CHAPTER TWO Planning Your Career

Why People Work People work to meet their needs, wants, and goals. They work to provide food, clothing, shelter, vacations, education, and luxuries. People work to gain a sense of identity  Identity is who they are. Because work is typically the central activity of a person’s life, it often becomes a way of life. Example: Adults getting to know each other typically ask one another, “What do you do?”  The answer to this normally leads to their identity.

Factors Affecting Your Career Choice Values and Lifestyle  Values: things that are important to you  Lifestyle: the way people choose to live their lives based on the values they have chosen or rejected  A career is considered an important value in most peoples’ lives because it influences lifestyle  With careful planning, a career can be rewarding and satisfying and also provide the money needed to support the lifestyle you desire.

Factors Affecting Your Career Choice Aptitudes and Interests  An aptitude is a natural physical or mental ability that allows you to do certain tasks well  Certain types of work require certain types of aptitudes  An interest are the things you like to do and the reasons you enjoy doing them  By looking at your interests you can better choose a career that has similar activities and will keep you motivated in your career

Factors Affecting Your Career Choice Personal Qualities and Traits  Personality- this is made up of the many individual qualities and traits that make you unique  These include items like your appearance, intelligence, creativity, sense of humor, and general attitude.  Most jobs require an individual with a particular set of personal qualities and traits  Think of an Art teacher and a Doctor

Career Planning 8 hours a day, 5 days a week and 52 weeks a year = 2,080 hours of work a year. From age 22 to 65 (the average span of a career) you will work 88,490 hours of work.  It is very important to find a career that interests you!

Career Planning Effective career planning involves careful investigation and analysis which may take years to complete Steps in career planning  Self Analysis  Research  Plan of Action  Reevaluation

Career Planning Self Analysis  Determine your wants and your needs  Determine your values and your desired lifestyle  Assess your aptitudes and your interests and determine if they meet or do not meet the job description  Analyze your personal qualities and traits

Career Planning Research  Seek information in books, pamphlets, and other resources  Compare your personal qualities, interests, and abilities, to make sure they fit into the job description and meet the requirements  Interview people in that field. Ask questions that you have about the job  Observe occupations, spend time learning about jobs and companies. Job shadow someone in that field

Career Planning Plan of Action  Use good job search techniques. Get organized, set a plan or a goal to work towards  Develop necessary skills by taking courses and gaining exposure to the area in which you are interested  Seek a part time job or volunteer to gain experience  Evaluate what you have done-if at any point you feel that you have chosen the wrong career path, change your mind before you stay on it to long

Career Planning Reevaluation  You may wish to reevaluate you choices and prepare for career changes or to take advantages of new opportunities.  This should be done every 5 years.

Goals Goal- A desired end toward which efforts are directed  3 types of goals  Short term-Typically last a few days or a few weeks  Intermediate- Typically last a few months or years  Long term-Typically last 5 to 10 years