Is This For Me? Reflecting On Occupational Fit

Summary

• Students will read/review career profiles of interest from Let’s Talk Science Explore Careers and other career information sources. 
• Students will reflect on knowledge of self and already identified career preferences. 
• Students will document pros and cons and suitability of occupational options based on what’s known and presented in the sources referenced. 

Setting the Stage

Self-reflection is an important part of the career planning process and in life-long career management and decision-making. Students should think critically and be reflective with what they read generally, and continue this as they read about occupations. In other words, they should reflect on the source of the occupational information (e.g., reliability of resource, objectivity or subjectivity of information, geographic focus).

Materials & Preparation

• Computers or devices with Internet access so students can work independently
• Download the Is This For Me? Reflecting on Occupational Fit Reproducible [Google doc] [Word doc] [PDF] and provide to students on paper or as an e-copy, 1 per student.

What To Do

• Teachers could introduce this lesson by giving an overview of the importance of self-knowledge in life, and specifically in the process of identifying potential career options. Teachers should clarify that the process of researching and self-reflection is a very important part of the career development/job search processes. 
• Teachers could have students do the lesson Your Personality and the Workplace prior to doing this lesson.
• Teachers could initiate this lesson by devoting a class period to get students started and assign the completion of the reproducible as homework.
• Teachers could activate student self-reflection with a Sit/Stand Activity that addresses students’ future career preferences. i.e. “Stand if you are... ; Stand if it’s important for you to have a job where you can…”.
  • Teachers can utilize career preference topics/terminology determined in previous lessons (e.g. Holland Code - “Stand if one of your top work interest themes was Investigative”).
  • Other prompts include:
    1. “Stand if you want a job where you get to help people”
    2. “Stand if you want a job where you are building or creating something”
    3. “Stand if you want a job where you get to think critically and use your mind to solve problems.”
    4. “Stand if you want a job where you get to be on your feet and/or work with your hands - i.e. NOT sit at a desk.”
    5. “Stand if you know you’d like to live and work in a specific region or community”
    6. “Stand if you know you’d like work-life balance: a job that allows you time outside of your paid work to pursue other hobbies and interests”.

Other prompts could include: work in a team, be in charge, make decisions, etc. 

• Teachers could ask students to note and record their known preferences in column 1 of the Is This For Me? reproducible within the section “My strengths and preferences”.
• Next, teachers could activate students in reflection of fit using occupational titles using another Sit/Stand Activity (the prompts below can be used or teachers may create their own list). After each round, ask one or two students to share one reason “why” they stood and “why they feel this occupation is well suited to them”.
  • Sit/Stand Prompt Occupational Fit Options: “Stand if you think you might enjoy and be well suited to work as a…”
    1. Genetic Counsellor - support individuals and families undergoing genetic testing by helping them identify their risks for certain disorders, investigate family health history, interpret information and determine if testing is needed (Source: ExploreHealthCareers.org)
    2. Electrician - install, alter, repair and maintain electrical systems that provide heat, light, power, control, signals or fire alarms for all types of buildings and structures. (Adapted from: OCCinfo by alis)
    3. Industrial Designer - produce designs for a wide range of products including furniture, sports equipment, medical equipment (e.g. the outside and buttons on an MRI machine), automobiles (i.e. interior and exterior of a car - what it looks like/materials - Note they are not the mechanical or electrical engineer that designs how the car operates) (Adapted from: OCCinfo by alis)
    4. Forensic Lab Analyst - use science expertise and lab equipment to identify, compare, classify, and interpret physical evidence for criminal and other investigations (Adapted from: OCCinfo by alis)
• This activity could proceed in one of the following three scenarios:
  • Option A: Teachers guide students to choose three occupations that are of interest to them. If students need support determining titles, they may use search tools such as NOC industry structure, O*NET knowledge search, etc.]
  • Option B: Teachers can randomly assign 3 occupations to each student. For example, print occupational titles on small pieces of paper that students can draw from a ‘hat’/container. Note: titles can repeat; unique titles are not needed. These titles can be chosen from the structure list from the NOC resource below. Depending on the specific class or focus, sector specific resources can be chosen and titles copied and pasted into printable document pages. Examples: For an Outdoor Education or Environmental Education course, select titles from ECO Canada. For an IT class, use the FocusIT job profiles. For a Biology class, use career titles from a source such as BioTalent Canada, or Bioscience Association of Manitoba.
  • Option C: A combination of student-chosen titles and random draw/selection/assigned titles can also be used. Example: A student has one or two occupations in mind already and the other(s) are randomly drawn/assigned. It can be valuable for a student to explore and learn about occupations they haven't considered before or are less familiar with. Students may also choose to randomly select one or more titles for their list.
• Teachers should remind students to think critically about the occupational information they are reading. Some things to consider are the source and reliability of resource, geographic focus (e.g., Canada vs. U.S.), objectivity or subjectivity of information (i.e,. is this someone discussing their opinion of their narrow role or specialty area within an occupation?).
• Students research 3 chosen or assigned occupations using Let’s Talk Science Career Profiles and the Career Information Resources below.
  • Occupation Information Resources: 
    • Canada’s National Occupational Classification (NOC)
    • OccInfo by alis Note: Some profiles include videos. Educational institution listings are focused on Alberta, Labour Market Information and connected job postings are Albertan. 
    • Sector specific profile listings: ECO Canada Environmental Career Profiles, ICTC FocusIT Job Profiles, BioTalent Bioeconomy profiles.
    • O*NET OnLine occupational directory Note: This website is U.S.-based. If using, be sure to make students aware of the differences that exist in Canada and refer them to Canadian websites like Canada Job Bank’s Trend Analysis tool for Labour Market Information, and note terminology differences (e.g., the term “College” is often used to describe universities, not technical colleges as we often use the term in Canada. 
• To keep students on track with time for this lesson, teachers could set an allotted amount of time for students to research each occupation and use a timer to prompt students to transition and manage their time.