Seeking ideas to use in an adult learning classroom for career path selection

One of the major reasons' adult learners come into our program is  to successfully obtain a high school diploma, however; students want to follow a career path in order to have a better life.  At times, there is resistance to putting time and thought into learning what opportunities would be most suited for them.  Seeking ideas that may help to peak student's interest in exploring career paths of interest...something beyond assessments.

Feel free to share your experience and creative ideas that have worked for you.

 

Comments

Hello Elaine and others,

I have found that students like to interview and job shadow those who have jobs and careers that they think might be of interest to them. That may not be possible now, but there are video libraries with short videos of people talking about their jobs. You will find several of those free video collections listed on my annotated Literacy List document here (beginning on the third page). Let me know if you find any of these collections useful for your students.

David J. Rosen

Hello everyone, I am looking for a good resource that talks about why it is important for an employee to send a thank you note to an employer after the interview, (and the best way to do this). Does anyone know of any off the top of your head? I'm also looking for good sites that show students how to go through a mock interview. I work with HSED students.Thanks, Barbara

 

Hi, Elaine and Others - 

Another excellent source for videos on different career is One Stop's Career Videos.  I especially like these because they are organized into 16 clusters, or related types of work. Each videos includes career details such as tasks, work settings, education needed, and average salaries. They are also tied into the U.S. Department of Labor's O-NET system, to support users' easy access to more targeted information at the individual state level.   

Best,

Mike Cruse

Career Pathways Moderator

michaelcruse74@gmail.com

 

Last year I read a great article in Forbes magazine which was sent to me by a self made millionaire and businessman.  He shared with me that if someone does not take the time out of their day to send that email, card or phone call to say thank you then that is not the type of person he wants working at his company.  When there is one position open and 10 applicants that one small gesture will make the difference.  Smart words to be "humble and kind".

https://www.forbes.com/sites/victorlipman/2019/04/08/how-important-is-it-to-send-a-thank-you-after-a-job-interview/#211cb5d27505

Thank you for your thoughts. Yes, I had a similar experience. My supervisor at the Sioux City Journal called me to his office to talk about the job and told me the reason I was selected was because of my thank you note. His comments echo yours here; he told me very few people have ever taken the time to do this, in his experience. 

I am also looking for ideas. Many of my students are older and want to not only obtain a high school diploma, but continue in the community college to gain an associate degree.

Hi, Faye -

Would you tell us more about the ideas you're looking for others to share?  Hopefully you've seen the suggestions provided so far in this thread for videos supporting career awareness and exploration.  Are you looking for specific industries, approaches to Integrated Education and Training (IET), lesson plans, partnering agencies?  If you can share more about the idea topics you're hoping others will share, I'm sure members will have suggestions of what they have found successful with their learners.

Best,

Mike Cruse

Career Pathways Moderator

michaelcruse74@gmail.com