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1 CAREER EXPLORATION C AREER EXPLORATION Capella University 225 Sout h Sixth Street, Ninth Floor Minneapolis, MN 55402 2 CAREER EXPLORATION Table of Contents Looking Inward .................................................................................................................... 3 Assessing Your Personality ........................................................................\ .................. 3 Understanding Your Values ........................................................................\ .................. 5 Determining Your Interests ........................................................................\ .................. 6 Classifying Your Skills ........................................................................\ ......................... 8 Identifying Your Professional Assets ........................................................................\ ...... 9 Looking O utward ............................................................................................................... 10 I dentifying Job Titl es ........................................................................\ ........................ 10 Researching Job Titles ........................................................................\ ...................... 11 Pri oriti zing Your Research 11 Researching Typical Hiring Requirements ................................................... 11 Investigating Salary and Employment Trends 11 P utting It All Together ........................................................................................................ 11 I dentifying the Gaps ........................................................................\ ......................... 12 Filling the Gaps ........................................................................\ ................................ 12 Finding Connections ........................................................................\ ......................... 12 Putting It All Together........................................................................\ ....................... 12 Creating an Action Plan ........................................................................\ ..................... 14 Career W orkspace E xam ple ............................................................................................... 15 C areer Workspace .............................................................................................................. 16 3 CAREER EXPLORATION Welcome to your career exploration workbook! You will find a number of assessments and activities to complete, so you’ll want to make sure you save this workbook to store your resul ts . T his workbook focuses on three distinct areas of career exploration: looking inward to see who you are, lookin g outward to see what careers are possible, and putting this information together with clear steps toward the career that’s right for you. Wa tch this video on career exploration to get started. L OOKING INWARD Start the career exploration process by looking inward so you can better understand who you are and how you may fit in different work settings. Watch this video on looking inward . Assessing Your Personality Watch this video on assessing your personality . Use the following links to take brief assessments that can help you gain insight into your personality: M yers -Bri ggs Type Indi cator Big 5 Personality Theory U se the following charts to mark the results from your assessments: M yers -Briggs Type Indicator Wr ite the resulting letters in the boxes below : E-I S-N T-F J-P 4 CAREER EXPLORATION T ake about 15- 30 minutes to reflect on what your Myers -Bri ggs Type I ndicator resul ts mi ght mean in relation to your ca reer. Use the space below to write some notes about any key takeaways you might have. Ex.

As an introvert, it is interesting that I will likely thrive in roles th at allow for me to work on my own at times. B ig 5 Personality Theory Wr ite your score s (1 -5) : E xtroversion O penness A greeableness N euroticism C onscientiousness 5 CAREER EXPLORATION Take about 15- 30 minutes to reflect on what your Big 5 Personality Theory results mi gh t mean in relation to your career. Use the space below to write some notes about any key takeaways you might have. Ex. Since I have a high level of agreeablenes s, I could do well on a team or as an administrative assistant. Understanding Your Values Watch this video on understanding your values . Follow the link below to a v alues assessment tool, which can hel p you rank values that are v ery important to you in comparison to those that are less important .

Values Card Sort Write your top 5 values in the box below: Ex. Adventure 6 CAREER EXPLORATION Take some time to reflect on which values were the hardest and easiest for you to eliminate from y our list. You can use the space below to write down your thoughts. Determining Your Interests Watch this video on determining your interests . The link below will help you identify categories of jobs that best align with your interests. Interests Assessment Once you have completed this assessment, write the numbers 1, 2, and 3 next to the categories that ranked highest for you: Reali stic Investigative Artistic Social Enterprising Conventional 7 CAREER EXPLORATION Next, choose the job zone that is right for you, based on the amount of education and training you are willing to invest in that career path: Job Zone One: Little or No Preparation Needed Typical Education -High school or less Typical Related Experience -Little to none needed Job Zone Two: Some Preparation Needed Typical Education -High school or GED Typical Related Experience -Some usually needed Job Zone Th ree: Medium Preparation Needed Typical Education -Vocati onal school, associ ate’ s degree, or on -the -job experience Typical Related Experience -Some required Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed Typical Education -Bachelor degree Typical Relate d Experience -Multiple years required Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed Typical Education -Graduate or doctoral degree Typical Related Experience -5 years or more experience Finally, write down some job titles of i nteres t in the categories t hat are marked as highest and are in the job zone you sel ected:

Ex. Human Resources Manager, Business Analyst, IT Manager, Nonprofit Manager, College Professor 8 CAREER EXPLORATION Classifying Your Skills Watch this video on classifying your skills . Here is an assessment for you that will help you identify the skills that you currently have: Skills Assessment Transfer the fi rs t 10 titl es from yo ur assessment to the chart below. Include the number of skills that matched and the job zone where they fit. Job Title Skills Matched Number Job Zone Human Resource s Manager 12 4 9 CAREER EXPLORATION Identifying Your Professional Assets Watch this video on identifying your professional assets . Use the space below to list y our professional assets. It is broken into three categories for you, but if s omething falls into multiple categories, just choose the one that seems most appropriate. Next to each asset, wri te 1 sentence that expl ains :

• How i t makes you uni que, OR • How it q ualifies you for professional opportunities, OR • How it can hel p you open door s to opportunities Education and Training Ex. Project Management Certification -this provides me unique skills that are helpful in both leadership and consulting roles. Professional and Volunteer Experience Ex. Server -this role has helped me gai n great customer service skills and the ability to multi- task.

Manager - I learned a lot about leading others and responding to crisis situations. 10 CAREER EXPLORATION Professional and Personal Connections Ex. Jerry -He works at ABC Inc., which is a place I’ve always wanted to work. L OOKING OUTWARD Next you will identify and learn about careers that align with your interests and strengths.

Watch this video on looking outward . Identify ing Job T itles Watch this video on identifying job titles . In the space below create a list of j ob titles that you would like to know more about. Start by reviewing your results from the previous interests and skills activities and write down the job titles that you are interested in. Add to this list by thinking about these questions: • Is there a job title you have always thought sounded interesting? • Have you met someone recently, and as they des cribed their work, you found yourself wanting to know more about it? • When you think about your ideal work situation, what is the job that you are doing? Ex. Human Resources Manager, Business Analyst IT, Manager Nonprofit, Manager, College Professor 11 CAREER EXPLORATION Researching Job T itles Watch this video on researching job titles . Prioritizing Y our Research Rank your interest in each job title that you have listed on your Job Title list. Place a #1 by the ti tle that stands out as the one you are the most interested in, a #2 for the next, and so on, until you have ranked your interest for all the titles on your list. Researching Typical Hiring Requirements Spend about 15 -20 minutes per job title to r esearch the typical responsibilities, skills, and education requirements for the jobs on y our list. 1. Start with the first job title on your list. Find at least 5 job postings for thi s ti tle using sites such as Indeed.com and SimplyHired . 2. Read the typical responsibilities, skills, and education requirements on each posti ng. 3. Notice commonalities between the job postings for this title. Record this information in the Career Workspace . 4. Repeat these steps for each job title on your list. Investigating Salary and Employment Trends Watch this video on investigating salary and employment trends . Rese arch the salary and employment trends for the jobs on your list : 1. Go to CareerOneStop’s Salary Finder . 2. Enter your first job title in the “Search by Occupation” field. Enter the fi rst location that you would like to research in the “Location” field. Click Search. 3. A pop- up window will appear wi th occupati on groups that are related to your job title. Click on the one that best represents your job title. 4. Review the salary information p rovided for the occupation group and location that you selected. Record this information in the Career Workspace . 5. Scroll down the results page and click on the “Learn more about this occupation” link. 6. View the employment data listed on the “State and National Trends” chart.

Record notes about your findings in the Career Workspace . 7. Repeat these steps for each job title on your list. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER Lastly, you will use all that you have learned to create a career action plan. Watch this video on putting it all together . 12 CAREER EXPLORATION Identifying the Gaps Watch this video on identif ying the gaps . For each of the job titl es you researched, put a check in the column in the C areer Workspace indicating whether this is a current professional asset of yours or if it is a gap in your current experience, skill , or education.

After doing this for each item, you should have a clearer view of which jobs are a closer fit at this time, and which are a further stretch, and the gaps that you would need to address to fill that type of position. Filling the Gaps Watch this video on filling the gaps . From the exercise above, reflect on the gaps that are showing up and list your main gaps. For each gap in experience, skill, or education, think about what you cou l d do to fill that gap – volunteer work, taking on a new stretch assignment, taking a class or working to finish a degree. Take notes in the Career Workspace on each as you are strategizing. Finding Connections Watch this video on finding connections . Using LinkedIn, other social media, and your personal contact list, note people in the Career Workspace whom you are connected with, or could connect with, that are working in these types of jobs. List those people after each job title.

Putting It All Together Watch this video on putting it all together . For each of the job titl es, place the job title on the gri d on the next page , in the quadrant that best indicates the closeness of the “fit” of your current qualifications and the level of interest you have in the job after completing the exercises. Once you have placed each job ti tle a ccording to these two parameters, you should have a visual tool to compare and contrast the jobs you are interested in pursuing. Ex. Low Interest H ig h HR Manager College Professor Bus iness Analyst IT Non -Profit Manager Low Fit High 13 CAREER EXPLORATION Low Interest High Low Fit High 14 CAREER EXPLORATION Creating an Action Plan Watch this video on creating an action plan . Based on your completed Job Gri d, what jobs might you pursue currently? Which jobs are on your future goals list? What is your plan to address any gaps that might make you a closer fit to the jobs you a re most interested in pursuing? Ex. Business Analyst IT -Now Human Resources Manager -Future 1. Find and read three articles on employee engagement. 2. Find contact info for local SHRM group and look for opportunities to get involved . 3. Contact first three people on connections list and ask to schedule a phone call or in - person meeting. 15 CAREER EXPLORATION CAREER WORKSPACE Ex. Job Title #1: Human Resource Manager Asset Gap Common Responsibilities: Oversee employee orientation, development, and train ing Source, screen, and recommend candidates for employment Develop strategies to improve employee engagement Common Skills: Training skills Project Management Ability to maintain confidentiality Common Education/Licensure Requirements: Master’s degree in Human Resources Salary Information: $60,000 - $172,000 Minnesota Employment Trends: +11% growth in jobs in Minnesota Gaps : Read articles/books on measuring and improving employee engagement, ask for side project at work. Study PMI’s Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), join local PMI group. Connection s: Maria Thompson, Jeffrey Hughes, Theresa Webb 16 CAREER EXPLORATION CAREER WORKSPACE Job Title #1: Asset Gap Common Responsibilities: Com mon Skills: Common Education/Licensure Requirements: Salary Information: Employment Trends: Gaps : Connection s: 17 CAREER EXPLORATION Job Title #2 : Asset Gap Common Responsibilities: Common Skills: Co mmon Education/Licensure Requirements: Salary Information: Employment Trends: Gaps : Connection s: 18 CAREER EXPLORATION Job Title #3 : Asset Gap Common Responsibilities: Common Skills: Common Education/Licensure Requirements: Salary Information: Employment Trends: Gaps : Connection s: 19 CAREER EXPLORATION Job Title #4 : Asset Gap Common Responsibilities: Common Skills: Common Education/Licensure Requirements: Sal ary Information: Employment Trends: Gaps : Connection s: 20 CAREER EXPLORATION Job Title #5 : Asset Gap Common Responsibilities: Common Skills: Common Education/Licensure Requirements: Salary Information: Emplo yment Trends: Gaps : Connection s: 21 CAREER EXPLORATION Job Title #6 : Asset Gap Common Responsibilities: Common Skills: Common Education/Licensure Requirements: Salary Information: Employment Trends: Gaps : Connection s: 22 CAREER EXPLORATION Job Title #7 : Asset Gap Common Responsibilities: Common Skills: Common Education/Licensure Requirements: Salary Information: Employment Trends: Gaps : Connection s: 23 CAREER EXPLORATION Job Title #8 : Asset Gap Common Responsibilities:

Common Skills: Common Education/Licensure Requirements:

Salary Information: Employment Trends: Gaps : Connection s: If you are interested in learning more about Capella University or have feedback that you would like to share, feel free to email us at [email protected].