Your Career
by Cindy Weaver
November 21, 2005
Career Development
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CUSD #1 Counselors assist students with career development at all levels. Awareness of jobs begins in Elementary; pre-employment habits are encouraged through growing responsibility at the Middle School where exploration takes place through interest and ability inventories and research; and the High School offers opportunities beginning with the 9-week Career Orientation class and extending to activities such as job shadowing, career fairs, and individualized sessions for orientation to careers. See the sites listed below for information about what the District offers and for independent investigation by students and parents. Our goal is to give students the right keys to find success and prepare them to be on target for a bright career after their days at Erie Schools are done. |
Training Opportunities
| Arts Apprenticeship | The Quad City Metro Arts Summer Youth Employment
Program has provided 15-19 year-olds with summer paid
apprenticeships. This year will focus on genre in percussion,
painted mural design, poetry chapbook, applied art, and sculpture.
Go to www.quadcityarts.com for more information, stop by the gallery at 1715 2nd Avenue in Rock Island, or see the G.O. for a phone number to call. Deadline for application is Friday, April 18. Interviews will be April 25-26. |
| Electrical Apprenticeship | The Quad City Electrical Training Center is seeking applicants for their apprenticeship Program. Applicants must be 18 years of age, have a high school diploma or equivalent, and have math skills through at least Algebra. Applications may be completed the first working Monday of every month. For details, contact the Training Center at 309-762-3270. The G.O. has forms on display. |
| Health Care Careers | On April 17-18, 2008, a Healthcare Career Fair will be held at Rock Valley College, 3301 N. Mulford Road, Rockford. Over 20 fields will be represented. For more information, call 815-921-3200 or 921-3261, or go to rockvalleycollege.edu/healthcarefair to read about it. |
Learning Opportunities
To see what your school is doing to help develop career sense in students,
check out the links below:
| For a list of the goals of our 9-week Career
Orientation class, see below -- at the bottom of the table which follows. |
For
information about the following assessments used to help students
plan, click on the individual titles: EXPLORE, grade 8 PLAN, grade 10 PSAE, grade 11, including Work Keys and the ACT |
Career Development Links
Knowing who you are, your interests, skills, and attributes is essential in the quest for a career. The tests and guidance referred to above help students with this stage. The links provided may help anyone still wondering or considering a change.
| Illinois High School students can start their search for career OR college information at College Zone at http://www.collegezone.com/ | Another state-sponsored website for Career and College information (along with an interactive link with your home school counselor) can be found at Illinois Mentor, http://www.illinoismentor.org/ |
| Take a personality profile called the Kiersey Temperament Sorter that will help you see aspects of yourself that will impact your job environment. | Taken alone or with the test results above, find out your preferred career clusters using the Career Key. | Check out selected career fields from among the most commonly sought ones at the College Board's Career Browser. |
| For more information on the types determined by Kiersey (above), look at Type Profiles on Type Logic. | The clusters of career interest codes are further researched in Holland's Themes. | Try out the Transferable Skills Survey. While aimed at college students, it will show you the types of skills employers most want. |
| For younger students or a simple start to conversation about careers, check out a BLS site called or For Kids Who Like . . . . | One site called Career Zone provides a quick career cluster search for those who have only a very vague sense of desired career field. | A
government-sponsored site that takes a visitor through a
career-planning process (including school selection) is Career Voyages. |
| The Department of Labor's Occupational Outlook Handbook is the most comprehensive listing of jobs available. Search by job title or by cluster, you can learn all about a career, how to prepare for it, the prospects of future employment, and more. | The Career Resource Network is sponsored by the Illinois Department of Employment Security and offers virtually unlimited links. | Quintessential Careers is a site that offers assessment of interests and links to career-related articles covering a variety of topics. |
| If technical, industrial careers are your interest, check out Career Voyages.com. | Not only job listings but also helpful job basics are available on Monster.com. | Get advice and up-to-date articles on Young Money. |
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For career options in the military, click on the
branch below: |
For a more local source of job
listings -- to see what our area offers -- go to QCEmployMe. |
A good source for searching for jobs OR getting career help can also be found at illinoiscareers.com. |
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Goals of EHS Career Orientation Class (9 weeks)
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Careers: ETC Notes Here are the Education to Careers Research (of Fortune 500 Companies) on skills and traits that employers want in their employees: 1. Oral Communication A. I can clearly and appropriately express my ideas and feelings in words. B. I can communicate effectively in a variety of social situations. C. I can stand up in front of a group of people and effectively speak. D. I can choose the right words to communicate in a specific situation. 2. Written Communication A. I can communicate my ideas and feelings in writing. B. I can use writing in a variety of situations, from letters to essays. C. I use good sentence structure, capitalization, spelling, grammar, and punctuation in my writing. 3. Listening Skills A. I am a good listener. B. I accurately remember and can understand what I hear. C. I accurately hear both facts and feelings presented by another person. 4. Reading Skills A. My reading skill is where it should be for my age. B. I can understand both fiction and non-fiction reading material. C. I can read and understand instructions, manuals, and directions. D. I have a good understanding of words and their meaning. 5. Arithmetic Skills A. I can do math problems that are appropriate to my age and grade. B. I can add, subtract, multiply, and divide accurately. C. I can use math to help me manage my money well. D. I can use numbers to solve problems in everyday life. 6. Problem-Solving A. I can recognize when a problem exists. B. I can work through the 4-step process: 1. Identify the problem. 2. Come up with a list of possible alternatives or solutions. 3. Evaluate each alternative or solution. 4. Choose and use the solution that will best solve the problem. C. At the end I can go back and evaluate to see if I handled the problem well. 7. Knowing how to learn A. When am faced with something new, I can create a plan to learn it. B. I am good at finding people, places, or things to help me when I need help. C. I have specific ways I have developed to learn new material effectively. D. I know and use the ways in which I learn best. (my learning style) E. I can learn from past experience 8. Decision-Making A. When faced with choices, I make decisions that are in my best interests. B. I understand that every choice I make has a consequence. C. When faced with choices, I evaluate each one before I make a decision. D. When making a choice, I always try to look ahead as to what might happen if I choose a certain action or path. I think before I act. 9. Reasoning/Using Logic A. Most of my choices and decisions are based on logical reasons rather than on feelings or impulse. B. Other people tell me I am a good thinker. C. I am good at solving problems. D. I can use a plan to solve problems. E. Once something has happened, I can evaluate choices or factors that contributed to the way things turned out. F. Given a situation, I am good at predicting the outcome. G. I can see patterns or similarities when looking at two things. 10. Responsibility/Goal Setting A. I know how to set a goal. B. Once I have set a goal, I can identify the steps I need to take to reach that goal. C. I have persistence and self-discipline to follow each step until I reach my goal. D. I can compliment and reward myself for reaching a goal. 11. Self-Esteem A. I know what my gifts and personal strengths are. B. am proud of what I have accomplished. C. When I fail, I believe I can learn from my mistakes and move ahead. D. I genuinely like and respect myself. E. I believe I have the potential to be successful. F. I can identify areas where I still need to grow. G. Because I respect myself, I try to make choices that are in my best interests. 12. Self-Management Skills A. I can do the things I need to do to take care of myself in good ways. B. I can control my actions and behavior in appropriate ways. C. I have mastered the Independent Living Skills that I need to survive. D. I do not have to have someone supervising me in order to get done the things I need to do. 13. Teamwork A. I work well with other people. B. I am a positive influence on others. C. I can work well in a team or in a group. D. I know how to take turns and share. E. I can respect and work with people in authority. 14. Application to Life A. I can take what I learn in one situation and apply it in a similar situation B. can use what I learn from other people, in school, at home, or at work and solve problems with it C. I see how what I learn in school will help me in life D. I tend not to make the same mistakes twice 15. Critical Thinking Skills A. I can analyze how the parts of a situation or thing fit with the whole B. I can evaluate ideas, information, or choices in terms of their strong and their weak points C. I can objectively look at a situation or person without bias 16. Leadership Skills A. In a group setting, I can take a positive leadership role B. I try to be a positive influence and bring out the best in others C. I try to set a good example for others D. I can take charge of a situation in a positive way when it is necessary E. I volunteer when I can be helpful in a situation 17. Technological Skills A. I have developed skills in using computers B. I can use some kind of special technology (e.g., video, automotive, or other technical equipment 18. Drug-free Lifestyle Skills A. I understand the importance of having a drug-free lifestyle for personal health as well as an employer’s concerns B. I practice a drug-free lifestyle |
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