Category: Careers

Using the Internet to Learn About Occupations

Learning Objective

To help students become familiar with how to find occupational information on the Internet and to know what type of information is helpful in comparing occupational choices.

Materials Needed

Handouts: “Career Exploration on the Internet” Versions A, B, or C

Vocabulary

websites, Internet, licensure, certification

Competencies

Basic Skills: Reading

Technology: Applies technology to task

Thinking: Seeing things in the mind’s eye

Instructions for Conducting the Activity

This activity can be conducted by having them write down 2–4 occupations they are interested in learning more about and use that list as the basis for the Internet search.

Websites for career exploration:

• Occupational Outlook Handbook
• Next Steps (see “Career Profiles”
• America’s Career InfoNet 
• World-of-Work Map 
• Massachusetts Career Information System 

We highly recommended that you review each of the websites listed above to determine which site provides information in the most accessible manner for the students’ language level and familiarity with the Internet. There are three versions of the “Career Exploration on the Internet” handout.

Version A: Pre-GED/GED students

Version B: ESOL students

Version C: College Transition students

Choose the version that best meets students’ needs.

Day of Activity:

Students can do this activity in pairs or by themselves depending on their familiarity with the computer and the Internet.

Tell students that they will be learning more about the occupations they each identified through the CDM. Ask them to choose at least two occupations to research on the Internet. Select and distribute a version of the handout “Career Exploration on the Internet” that is appropriate for your students. Explain that these are common questions that people have when researching occupations. These questions are just a guide. The students should add other questions that are important to them. Review the handout with the students to make sure that everyone understands the questions.

Brainstorm other questions the students might want to have answered.

You can then model how to look for the information on the website that you have chosen ahead of time. Choose an occupation not listed by the students and walk the students through the “Career Exploration on the Internet” on how to find the information.

Note for ESOL classes: We recommend that you select two occupations to use as examples. Using the “Career Exploration on the Internet” handout, one occupation can be completed by you before the lesson. Then to introduce the lesson to the class, the teacher can take the students through the information gathering process using the completed sample handout.

Next, as a class, the students can look for and fill in the information on the second occupation. After this, the students will be better prepared to research information on their own. Then have students log onto the website and find information about their occupations. If possible, have students print out information for review later.

Note for College Transition classes: These students may have already chosen a career and educational pathway. Version C of the “Career Exploration on the Internet” handout allows them to focus on one occupation and educational pathway in more depth.

Extension Activity

This activity can be expanded upon in a follow-up lesson to help students compare the amount of education needed and the expected wage for different occupations. This will encourage students to begin to think realistically about whether a career path is right for them or not.

Have students bring their completed “Career Exploration on the Internet” handouts to class. Post four large sheets of paper around the room with the labels: “High School or GED,” “Certificate Program or Associate degree,” “Bachelor’s Degree,” and “Graduate Degree.” Ask students to list their career choices under one of the four sheets based on education needed.

Ask them to also mark the wage of the career choice next to it.

Facilitate a discussion based on the following questions:

• Were they surprised by how much or how little education was needed for some jobs? Which ones and why?
• Were they surprised by how much or how little the wage was for some jobs? Which ones and why?
• Is there a relationship between how much education/training a job requires and the wage of the job?

• Why do some jobs require a BA degree but pay less than a job requiring an AA degree? 

 

 

• To find out what you’re good at, you can talk to your friends and family, review the most important skills you already have, take various aptitude tests, analyze your career, and much more.

• If you feel stuck on the way to recognizing your full potential, self-discovery questions can become a great indicator to understand your natural strengths and interests.

• Understanding your natural abilities and strengths can help you stay engaged in work processes, grow much faster, and truly realize your authentic self.

 

How to know what you’re good at

Studies prove that most people will change careers at least once in their lives. Moreover, on average, a person tends to shift 3-7 careers before retirement.  So, if you’re now among the ones who try to make a big career shift or choose another sphere to develop in, it’s more than fine and normal.

Also, it’s completely OK to feel lost in this way and question yourself something like, “How do I find out what I’m good at?” Thus, here we’ve collected 12 ways to discover what you’re naturally drawn to. Check them out.

1. Assess your personality type

Over the years, humanity has noticed certain interconnections between personality types and the innate abilities people have. For instance, 45% of public administration leaders are cholerics , while phlegmatics and melancholics are better at using the written word.

2. Reflect on your hard and soft skills

Maybe you don’t do it on the current job.  Maybe it wasn’t your passion in childhood, but you have some things you know that you’re good at. It can be anything that you do effortlessly without even thinking about the process.

• Hard skills are specific talents, often the ones you need, particularly in your job. These can be problem-solving skills, analytical skills, creative skills, writing skills, etc.

• Soft skills are the ones related to your communication with others. They can include empathy, leadership skills, emotional intelligence, etc.

Both of them can be valuable and important in your job. For example, if you don’t have strong hard skills, you can choose people-oriented work to make powerful communication skills your competitive advantage.

3. Check yourself with a test

Another good way to find out the answer to “What am I good at?” is by taking a quiz. You can start with Breeze’s career test, which allows you to discover potential jobs based on your strengths and interests. There are also other assessments that might be rather helpful, including:

• The MAPP career assessment
• The Big Five personality test
• Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
• The Keirsey Assessment, and more.

 

4. Think about what natural talent you had as a child

Sometimes you don’t need to seek hidden talents, all the answers can be hidden in your past. You may have noticed that some kids are naturally better at drawing, while others tend to excel in storytelling, problem-solving, or even organizing group activities.

Oxford Schools states that allowing children to freely express themselves through play is by far the best way to spot their natural talents. [4] Yet, society might have limited your self-expression at some point because “math is more important than signing” or “dancing takes too much of your time.” Thus, your task now would be to remember what natural aptitude and passions you had and check whether you still feel drawn to them.

5. Try something new

Doing new things helps build flexible thinking and “wakes up” your brain to creativity and self-actualization, which is a part of mental health.  Furthermore, trying something new and going out of your comfort zone can reveal hidden talents and give you a fresh perspective on what truly excites you.

These can be new opportunities and tasks on your career path, traveling, an unusual hobby, education, or something completely different. The key is to step beyond your usual routine and comfort zone by challenging yourself in ways that spark personal growth.

6. Take a closer look at your hobbies

How to know what you’re good at? Simply think about what you would love to do if money weren’t a problem. Your hobbies often reflect your natural talents and passions, so you might explore exciting career options by thinking about what you do or crave to do in your spare time.

Don’t think that all people who earn money from what they love necessarily have unique talents. In fact, only the global handicraft market size was valued at USD 1,107.67 billion in 2024.  So, you can turn what you love into income, just like many others who grow their skills and find the right opportunities.

7. Notice your feelings

Anytime you do something — whether this is a new thing or a part of the routine — analyze what you feel. After some time of such tracking, you can understand that the tasks that require creative ideas or solving problems can make you feel much happier. Otherwise, you might understand that you enjoy routine things like solving puzzles, managing tasks, or helping others with practical solutions.

Of course, feeling excited when doing something isn’t always the same as being good at it. Yet, noticing these feelings can help you find areas where you’re naturally talented, or you might want to develop.

8. Get rid of imposter syndrome

If anytime you enter a job interview or talk about your achievements, it makes you feel stressed, this might be a sign of imposter syndrome. In fact, you’re not alone. Reports state that 80% of adults experience imposter syndrome at some point in their lives. Becoming an expert within a field can be a fluid experience.

Still, this is what can prevent you from acknowledging your innate talent. “She’s such a good photographer. My pictures are much worse.” These thoughts can come to your mind even if everyone around you is constantly praising your work. These are self-sabotaging thoughts that hinder one’s ability to sit in discomfort long enough for natural talents to blossom. The key is to remind yourself that everyone has their unique style, so it doesn’t make sense to compare yourself to others.

9. Review your career path

If you already have a successful career or solid work experience, think about why you’ve chosen this path. Of course, you might not be happy with your current tasks, salary, or career opportunities. Yet, you might have some knowledge in this sphere and skills that can be helpful in other areas. Analyze such aspects as:

• what core skills do you have
• what work environment do you prefer
• how your expertise can apply to a different industry
• what company culture do you feel attracted to
• what specific tasks you’d like to keep doing

Once you understand what you value in what you’re doing now, it will be easier to identify new opportunities. Maybe you don’t even need to change a sphere; just changing the company might be enough. Otherwise, you’ll understand what aspect of your work you want to keep doing and what you’d rather leave behind.

10. Talk to friends and family members

Yes, it might sound weird at once, but you can directly ask your closest people about your natural strengths. Just don’t hesitate and approach it as an experiment. Sometimes they might notice unexpected qualities that you’ve never thought about. We are our own toughest critics after all.

For instance, your best friend can say something like, “Hey, you’re so good at doing makeup. How about becoming a make-up artist?” Or your brother may remind you that you used to help him with homework when he was a child. “You can become an awesome elementary school teacher, you know.” We’ve prepared some questions for you to start with but don’t feel limited to them.

• If you had to describe my strengths in three words, what would they be?
• What’s a skill or talent I have that I might be overlooking?
• If I had to switch careers tomorrow, what job do you think would suit me best and why?
• What’s one thing I do that always impresses you?

11. Approach compliments seriously

Let’s remember to talk about your friends and family. We can enlarge this tip even more and suggest you analyze any positive feedback that you receive. Whether people often complement your style, writing skills, open mind, or ability to plan a trip in 10 minutes, all these things can be a great basis for a potential job.

Pay attention to how others see your strengths, as they might notice things you overlook. We often brush off compliments and think they’re just being polite. But if you’re regularly praised for certain skills, it’s a good sign of where your talents really are.

12. Work with a coach or career counselor

What are you good at? If the question still remains unanswered, it may be reasonable to reach for professional guidance. Career counselors and life coaches can help you find opportunities for development and take a look at familiar things from a different perspective.

Source:  breeze-wellbeing.com©

Graphic by ramseysolutions.com©

Now, take some time with this worksheet and really think about things you have accomplished.  Also, write down the skills you used to do each accomplishment.  The second page is there to help you decide which skills you did use. Now is the time to discover what you did before and what your possibilities can be in the future!

 

 

The Career Planning Process

Learning Objective

To understand what the career planning process is and that it can facilitate the attainment of educational and career goals

Vocabulary

laid-off, job security, career, job

Competencies

Basic Skills: Listening; Speaking

Thinking: Seeing things in the mind’s eye

Brainstorm the answers to the following questions:

How many times will most people (in the US) change jobs in their lifetime?

• 25 times

Can workers in the U.S. today get laid-off through no fault of their own?

• Yes

Is there job security today?

• Not necessarily, but there are steps you can take that lead to more job security, like continuing to learn new skills.

What do employers look at when deciding to hire new employees?

• Skills and experience

Because of all these factors, career planning is an important life skill and it helps students identify the education needed to reach their career goals.

To help students understand the difference between a job and a career, brainstorm what they think is meant by both.

Record answers on the board. Summarize the definitions as:

Job = the work position that you have at any point in time

Career = the path of your jobs over time

Point out that the goal is to think about your career and not just the next job. Students can do this by creating a map of where they are going.

Some examples of careers are:

1. Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) – Surgical Technologist – Nurse

The career path is in the health care field.

2. Secretary – Administrative Assistant – Manager

This career path could be within many different fields.

3. Teacher – Social Worker – Consultant

This career path focuses on jobs that use similar skills but in different fields.

Next ask students to brainstorm what they think is meant by career planning. Write these on the board. Then, using students’ ideas, summarize with the following points:

What is career planning?

• Identifying what you are good at
• H ow your skills, talents, values, and interests translate into work
• Matching your skills, etc., to existing jobs
• Matching your career goal to your financial needs
• It is a process
• Need it to make good decisions
• By doing career planning you can find good answers that meet your needs on your schedule

Career planning is an iterative process and is lifelong.

Depending on the needs and interest of the class, you can further break down the sections of the process and ask students to decide which parts of the career planning process they are most interested in learning about. This can guide you in how best to engage students with the curriculum.

Career Planning Model

Cultural Context: Self-Exploration Process

Cultural Context: Occupational Exploration

Cultural Context: Career Planning Skills

Self-exploration looks at:

• Skills • Interests
• Education • Values
• Experience

Occupational Exploration looks at:

• Occupational/job profiles
• Informational interviews
• Career/job fairs
• Labor market information

Educational and Career Planning looks at:

• Decision making
• Goal setting
• Problem Solving
• Action Planning

You can also post the three categories on big sheets of paper and give students index cards with the bullet points and have students put index cards under the correct heading. Leave these big sheets up in the classroom and when the other lessons in the curriculum are presented, refer to them and identify the part of career planning that the lesson addresses.

Extension Activity

For students with previous work experience, ask them to make a list of the jobs they have had and two jobs they would like to have. Then have students pair up and share the lists. Have students talk about any similarities in the jobs they have held and those they would like to have.

For students with limited or no previous work experience, ask them to make a list of at least three jobs they would be interested in having. Pair up students to share the lists. Ask them to talk about any similarities among the jobs they have chosen. Are there any jobs that they might need to have first to gain the experience for those jobs?

 

 

Integrating Career Awareness into the ABE & ESOL Classroom | Section II, Lesson 1: The Career Planning Process