Career Development Toolkit
Table of Contents

   
Unit 1: Welcome   4
   Key Messages   5
   Career Development is a Lifelong Process   5
   Career Development is Best Done with Other People   5
   The Job Market is Always Changing   5
   Timeline   6
   Activity 1.1: Notebook/Portfolio   9
   Activity 1.2: Timeline   10
   Activity 1.3 Brainstorm A-Z Job Titles   11
Unit 2: Career Interest Assessments   12
   Activity 2.1: Use the MassCIS “Occupation Sort”   14
   Activity 2.2: Take the CDM   14
   Activity 2.3: Use MassCIS to Identify Jobs in the Career Areas That Interest You   14
   Activity 2.4: Career Directions: An Informal Checklist for Exploring Your Career Interests   15
   About the Interest Areas   18
Unit 3: Looking at Labor Market Data   20
   Where is Data Available?   20
   Industry and Occupation Data   21
   Massachusetts Employment, By Industry, 2006   21
   Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Massachusetts, May 2006   22
   30 “Largest” Occupations   22
   30 “Smallest” Occupations   23
   Employment Projections   24
   Fastest Growing Occupations   24
   Occupations with the Largest Growth   24
   Activity 3.1: Data Analysis   25
   Activity 3.2: Discussion   25
   Activity 3.2: Discussion   26
Unit 4: Education and Career Options   28
   25 Fastest Growing Occupations   29
   Activity 4.1: Graphing   31
   Activity 4.2: Education And Earnings   32
   Activity 4.3: Read About Apprenticeships   32
   Activity 4.4: Career Profiles   32
   Activity 4.5: Learning about Military Careers   33
Unit 5: The Career Outlook Interview   34
   Activity 5.1: Conduct Interviews   35
   Activity 5.2: Browse Interviews   35
   Career Outlook Interview   36
Unit 6: Career Skills   38
   From MassCIS: Restaurant Managers Preparation   39
   Foundation Skills   40
   Activity 6.1: How Important are these Skills?   41
   Activity 6.2: Do’s and Don’ts List   42
   Activity 6.3: Role-Play Exercises/Case Study Exercises   42
   Activity 6.4: Workplace Safety   42
   Activity 6.5: Career Skills Research   43
Unit 7: Planning and Goal Setting Tools   44
   Activity 7.1: Brainstorm Goals   46
   Activity 7.2: Research with MassCIS   46
Unit 8: Creating a Skills Portfolio   47
   Planning the Portfolio and Gathering Portfolio Items   48
   Portfolio Product Ideas   49
   Integrity and Online Safety   50
   Activity 8.1: Planning a Portfolio   51
Unit 9: The New Economy   52
   Excerpt: Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas 2003 Annual Report "A Better Way: Productivity and Reorganization in the American Economy" by W. Michael Cox and Richard Alm   54
   Activity 9.1: Local Economic History   55
   Activity 9.2: Economic Research Resources   55
Unit 10: Spotlight on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math   56
   Career Profile: Senior Scientist, Contract Research Organization   57
   Career Profile: Senior Programming Analyst   58
   Activity 10.1: Career Summary   59
   Activity 10.3: College Programs   59
   Activity 10.3: Manufacturing Chartbook   59
Unit 11: Spotlight on the Arts   60
   Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Massachusetts, May 2006, for Arts, Design and Media Occupations   61
   Career Profile: Creative and Technical Director / Marketing Firm   62
   Activity 11.1: Career Summary   63
   Activity 11.2: College Programs   63
   Activity 11.3: Arts and the local economy   63
Unit 12: Spotlight on the Building Trades   64
   Career Profile: Electrician   65
   Construction Employment in Massachusetts, Annual Averages, 1990 – 2007   66
   Construction Employment in Massachusetts, January 2005 – March 2008   66
   Activity 12.1: Career Summary   68
   Activity 12.2: Construction and the Local Economy   68
   Activity 12.3: Employment and Earnings Graph   68
   Activity 12.4: Body Awareness   69
   Activity 12.5: Focus on Non-Traditional Employment   70
Unit 13: Spotlight on the Hospitality Industry   71
   First Jobs in the Hospitality Sector   71
   Career Profile: Concierge   72
   Activity 13.1: Career Summary   73
   Activity 13.2: College Programs   73
Unit 14: Spotlight on Health Care   74
   Career Profile: Director of Pastoral Care and Patient Advocacy   76
   Career Profile: Home Health Nurse   77
   Activity 14.1: Career Summary   78
   Activity 14.2: College Programs   78
   Activity 14.3: Healthcare Chartbook   78
   Activity 14.4: Case Studies   79
Unit 15: Entrepreneurship   80
   Employment and Self-Employment in Selected Occupations   81
   From the Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Employment Matrix   81
   Activity 15.1: Self Employment Opportunities   82
   Activity 15.2: Creativity Exercises   83
Unit 16: Lifelong Career Strategies   84
   Activity 16.1: Problem Solving   85
   Activity 16.2: Five Steps of Problem Solving   86
   Activity 16.3: Budgeting and Salaries   87
Unit 17: Writing a Resume   88
   Activity 17.1: Resume Templates   92
   Activity 17.2: Organizing Information   92
   Activity 17.3: List of Action Words   93
   Activity 17.4: List of Resume Skills   93
Unit 18: Next Steps, College Majors and First Jobs   94
   Activity 18.1: Interviewing with Confidence – Interview Questions   95
   Activity 18.2: Interviewing with Confidence – Evaluating the Interview   96
   Activity 18.3: Job Search   97
   Activity 18.4: “But Can You Make a Living?”   97
   Activity 18.5: Decision Making Styles   98
   Activity 18.6: Web Resources for College Search   99
Appendix 1: Analyzing and Presenting Data with Graphs and Charts   100
   Discussion – Analyzing the Data Sets   101
   Data Set #1: Educational Attainment of the U.S. Population Age 25 and Over, 1940 – 2007   102
   Data Set #2: Educational Attainment the U.S. Population by Age Group, 1940 to 2000   104
   Data Set #3: Value Added, by Sector, Selected Countries, 2006   105
   Data Set #4: Per Capita Gross Domestic Product   106
   Data Set #5: Life Expectancy at Birth for Selected Countries   107
   Data Set #6: Educational Attainment of Workers Age 25-44 by Occupation   108
   Exercise #1: Line Graph   109
   Exercise #2: Pie Charts   110
   Exercise #3: Bar Graph   111
   Exercise #4: Bar Graphs – Two or More Data Series   114
   Exercise #5: Bar Graphs – Stacked Bars   114
   Exercise #6: Scatter Diagrams   115
   Exercise #7: Number Lines and Box-and-Whiskers Plots   117
   Sample Graphs   118
Appendix 2: Checklist for Teachers and Program Staff on Planning Career Development Activities   126
Appendix 3: Interests, Skills and Work Values Reflection   136