your employer (or future employer) after graduation is key. As you progress through a degree program, archive your assignments that promote transferable skills to the workplace. Note the specific skill or process you used to achieve the final product. Many of your major subject area courses will have critical thinking and knowledge-based application of principles in your chosen field. These exercises simulate real-world activities and they can build your skills and confidence. In addition, you are developing real-world language and terminology, which allows you to demonstrate knowledge and competence during a job interview. 17

18 Capitalize on Your Experience Many adult learners have professional work experience and return to college to earn credentials or to meet certification requirements. Your work experience is an advantage in the workplace. If you lack experience, get active in your industry and community! Any opportunity to get involved with your industry will only help to build your credibility. It does not matter if you are volunteering in your community or participating in an internship any experience is a learning experience. Explore how these experiences integrate with past and current knowledge, and learn from them. Take that new knowledge, and apply it to your industry! Community connections also increase your network of potential employers or references. 18

19 Find a Mentor One way to find a mentor is to make a conscious effort to develop relationships with professors and other learners in your career field. Talk to family, friends, and co-workers about your work interests. You may be surprised to learn of the resources that are available in your local circle and community. Do not be afraid to make connections or individuals to ask questions or share comments. Look for a mentor! This person can be a resource for sharing ideas, getting feedback, offering suggestions on personal development and skill building tips, as well as helping you to connect to opportunities in the future. Mentoring relationships can last for short focused periods or for years to come. They provide valuable feedback and links to others in the world of work. 19

20 Stay Up-To-Date Read current articles in your field. Use your online research skills to locate articles, and/or use the CSU Online Library as a research vehicle. This keeps you abreast of new trends and also supports the information you are learning as you progress in your college program. Keep your eye on the big picture to assess how job markets, skills, and focused areas are changing. It may also be a way to impress your current employer with your content skills. Working toward a college degree is one step toward developing skills and expertise for career and personal opportunities. Take the challenge to prepare for the future and build personal and academic skills for future employment. Prepare now as you move toward graduation. Be ready to market yourself! What are the TRENDS? 20

21 Build Search Strategies Be creative in your job search as you work on your degree program. Professional and trade organizations, trade groups, job search sites, and networking encounters are all ways to determine specific job roles, skills, competencies, and expectations associated with positions in your career field. Look at a variety of resources as you plan your job search strategy. 21

22 Be Flexible The more you are able to adjust to the changing demands of the career marketplace, the more you will find your career adventure taking you where you want to go even if the route might not be the one you expected. More Adaptability = More Opportunity 22

23 O*NET O*NET is one of many government-provided databases offering detailed descriptions of thousands of occupations, highlighting aspects such as tasks, knowledge, skills, abilities, work activities, and context. Plus, it cross references to the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT). 23

24 USAJOBS USAJOBS is the one-stop source for Federal jobs and employment information. Here, this user-friendly format allows you to browse through all posted Federal jobs by a simple keyword search. Want to work internationally? Make certain that you select the International Search button. 24

25 How does CSU fit into all of this? CSU provides resources to assist you as you progress in your degree program and to prepare for job search activities. Start today to assess your skills, create a personal brand, and establish a career plan. Academic Advisors Career Services 25

26 Academic Advisors CSU provides the service of Academic Advising for all students. This service is designed to assist you in familiarizing yourself with the course offerings at CSU, to assist you in how to choose appropriate courses for your degree plan, and to introduce you to your Academic Advisor. The following are some of the assistance Academic Advisors can provide: 1. Serves as the liaison between the student and CSU with regard to curriculum choices and course selections 2. Assists student with the development of a Degree Action Plan and course choices for enrollments 3. Serves as a student contact for questions or concerns related to: Degree program or degree requirements Course choices Degree plan Evaluations Transfer credits VA housing benefit Academic probation or suspension Grade point average Internships or co-ops Course substitutions Academic documents required for tuition assistance approval Program changes 4. Approves enrollment when there are internal questions about student enrollment 5. Helps with enrollment changes when necessary 6. Assists student with CSU resource identification and utilization to help with academic success 7. Provides phone enrollment services for student when necessary 8. Sends out regular s as enrollment reminders 9. Serves as a CSU contact for other institutions with concerns over transfer credit 26

27 Career Services The mission of Career Services is to provide students and alumni with resources to assist in the achievement of their career related goals. Career Services assists students and alumni in constructing professional correspondence documents such as resumes, cover letters, thank you letters, etc. Career Services can also assist students and alumni with job search strategies, social networking advice, and interview preparation. Please allow 2-3 business days for resume and cover letter review and feedback. For guidance on your Unit VII assignment, please contact a Career Services Specialist via at careerservices@columbiasouthern.edu or by phone at (800) ext Our hours of operation are from 8:00-5:00 Monday through Thursday and 8:00-3:00 on Friday, Central time. Additionally, if you would like guidance on your Unit VII assignment, please contact a Career Services Specialist via or telephone. 27

28 Learning Activity 7.1 (Non-Graded) There are always opportunities to enhance your professional credentials, and it can be a lot of fun. Consider completing this activity in your pursuit to continuously improve your personal brand. Locate one professional organization in your chosen career field. Determine the goals and membership requirements. Evaluate the benefits and advantages of memberships i.e., networking options, professional development opportunities, job search options, etc. 28

29 Review Regularly assessing your personal and professional skills allows you to be in control of your own potential. There are five widely-desired categories of job skills: o Resources o Interpersonal o Information o Systems o Technology It is advantageous to know how to utilize and transfer skills such as professional skills used in college and college skills used in a career. Creating a personal brand means distinguishing yourself from the competition by emphasizing and presenting your abilities. It is important to stay abreast of the technological advancements in order to market yourself competitively. Researching companies is one method of discovering and maintaining a knowledge base for your industry of interest. Find a mentor who can answer your questions and provide you with guidance as you seek to explore additional opportunities. Competition is fierce in several industries, so be sure to stay up-to-date while maintaining a competitive edge. As you continue getting closer to graduation, be sure to take advantage of the services available at the University: o Contact your Academic Advisor to learn more about your options at the University and how you can make the most of your learning experiences. o Contact Career Services to find out what others are doing to stay competitive in the job market. 29

30 This concludes the lesson. 30