Section+1.5

Learning Objectives: = = =Section 1.5 Planning a Career with Change in Mind.=
 * Use appropriate technology to investigate career planning and work-finding services.

So far in this unit we have taken time to raise your awareness of change or potential for change in the future and now. You have taken time to reflect on the possible impact that these changes may have on you. Now it is time for you to make a personal application of the information you have reflected on.

During this section you will be guided through some essential Career planning steps. After each step you will be pointed towards additional resources that you may wish to complete.

Step 1: A personal inventory.
Go online at [|Job Futures] and take the Know Yourself Quiz. Once you have completed the Quiz (and you do need to be honest with yourself when you take it), record the results from the strand, **you are a _ __and__ _ __person.__** __Y__ou may or may not agree with this. Below the results the system has generated a list of professions that people with similar interests to you have enjoyed in the past. Print this list out for future reference.

If you feel that this inventory was not very specific to you or if you wish more information about your personal profile you should log into a site like [|Job SET]: create a user name and take additional personality quizzes, the more tests you take the better the program is at finding a career match for yourself.

It is very important that you find a job that you are well matched for in life. Something you will both enjoy and do well at. Did you know that 70% of people in Canada report to work at a job that the are unsatisfied with. Most of this unsatisfaction comes from the fact that they lack skills in the area of work they are in, but a lot of this is about personality clashes with your work expectations. Don't become one of these statistics. Know yourself. Know what you want. Know what will make you happy.

Step 2: Examining three potential Careers
Based on the results that you received from your personality test chose three possible careers. If you want to chose something that is not listed in your profile results, that is fine, just provide a rationale for your choice.

Return [|to Job Futures], click on "I want to be. . ."; and browse the occupations. Find the three you identified.

Do the following for each occupation. Record your results on this spreadsheet ([|3occupations2fit.xls].) (make sure you save a copy for yourself) Do the above for each of the occupations you have chosen. Analyze the facts and determine which of the occupations is your first priority.
 * 1) Find the report on the occupation category of your choice
 * 2) You should see a page like this -->[[image:Jobfutout.png]]
 * 3) Record the Job Title and NOC code in column one of your spread sheet, the code is the 3 or 4 digit number next to the title.
 * 4) Record whether the future prospects for this position are Limited, Fair or Good.
 * 5) Record whether the difference between the average hourly earnings for this occupation and all occupations. (in the example : the average wage of a financial clerk is $2.35 lower than the average of all careers)
 * 6) Record the difference between the average level of unemployment in the career and all other careers. ( in the example there is only 3% unemployment compared with all occupations of 7%.Re
 * 7) Examine the tabs under the report to find out additional information. Specifically determine the following:
 * 8) What level of education do jobs in this field require.
 * 9) What special certification or license do you require for this position.
 * 10) What tips do the reports note may give you a competitive advantage over other job seekers?

Job Search Skills
Now that you have found some background information on each of these occupations you are going to do a job search for all of them to determine how many jobs are currently listed.

Record the results of your search on the Spreadsheet started above. Go to the HRDC Job Bank and do a search for each of you occupations. Search regionally, than provincially than nationally.

Use the National Occupation Code Number in the search field, rather than a key word search.

Record results for your three searches in the SpreadSheet.

Now here is the important part. Most work oppurtunities that are available in Canada are not posted in the HRDC Job Banks. Here is a short list of some other [|job bank sites,] in addition to these you should check individual corporate sites of places you would like to work at. Do the following, for any of the careers you are interested in make some inquiries locally. For example if you are interested in a career in banking, phone a local credit union of bank ask if they have any current job openings, and ask how they post their vacancies. Or if the work opportunity is one traditionally held by a large corporation, go directly to their website and see if they have any postings there. For my example I may wish to go to the Royal Bank Website, and see what positions they have posted there. When I check there I find an additional 211 postings for Client Service Representative posted nation wide. None of these positions were posted in the Job Bank, the only way I would know about them was by doing research in the field in which I seek employment.

Once you have completed your spread sheet place it in the Dropbox. Be sure to include some clear reflections on what you found. Write down your findings and give a brief synopsis of what you__ think. Reflection, reflection, reflection. Now, here’s a biggy- how is school helping you to prepare for entrance into these fields? How can the school make it better for you? How can you help yourself?

Return to Unit One Overview or go on to Unit Two Overview