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CAREER EXPLORATION GUIDE

¨ Completed career exploration guide¨ 10 job ads printed and numbered to correspond with skills matrix¨ Print out the salary bell curve for your job title from Salary.com¨ 3 informational interviews¨ Current/updated resumé

NOVA Job Center Career Exploration Guide

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Career Exploration Guide

Name: Date:

Thisguideisatooltohelpyouexploreandcollectrelevantinformationsothatyoucandeterminethefeasibilityofyourcareerchoice,yourtrainingneeds,andyourfutureincome.Takethetimetothoughtfullyandthoroughlyanswerthesequestions.Remember,thisisyourfuture.

Focus

1. Whatisthetitleoftheoccupationyouareinvestigating?

a. Whatarerelatednamesforthisposition?

b. Isthisaskillupgradeoracareerchange?

Information about the position

2. Whatdoesatypicalworkdaylooklike?

a. Doyouhaveanyexperiencethatcouldtransferintothisposition?

b. Ifyouaremakingacareerchange,whydoyouwanttoenterthisnewfield?Whatexcitesyouaboutthefieldandwhataresomechallengesyoumayface?

NOVA Job Center Career Exploration Guide

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Can I Do This Job?

3. Arethereanycircumstancesfromyourpastthatcouldmakeitdifficulttogenerategoodreferences,passabackgroundcheckorcreditcheck,orobtainalicense,bond,orcertification?

4. Doyouneedanyhelporaccommodationstodothisjob? ¨ Yes¨No

Ifyes,whathelporaccommodationsdoyouneed?

Salary Information

5. Whatistheminimumhourlywageyoumustmaketomeetyournormallivingexpenses?

a. Howmanyyearsofworkexperiencedoyouhaveinthefieldyouareresearching?

b. Whatisthepayforthisjobatyourlevel?PrintoutsalarybellcurveforthisjobtitlefromSalary.com

• Range: $ to perhour

• Annualsalary: $ (hourlywagex2,080hours)

Local Labor Market

Whatskills,education,andexperiencedoIneedtobemarketable?

• Collect10detailedjobpostingsforthesamejobtitle/function(usemorejobpostingsforamoredetailedmatrix);listthemontheSkillsMatrix:JobDescriptions(p.3).

• CompletetheSkillsMatrix(p.4):

o Listallskillsmentionedinthepostingsandidentifywhichpostingsrequirewhichskills;

o Determinewhetheryoupossesstheskillsandeducationrequiredforeachpostion.

• AttachthejobpostingstothisCareerExplorationGuide.

NOVA Job Center Career Exploration Guide

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Skills Matrix: Job Descriptions

PastetheURLforeachofyour10identifiedjobs’onlinejobadintherespectivefieldbelow.

Job 1: Title/Company:

URL:

Job 2: Title/Company:

URL:

Job 3: Title/Company:

URL:

Job 4: Title/Company:

URL:

Job 5: Title/Company:

URL:

Job 6: Title/Company:

URL:

Job 7: Title/Company:

URL:

Job 8: Title/Company:

URL:

Job 9: Title/Company:

URL:

Job 10: Title/Company:

URL:

NOVA Job Center Career Exploration Guide

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Skills Matrix

IsitrealisticformetothinkthatIcanbecomeemployedinthejobIamresearchinginmytargetedlocation?Use10relatedjobadstodeterminetheskills,education,andexperiencerequiredtoapplyforthesepositions.Includebothtechnicalandsoftskills.

Current Skills + Training = Preparation to effectively compete for these jobs Required

Skills Job

1 Job

2 Job

3 Job

4 Job

5 Job

6 Job

7 Job

8 Job

9 Job 10

I Have Skill

I Need Skill

YearsofExperience

LevelofEducation

NOVA Job Center Career Exploration Guide

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Informational Meetings [Future Contacts]

Weaskthatyouspeaktothree(3)peoplewhoareknowledgeableaboutthecurrentlabormarketandthepositionforwhichyouareseekingtraining(hiringmanagers,recruiters,someonedoingthejob).Usetheattachedworksheetstorecordthefollowinginformationforeachoftheinterviews.• Nameofpersoninterviewed• Currentposition&company

Askyourcontactsthefollowingquestions:

o Whatareyourcurrentjobresponsibilities/tasks?

o Whatskills,certifications,andeducationarerequiredforthisjobtoday?

o Informyourcontactofyourcurrentbackgroundandask,“Withmybackground,whatchallengeswillIfaceinfindingajobinthisfield?”

o WhatdoyourecommendIdotohelpmegetajobinthisfield?

Youmayaskandincludeinformationfromtheadditionalquestionsattheendoftheworkbook.

AttachyourresumétothisCareerExplorationGuide.

• Ifyouhaveskillsandexperiencerelatedtothetrainingthatyouarerequesting,includeitonyourattachedresumé.

• Ifyouareenteringanewfield(careerchange),includeyourexistingresumé—youdonotneedtocustomizetheresuméforthefieldinwhichyouwanttraining.

NOVA Job Center Career Exploration Guide

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Informational Meeting 1

Contactinformation:

Full Name Company

Job Title

1. Whatareyourcurrentjobresponsibilities/tasks?

2. Whatskills,certifications,andeducationarerequiredforthisjobtoday?

3. Informyourcontactofyourcurrentbackgroundandask,“Withmybackground,whatchallengeswillIfaceinfindingajobinthisfield?”

4. WhatdoyourecommendIdotohelpmegetajobinthisfield?

5. AnythingelsethatyouthinkthatIshouldknowaboutthisfieldorneededtraining?

NOVA Job Center Career Exploration Guide

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Informational Meeting 2

Contactinformation:

Full Name Company

Job Title

1. Whatareyourcurrentjobresponsibilities/tasks?

2. Whatskills,certifications,andeducationarerequiredforthisjobtoday?

3. Informyourcontactofyourcurrentbackgroundandask,“Withmybackground,whatchallengeswillIfaceinfindingajobinthisfield?”

4. WhatdoyourecommendIdotohelpmegetajobinthisfield?

5. AnythingelsethatyouthinkthatIshouldknowaboutthisfieldorneededtraining?

NOVA Job Center Career Exploration Guide

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Informational Meeting 3

Contactinformation:

Full Name Company

Job Title

1. Whatareyourcurrentjobresponsibilities/tasks?

2. Whatskills,certifications,andeducationarerequiredforthisjobtoday?

3. Informyourcontactofyourcurrentbackgroundandask,“Withmybackground,whatchallengeswillIfaceinfindingajobinthisfield?”

4. WhatdoyourecommendIdotohelpmegetajobinthisfield?

5. AnythingelsethatyouthinkthatIshouldknowaboutthisfieldorneededtraining?

NOVA Job Center Career Exploration Guide

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Your time and resources

6. Whataresomeobstaclesthatcouldinterferewithyourtrainingorjobsearch?

¨None ¨Caringforchildren/elders ¨Familyresponsibilities¨Part-timejob ¨Volunteerwork ¨OutsideActivities¨Travel ¨Healthconditions ¨Other

Howwillyoumanagethesepotentialobstacles?

a. Doyouhaveaccesstothetechnologyrequiredforonlineordistancelearning?¨Yes¨No

b. Howwillyoufinanciallysupportyourselfwhileintrainingand/orjobsearch?

¨Family/Spouse ¨Part-timejob ¨Severance

¨UIBenefits: If“UI,”whendidbenefitsbegin?

Didyoudeclareaninterestintrainingpriortoweek16ofyourclaim?¨Yes¨No

¨Other

c. Basedonyourfinancialsituation,howmanymonthscanyoucommityourselftotrainingand/orjobsearch?(Note:Trainingcouldtake3–12monthsinadditiontojobsearch,whichcouldtake3+months.)