Friday, November 27, 2015

Chapter 12: making the right choice for majors & careers

  • today's economy: global, unstable, innovative, boundaryless, customized, & fast
  • you are solely responsible for your career
  • to advance career, you must accept the risks that come w employment & plan for the future
  • college degrees do not guarantee employment
  • Patrick Coombs, author of Major in Success, recommends that you choose a major that you are passionate about
  • commitment to lifelong learning will help keep you employable
  • co-curricular experiences; learning occurring outside of classroom, through on-campus clubs, groups, co-op programs, internships, etc.
  • outsource: contract out jobs to external organization to get lower costs
  • Holland developed a number of tools & concepts that can help people organize their various dimensions to identify potential career choices
  • ^personality types:
-Realistic: concrete, down-to-earth, practical; competitive/assertive behavior; interest in activities w motor coordination, skill, & physical strength; action > verbal/interpersonal; like taking concrete approach to problem solving instead of relying on abstract theory; interested in scientific/mechanical areas
-Investigative: analytical, rational, logical; value intellectual stimulation/achievement; prefer to think > act, organize/understand > persuade; interest in physical/biological/social sciences; not people-oriented
-Artistic: creative, innovative, independent; value self-expression, relating w others, emotionally expressive; dislike structure, interested in cultural/aesthetic
-Social: kind, caring, helpful, understanding; value helping & making contribution; use strong speaking skills to teach/counsel/advise; drawn to close interpersonal relationships
-Enterprising: assertive, risk taking, persuasive; value prestige, power, status; supervise, lead, direct, persuade, interested in people & achieving organizational goals
-Conventional: neat, orderly, detail oriented, persistent; value order, structure, prestige, status; high self control; not opposed to rules & regulations, skilled in organizing, planning, scheduling; interested in data & people
  • factors that affect career choices: values (your important beliefs), interests, skills (ability to do something well), aptitudes (inherent strengths), personality, life goals & work values
  • your personality makes you who you are- can't be ignored when making career decisions
  • explore a number of career possibilities & academic majors
  • get involved w volunteer work & student organizations
  • follow you passion, do what you love
  • at one time, organizations provided structured ladders that employees could use to advance to a higher professional level within a company but not anymore
  • internship: valuable hands–on experience in a career, learn the nature of the industry & daily routines
  • content skills: cognitive, intellectual skills, acquired as you gain mastery in a field; includes writing proficiency, computer literacy, foreign language skills
  • transferable skills: general skills, apply/transfer to variety of settings; oral & listening abilities, leadership skills, critical thinking, problem solving, etc.
  • competencies:
-integrity: act in ethical manner
-innovation: evaluate/synthesize/create knowledge that will lead to new products/services
-initiative: recognizing need to take action
-commitment: love to do it & are willing to learn on own initiative
  • students who work paid jobs more than 15 hrs a week have lower college success chances
  • work-study aware: form of federal financial aid, covers portion of college costs in return for on-campus employment
  • 2 types of resumes: chronological format, or organized by skills
  • behavioral interview: questions you about past experiences & how they helped you learn & grow, assesses your skills & behaviors
  • interviewing: do mock interviews to get comfortable, dress appropriately

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