P.A.C.E. Career Narrative and Personal Introduction_
Name: _______________________________________
A career narrative is a 1-3 page typed essay that defines your career goals and tells the reader a little bit
about who you are, what you are good at, and why you have chosen this path. Complete the plan sheet
below. This information will help you when completing college admission applications, job applications,
scholarship applications, as well as when creating your resume and write your Career Narrative. Complete
your narrative based on what you know about yourself and information you have learned about yourself
throughout the P.A.C.E. brainstorm process in class. The Narrative is due: ___________________________
Section 1: Career Planning Sheet
Personal Profile (Body Paragraph I & II)
Interests: What do you like to do, what intrigues you, what do you enjoy learning about and doing. This may
include hobbies, sports, music, clubs, etc. BE SPECIFIC!
1.
_______________________________________________________
2.
_______________________________________________________
3.
_______________________________________________________
4.
_______________________________________________________
Skills: What can you do? Do you communicate well, speak eloquently, manage money, fix things, computer
skills etc.
5.
_______________________________________________________
6.
_______________________________________________________
7.
_______________________________________________________
8.
_______________________________________________________
Aptitudes: What areas do you have a natural tendency to excel in? Are you good with numbers,
communication, etc?
9.
_______________________________________________________
10. _______________________________________________________
11. _______________________________________________________
12. _______________________________________________________
Personal Characteristics: This includes all of your qualities and personal attributes. Are you patient, a good
problem solver, competitive etc.?
13. _______________________________________________________
14. _______________________________________________________
15. _______________________________________________________
16. _______________________________________________________
Values: These are the things you hold deeply and are essential to you. You might include things like, gaining
recognition and respect, creating new things, helping others etc.
17. _______________________________________________________
18. _______________________________________________________
19. _______________________________________________________
20. _______________________________________________________
Work Environment: Describe your preferred work environment. (Inside, outside, tasks performed, dress code
etc.) _____________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Geographic preference: Where do you want to live? Big City? Small Town? Stay in AZ? Travel frequently?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Education Level: How many years of college education do you want to/need to pursue in order to achieve your
chosen career? _____________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
What options for further education are you willing to consider (community college, university, technical
school?) __________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
What resources do you have to finance your education? (Scholarships, loans, parents etc.)
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Career Plan (Body Paragraph III)
The career I am planning on pursuing is: _______________________________
1. Write a job description for this job.
This should include main duties and responsibilities.
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
2. Is this job related to my interests?
yes
no
Explain:
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
3. What main skills does this job require? Do you already possess these skills or are you planning to learn
them?
Skill: Have/Don’t have
Where learned? When?
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
4. Does this career choice conflict with any of your values? Explain.
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
5. How well do your personal characteristics fit with the career choice?_____________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
Lifestyle Conditions (Body Paragraph IV)
1. What is the desired level of education you wish to pursue? ____________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
2. Are there options for what degrees, certifications, or other post high school training you need? ________
____________________________________________________________________________________
3. Where can you get it? _________________________________________________________________
4. How long will it take? _________________________________________________________________
5. How much is this training going to cost? ___________________________________________________
6. What plan do you have to pay for your education? ___________________________________________
7. Consider your desired standard of living. Will this afford you the lifestyle you desire? _____________
What is the pay range you can expect? Pay range: Starting Salary ______ Average ______ Top ______
Are their any special benefits that are common in this job? Is there significant life style choices
associated with this career? (Travel, high stress, long hours etc...)
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
8. What is the future outlook for the career you have chosen? (Will this career be in demand? Will it be
hard to find a job in this field?) What roadblocks that may make it difficult to achieve this goal do you
anticipate? How might you overcome theses obstacles? Explain.
Job Outlook: _________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
Roadblocks: _________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
Overcoming obstacles: ________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
Conclusion Paragraph V
9. What are the negative aspects or possible disadvantages to pursuing this career? ___________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
10. What are the positive aspects and possible advantages of pursuing this career? _____________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
11. What further work experience, classes/programs do you plan to take to even better prepare you for your
chosen career? _______________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
12. Overall, does this career seem like a good match for you? Explain. ______________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
Section 2: Career Narrative Writing Assignment
Now that you have thoughtfully considered your future goals relating to your career, use the information
you have acquired through the P.A.C.E. Brainstorm to write your narrative. Write a five-paragraph essay
that describes your chosen career path and highlights your strengths, education required and why you believe it
is a career you can be successful at. Your final draft needs to be typed, in MLA format. It should be in
essay form and will be in the beginning to your P.A.C.E. project portfolio, introducing yourself to your
judges. Grading will be based on the attached rubric.
 Typed, Times New Roman, size 12, 1 inch margins double spaced
 1 - 3 pages
 Title Page
Introduction (Paragraph I):
 What have you learned from going through the process of the P.A.C.E. brainstorm?
 Did the brainstorm process point you to any fields or areas you had not looked into? Did anything
surprise you?
 What careers/career fields appeal to you? Why?
 Define your career goal. If you do not know for sure what you want to be, at least identify a career
cluster you are considering. Explain why you have chosen this career/career cluster.
 What interests you about it? What experiences you have had so far that lead you to think you would like
this career?
Body (Paragraphs II-IV):
Describe the career you have chosen in all of the following areas:
 Job description: duties and responsibilities of the position
 Personal qualities/characteristics needed for success
 Working conditions and environment
 Average salary
 Benefits
 Educational requirements
 What plans do you have for pursuing this career? Include further work experience, classes/programs
you plan to take to even better prepare you for your chosen career.
 Cost and time of education
 Where can you get the education needed?
Conclusion (Paragraph V):
 How does your personality coincide with your chosen career/field?
 What can you do/have you taken this year to get an early start on your chosen career/field? How will
you the P.A.C.E. project hours to enhance your understanding of this topic?
 Include advantages and disadvantages for this career. It should be clear in your writing that the
advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
 End on a positive note!
Career Narrative Scoring Rubric
Content
Title Page
10 Pts
Introduction
30 Pts
Body
50 Pts
Conclusion
30 Pts
Mechanics
20 Pts
(10-8) has title page typed
neatly with name, date and
titles
(7-5) has title page typed, with
name, date and titles
(NY) Title page is messy or hand
written
(NY) no title page
(30-24) clear and complete,
interesting, presented in a way
that makes the audience want
to read it
(23-18) clear and complete,
somewhat lacking creativity
missing 1 component outlined
in directions
(NY) Statement not clear, lack of
interest missing 2 or more
components outlined in directions
(50-40) Covers all topics
presented in the directions
plus other information, flows
smoothly, with good
transitions
(30-24) Clear and complete
statements including a
thoughtful description of
advantages and disadvantages,
steps to fulfill career goal
clear, all stated in a positive
manner
(20-16) Easy to read and
written in proper format, 1-2
grammar or punctuation
errors typed as stated in
directions
(39-30) Missing 1 topic
presented in the directions,
flows less smoothly, with fair
transitions
(NY) Missing 2 or more topics
presented in the directions,
does not flow smoothly, contains
weak transitions
(23-18) Clear and complete
statements including some
advantages and disadvantages,
attempts to describe steps to
fulfill career goal clear but
does not
(NY) Not clear and complete
statements does not including
advantages and disadvantages,
attempts to describe steps to fulfill
career goal clear, not as positively
stated
(15-12) Not as easy to read
and written in proper format, 5
or more grammar,
punctuation, spelling errors
throughout
(NY) Not easy to read and not
written in proper format, more than
6 grammar or punctuation errors
font hard to read or not typed at all
Total
___________/ 140