1B. Career Visualization
What elements of your vision stood out to you?
What values did our vision reveal to you? (e.g. working hours, status, wealth, family, health, community)
What is required to make this vision come true? (e.g. education, experience)
List 5 things that you do not want to see in your future career (e.g. shift work, over nights, a long commute). Be sure to put these in order of importance.
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There are likely some things that might be standing in the way of this perfect future. Consider what some obstacles may be and write them here.
Looking back over the career vision activity we just did, how much of that do you think was influenced by your:
- Experiences
- Family
- Friends
- Community
Change the numbers in the excel sheet below to update the pie chart. You may choose to add other categories as well.
1C. Goal Setting
Write at least three short/long term personal goals (e.g. academic, fitness, finance, personal development)
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Write at least three short/long term professional goals (e.g. skill development, networking, promotion)
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Turn one goal into a SMARTER Goal
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1D. Career Mission Statement (1st Draft)
Based on the work that you’ve done today, create the first draft of your own career mission statement. Don’t overview think it! We will return to this later in module one.
2A. Values
- Looking at the list below identify your top 5 values.
| Adventure Autonomy Avoiding Stress Building Things Camaraderie Casual Work Environment Challenge Changing the World Collaborating with Others Competition Creating New Things Creativity Diversity Employee Benefits Exposure to Beauty Fast Pace Fun Helping Others High Income | High Level of Interaction with People Income Based on Productivity Influencing Others Intellectually Demanding Work Job Security Location Moral/Spiritual Fulfillment Opportunity for Advancement Opportunity to Lead Opportunity to Learn New Things Outlet for Creativity Physical Activity Pleasant Work Environment Power Recognition | Prestige Risk Taking Routine Work Seeing Tangible Results from Work Completed Sharing Ideas or Information Socialization Solving Problems Status as an Expert Structure Supportive Management Team Membership Time Freedom Travel Variety of Tasks Work/Life Balance Working Alone Working Outside |
Create your own personal definition for each value and put them in order from most important to least important.
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Reflect: Answer the below questions:
- Where did these values come from?
- What has influenced your value system?
- What type of work environment would compromise your values? Why?
2B. Skills Assessment
Story 1
| Your Goal (What did you want to accomplish): |
| What was the obstacle, limit or hurdle that you had to overcome to accomplish it? |
| What did you do? Write it out step by step. |
| Provide a description of the result. What did you accomplish? Are there any ways that you can quantify or prove the achievement? |
Story 2
| Your Goal (What did you want to accomplish): |
| What was the obstacle, limit or hurdle that you had to overcome to accomplish it? |
| What did you do? Write it out step by step. |
| Provide a description of the result. What did you accomplish? Are there any ways that you can quantify or prove the achievement? |
Story 3
| Your Goal (What did you want to accomplish): |
| What was the obstacle, limit or hurdle that you had to overcome to accomplish it? |
| What did you do? Write it out step by step. |
| Provide a description of the result. What did you accomplish? Are there any ways that you can quantify or prove the achievement? |
Skills Grid
Place an X in the row under each story column if that skill is present.
| Stories | |||||
| Ability | Description | 1 | 2 | 3 | Total |
| Written Communication | Writing in a clear, concise, effective manner to get results | ||||
| Oral Communication | Speaking in a clear, concise, effective manner to get results | ||||
| Innovation | Break with convention, develop, invent, change | ||||
| Problem Solving | Troubleshoot, redirect, restructure, improve, solve | ||||
| Presenting | Prepare are present information with clarity | ||||
| Initiative | Seeing a need and doing something about it | ||||
| Imagination | Conceptualize, visualize | ||||
| Listening | Actively listening and understanding the message | ||||
| Research | Observe, investigate, measure, test, inspect, perceive and study | ||||
| Interpretation | Portray, attribute, understand, explain, advise | ||||
| Synthesis | Combine and mix ideas, use imagination to bring together | ||||
| Persuasion | Convince, sell, influence | ||||
| Negotiation | Intervene, resolve differences | ||||
| Artistry | Draw, sketch, paint write | ||||
| Installing | Tailor, place, locate, situate | ||||
| Analysis | Correlate, identify, evaluate, compare, extract, derive | ||||
| Numeracy | Preform mathematical calculations, analyse and compare data | ||||
| Digital Technology | Preform computer tasks, demonstrate knowledge of software and IT systems | ||||
| Organizing | Coordinate, managing work, develop procedures, systemize | ||||
| Planning | Arrange, design, set goals, plan for short and long term | ||||
| Team Player | Working collaboratively with others, show care and respect | ||||
| Management | Direct, administer, supervise, delegate, be in charge of | ||||
| Operating | Maintain, fix, run, set up | ||||
| Decision Making | Arbitrate, judge, select, decide | ||||
| Leadership | Show the way, inspire, motivate | ||||
| Follow- through | Press on, continue, persevere | ||||
| Vision | Look for and imagine possibilities | ||||
| Empathy | Understand and relate to others needs, feeling and concerns | ||||
| Sympathy | Help others in need | ||||
| Mentoring | Advise, train, teach counsel | ||||
| Flexibility | Adapt to change easily, modify | ||||
| Assembly | Put together, build, fabricate | ||||
| Managing Information | Locate, gather and organize information |
What hard/job specific skills do you currently possess? Review some of your course outlines what job specific skills will you have acquired by the end of your program?
| Hard/Job Specific Skills that I currently possess…. | Hard/Job Specific Skills that I will develop in my program… |
2C. Strengths
Reflecting on the skills list above answer the following questions in your journal.
Did any themes emerge from this activity?
Which abilities from the transferable skills grid have the most check marks?
Which job specific skills do you enjoy using the most? Why?
List your top 5. These are likely your strengths!
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2D. Interests
Use the below questions to help you pick out your interests.
- When you are googling in your free time, what do you look up?
- What topic could you teach someone about?
- What types of games or activities did you enjoy as a child?
- If you had endless amounts of money how would you spend your time? Hint: Don’t focus on what you would do immediately (eg. traveling and purchases). Think about what you would do after the novelty wore off.
Reflect on the following questions:
- What skills are reinforced by your interests? Ex. I love sudoku puzzles so it is no surprise that I have great numeracy skills.
- Is there a company that you might want to work with that would align with any of your interests?
2E. Personality
Click on the link below to identify your personality type based on your own self-reflection. https://www.16personalities.com/
Add a screenshot of your completed test to your journal that shows your MBTI result.
Review the report that you are given and answer the following questions:
- What aspects of the report feel the most accurate?
- Is there anything in the report that you disagree with? Why?
- How might your personality type impact your teamwork or communication style?
2F. Possible Jobs to Explore
After all the work you have done this week identify two careers (job title/positions) that you think you could do given your experience, education, skills and interests. Why are these jobs of interest to you?
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2G. Career Mission Statement (2nd Draft)
Based on the work that you’ve done today, create the second draft of your own career mission statement. Consider all the qualities that you have uncovered in yourself through these assessments. Is there anything you would like to change, add, or remove at this time? We write your final mission statement in week 4.
3A. Labour Market Trends
Of the trends impacting the future of work. Which of these sweeping trends could impact your target career(s)? Why? What could you do to manage this?
3B. Job Bank Scavenger Hunt
This activity should take you approximately 30 minutes to complete. Go to: https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/home and look up information associated with the 2 jobs that you identified that you were interested in from the previous module. Record your answers in your journal.
Instructions:
Go to: https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/home and look up information associated with the 2 jobs that you identified that you were interested in from the previous module.
Note: Sometimes the job title you are searching for may not come up in Job Bank because the role has been identified under another name. Do some google research to find the job title that corresponds with LMI in Job Bank.
| Job Title 1 | Job Title 2 | |
| NOC Code | ||
| Prospects in Toronto, ON (Star Rating) | ||
| Low/Median/High Wages in Toronto, ON | ||
| How many jobs are currently posted in Toronto, ON? | ||
| Insert expertise and skills needed for the job here and colour code Highlight skills/experience in green if you have obtained them through work experience Highlight skills/experience in purple if you have obtained them through study Highlight skills/experience in blue if you do not currently |
Answer the following questions:
What obstacles are standing between you and the 2 job titles that you have just researched? Do you have the skills and expertise required?
Are there good prospects in the Toronto area for these positions? Where are the best prospects? Identify 2 regions in Canada with good (3 star) prospects.
Are the salaries listed for these positions in line with your expectations? Are the salaries listed in line with your needs?
Are these jobs still ones that you would like to pursue? Are there any other job titles that might be more appropriate to pursue after graduation?
3C. Company Research
Review two companies of interest in the Toronto area that you might like to work for. State the potential benefits and disadvantages of working for each. Make sure the locations are areas you would be interested in living or could easily commute to.
Access https://ca.indeed.com/companies to review the following information located on the company website:
- About
- Company mission statement
- Employer reviews
- Salaries
Remember that what you see as benefits and disadvantages will be personal to you, your interests, talents and career goals.
| Company Name and Location | Benefits | Disadvantages |
| 1. | ||
| 2. |
4A. Flipgrid Introduction
Complete your elevator pitch recording on our class Flipgrid and include a transcript of your pitch below.
Remember to include the following details:
- Who are you and what do you do?
- Why should they care? What should they remember?
- What do you want?
- Hint: Don’t say “a job”. You might say, “Information about new opportunities”. Never suggest that you are asking for a job in an introduction.
4B. Identifying Mentors
Using the tips from the Finding A Mentor article do the following:
- Identify 2-3 possible mentors
- Write a statement on how you will introduce yourself to each
- Take the next step and reach out to each potential mentor
- Record your results in your journal
4C. Final Career Mission Statement
Now that you have conducted labour market research, identified your career goals and personal attributes you may find that your career mission statement has changed yet again.
1.Write out your final career mission statement.
2. Reflect deeply upon how it has (or has not) evolved over the last 4 weeks and what influenced any changes that you made.
3. What are some of the first steps that you will take in the next month/6 months/year in order to bring this career into reality?