Personal Branding: Job Interview Preparation & Personal Goal Setting
Career planning
1. Choosing a Career
One of the hardest—and most exciting—
choices you’ll ever make is your career.
Although chance may play a part, come
prepared!
Rule#1: Choose a career that is something
you really like to do.
Rule#2: Do your research and choose
carefully and thoughtfully.
Rule#3: Make it meaningful to you.
You owe it to yourself to look for work
that is meaningful and rewarding!
2. Choose Career Options That
Match Your Values
Knowing what you value most will help
you refine your career search and choice:
Helping others
Prestige
High income
Flexible work hours
Establish and align values, career choice,
and career goals for motivation.
3. Surviving in a Fast Economy
You will always have some control over
your career.
You must accept risks and plan for the
future to advance your career.
A college degree does not guarantee
employment.
A commitment to lifelong learning will
help keep you employable.
4. Factors to Consider
Do: Don’t:
explore a number of focus on a major
careers and majors just to get a career
out of it
get involved
select a major just
Get advice from because it is “cool”
people in your or seems to promise
target occupation prestige
follow your passion let someone else
Dare to try push you into a job
Assume that you
something new
have it all figured
out
5. Factors Affecting Career Choices
Interests Personality
Skills Life goals
Aptitudes and work
People skills
values
Experience
Family
traditions
6. Exploring Your Interests
Holland’s Hexagonal Model of Career Fields
Realisti Investigativ
c e
Conventiona Artistic
l
Enterprisin Socia
g l
7. Where to Go for Help
Career center
Faculty
Upper-class
students
Student
organizations
Placement
services
8. Become Knowledgeable
About Careers
Explore the Occupational Outlook Handbook at
http://www.bls.gov/oco/
Research several careers, not just one
Browse the Careers section of a local bookstore
See a career counselor
Scope out Internet resources
Network--many people love to talk about
their jobs!
9. Explore the Occupational Outlook Handbook
http://www.bls.gov/oco/
Keep up w ith the occupational
outlook for various fields.
Get to know w hich ones are
adding jobs and w hich ones
are losing them.
The Occupational Outlook
Handbook is an excellent
source, and is updated every
tw o years.
Good new s! Over the next few
years, jobs requiring college
degrees w ill be the fastest-
grow ing and highest paying .
10. What to Look for in a
Career
Major career field target The type of people you would
Preferred type of work interact with
Income requirements Physical requirements
Geographical requirements
Local/national/international
organization
Special needs Benefits and perks
Industry preferences Advancement opportunities
Stress level A good boss
Level of interaction with other Training
people Industry outlook
Indoor vs. outdoor Reputation of the firm in the
Amount of independence industry
Balance between creative and
conventional tasks
11. Select Several Careers,
Not Just One
It’s a good idea to have several careers in mind
rather than just one in your first year of college.
Approximately 60% of students change their
major at some point during their college career.
It pays to be knowledgeable about more than
just one career field. The average graduate
changes their job seven times in their life.
It also pays to develop a wide variety of general
skills, particular those related to communication.
12. Network
Check with people you know about career
information.
Networking can lead to meeting someone
who may be able to answer your questions
about a specific career or company.
It is an effective way to learn about the type
of training necessary for a particular
position, what it took to get into the field, and
the positive and negative aspects of the
work.
More and more professionals are active on
online networks such as LinkedIn.com and
Doostang.com. Some professionals even
use Facebook to get in touch with others in
their field…as well as research potential
candidates.
13. Assess Your Skills
Academic Strengths
Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening
Math
Creative Thinking
Problem Solving and Decision Making
Personal Qualities
Self-Esteem, Self-Management,
Responsibility
People Skills
Social, Negotiation, Leadership,
Teamwork
14. See a Career Counselor
The career counselors at your college
are trained professionals who can help
you
discover your strengths and
weaknesses
evaluate your values and goals
sort through what type of career you
want
They will not tell you what to do, they
will simply help identify what factors
may lead to successful and interesting
career options.
15. Questions for Academic Advisors
What classes should I take this term
and next?
What sequence of classes should I
take?
Am I taking too many difficult classes
in one term?
What electives do you
recommend?
What career
opportunities
are there if I study
mainly _____?
16. Getting Experience
Volunteer or service
learning
Study abroad
Internships/co-ops
On-campus employment
Student
projects/competitions
Research
On-the-job training
Apprenticeships
17. Research the Job
Identify the skills and
experience necessary to How big
perform the job you want. will my
Determine the general office be?
requirements of the job.
Learn about the day-to-day
tasks and responsibilities.
Research the company and
employer.
Determine the company’s
philosophy.
The more you know about the
job, the stronger the
candidate you will become.
18. Know What Employers Want
Potential employers will look for evidence
of your accomplishments and experiences.
Did you hold leadership positions?
Were you active in campus organizations or
extracurricular activities?
Did you have relevant experiences in co-op,
internships, or part-time work?
Did you make good grades?
The more you have of these experiences, the
better.
Go by incognito and get the “lay of the
land.”
How do the employees dress, interact with each
other, look for
company policy wall signs and so on.
19. Building a Resume
Put contact information at the top.
State an objective if appropriate.
List education to date.
State accomplishments succinctly using
action verbs.
Separate w ork experience related to your
major from other w ork experience.
Include interests you w ant to talk about—
they are often used to begin an interview .
Even if the job isn’t related to your
major, employers w ill w ant to see how
your experience is relevant to the job.
20. Knock ‘Em Dead in a Job Interview
The examples you give Ask appropriate job-
of your past
experiences is critical. related questions.
Be able to show how Keep your cool.
past experiences Remember, employers
relate to this
opportunity. are looking for
Résumés are important competent people
in getting you an with whom they want
interview in the first
place. Make yours to work.
organized and clear.
Prepare for the
interview: research
your prospective
employer.
Anticipate what you
will be asked and
practice interviewing.
21. Job Interviews (cont’d)
Be able to answer basic questions:
Why do you want this job?
What are your strengths? Your weaknesses?
What sets you apart from other candidates?
If you decide you want the job, you
may want to ask for it at the close of
the interview.
Type a brief follow-up letter to mail
within 24 hours. Follow-up is key!
What are other interview questions you’ve encountered?
22. Explore Relevant Part-Time
and Summer Jobs
Students benefit when their jobs
are on campus.
Investigate if there exists a part-time
job in the department of your major.
Advanced planning will help you
obtain a summer job with a company
related to your field.
If you can’t find a related job, you
can still demonstrate work-related
skills and a work ethic that will
impress prospective employers.
23. Get A Job--Activity 13.1
In your group, create a classified ad
for the “job” of college student.
For example, “_______________________
College/University is seeking
applicants w ith excellent skills in oral
and w ritten communication, problem
solving, time management, and
technology for positions as
professional students preparing for a
variety of future opportunities…”
Ads should list particular job
requirements, benefits, information
about your institution and so on, and be
transferred to a large sheet of paper
to present to the group.
24. Internet Career Journey
Activity 13.2
Research a potentially desirable career via the
Internet. Your goal should be to build a portfolio
that includes:
a printout or description of a career field of
interest from the online Occupational Outlook
Handbook
a description of ten things you have learned about
yourself and your career choices based on what
you find
a projection of your lifestyle twenty years into
the future, including the career necessary to
sustain that lifestyle, and other career-related
factors of interest such as preparation required,
necessary skills, additional training after
college, pros and cons, entry salary range,
advancement opportunities, personality
characteristics of those in the career field,
25. Internet Career Journey
Activity 13.2 --Web Resources
Occupational Outlook The Riley Guide:
Handbook Employment
11_Careers_new.ppt Opportunities and Job
Resources on the
Career Resource Center Internet
http://www.careers.org/ www.rileyguide.com
Job Hunt
http://www.job-hunt.org Monster.com
http://www.monster.com
The Catapult on Job W eb /
http://www.job-
hunt.org/
Quintessential Careers
http://www.quintcareers.com/i
ndex.html
Editor's Notes
Goals: to help students understand that being a college student has real requirements and responsibilities just like a “real” job in the world of work. Time required: 45 minutes to 1 hour Materials: large sheets of newsprint and examples of employment ads from a local newspaper. Variation: You may wish to have each participant first create an ad individually, perhaps as an outside assignment, and then combine and refine their ideas in groups. Activity taken from Staley, Constance . 50 Ways to Leave Your Lectern . Belmont : Wadsworth/Thomson Learning , 2003 .
Goals: to help first-year students explore career options while learning to use the Internet as a research tool. Time required: variable, depending on students’ expertise and in-class vs. out-of –class format Materials: one computer per student with an Internet browser Variation: Have students develop a “Webliography” of websites relevant to their career interests, rather than having you provide sites. It is also very useful to have students first complete on-line diagnostics that include career-related analyses such as the Keirsey Character sorter found at http://keirsey.com Activity taken from Staley, Constance . 50 Ways to Leave Your Lectern . Belmont : Wadsworth/Thomson Learning , 2003 .