Career Topic Assignments
Career Services supports students to learn by focusing assignments and projects in a meaningful and integrated way into the coursework and curriculum.
Discovery Core Classes
On the Student to Learner spectrum of the student development process, we think of:

DCI “Discovery” as the “show up” stage, where students start to imagine the possibilities of interest areas

DCII “Research” as the “purposeful” stage, where students are learning something they have identified interest in and are defining the fields of possibilities

DCIII “reflective practice” as the “engaged” stage, where building on what they have learned, possibilities shape into reality and action. This is where students truly become learners and seek out opportunities or experiential learning to build on their interests and fine-tune their skills
Career activities and assignments relevant to each may be:
DCI

Values auction or discussion – where students determine what values are important to them in learning, life and the workplace. A learning outcome would be to set the stage for identifying interest, purpose and personal values.

Attend a Career Services Workshop – join the discussion on various professional topics such as resumes, how to get involved on campus, professionalism and learning about eportfolios. These will be offered throughout the year targeting different student groups. A learning outcome would be to become familiar with Career Services resources.
DCII

At the Pathways Fair, identify an experiential learning opportunity to pursue sophomore year and create and action plan outlining steps to participate in the opportunity. A learning outcome would be to develop a plan of action and ownership of experiential learning.

Host an alumni panel of former students sharing stories of what contributed to their success. A learning outcome would be to instill ideas for ways to become involved and build skills to complement coursework.

Conduct an Informational Interview with someone doing work the student is interested in. A learning outcome would be to learn to talk about the student’s education, accomplishments and degree and form questions about careers of interest.
DCIII

Create an outline of projects, presentations, group work or research and skills gained from each to help frame a showcase portfolio. A learning outcome would be to identify skills from accomplishments and evidence pieces.

Conduct a mock elevator speech practice activity in class. A learning outcome would be the ability to speak to a student’s learning and skills.

Chart out a Job or Internship Search Action Plan . A learning outcome would be to develop a plan of action to help guide decision making and identify experiential learning opportunities.
Assignments targeted to decision making resources for a student’s developmental/personal archive.
1.
Research an occupation/s of interest
Research the topics below using these 2 resources http://www.onetonline.org/ and http://www.wois.org/ (site key:
yvu845)

Definition of occupation, nature of work, job functions performed

Education, training, experience needed

Related occupations

Personal qualifications, skills, abilities required
1
Box 358555 18115 Campus Way NE Bothell, WA 98011 425.352.3706 career@uw.edu uwb.edu/careers


Professional associations/organizations aligned with this occupation.

Employment and advancement outlook
2.
Major to Career
Review the questions below using What Can I Do With This Major accessed from our website at http://www.uwb.edu/careers/majors-and-careers

What are some information/strategies you can use to gain knowledge in this field?

What is a professional association you should become familiar with? (bottom of the page)

What is the occupational outlook for one of the careers you might consider in this field?

What are specific job databases that have employment listings to research job descriptions in your industry/field of interest?
3.
Occupational Assessment
Take the “I’m not really sure.”/”Tell us what you like to do.” Assessment at http://www.mynextmove.org/ .

What were some of the career titles that came up?

What training/education do you need to do this work?
4.
Link Academic Assignments to Career Skills
Students aren’t always aware of the full depth of what they know—or know how to explain what they know to others. Faculty can help students see the connections by making more explicit the link between academic learning and careers.

Utilize the Student Success Templates at http://careers.uw.edu/Faculty/Faculty-Department-Examples (or



 create your own) to help students translate learning to skills
Have a student identify 1 – 5 assignments, fill out the chart and create a translation to careers
Ask students to draft a few lines they could add to their resumes based on the skills they learned from the assignment
Attend a Career Fair or Networking Event – Research and Reflection
- Research a field of interest and companies attending the fair in the related field.
- During the fair, talk with the employers you researched as well as others. Ask questions:
 Ask the employers questions that you had from your research.
Reflection:
 From doing this assignment, what is one thing that surprised you about this research? What did you learn about the
 companies you interacted with?
Are there employers you interacted with that you want to continue to develop relationships with, apply to jobs with, etc.?
What are next steps?
What do you wish you’d known to do before the Career Fair?
From http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:-
Ai2hEbMgskJ:uncw.edu/career/documents/PotentialCareerFairAssignments.docx+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
Meet with an employer in a field of interest and ask the following:
 What does this employer do? Products they produce? Services they offer?
 What kinds of skills is this employer looking for a potential employee/intern to have?
 What are questions you have for the employer?
Reflection:

Provide a very brief summary of the conversation you had. Who did you talk to, what were the topics of conversation, what did you learn?
From < http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:-
Ai2hEbMgskJ:uncw.edu/career/documents/PotentialCareerFairAssignments.docx+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us >
Box 358555 18115 Campus Way NE Bothell, WA 98011 425.352.3706 career@uw.edu uwb.edu/careers

Research a company of interest:

The name of the company

Primary location(s) where it operates and has employees

A short overview of the business the company is in (what does it do/produce/etc.), including if those tasks are spread among locations or in one location

The role of computer science/engineering (or whatever your major is) in the company. Why do they need computer scientists/engineers, what jobs do they have (job titles/responsibilities), what is the career path employees tend to follow, etc.?
Reflection:

Provide a short summary evaluating this company relative to your own personal goals. In what ways is this company particularly attractive or unattractive to you, considering your interests and goals? What are the values, goals or mission of the company and how do these align with your personal values?
From < http://courses.cse.tamu.edu/keyser/csce481/F12/JobFairAssignment.htm
>
Networking Assignment

Identify 5 – 10 questions from the list below that you are curious about
 meet with 2-3 recruiters at the Career Fair, attend a Networking event or conduct an informational interview
 reflect on what you learned and how this helped you
Some possible questions:
1.
On a typical day in this position, what do you do?
2.
What training or education is required for this type of work?
3.
What personal qualities or abilities are important to being successful in this job?
4.
What part of this job do you find most satisfying? Most challenging?
5.
How did you get your job?
6.
What opportunities for advancement are there in this field?
7.
What entry level jobs are best for learning as much as possible?
8.
What are the salary ranges for various levels in this field?
9.
How do you see jobs in this field changing in the future?
10.
Is there a demand for people in this occupation?
11.
What special advice would you give a person entering this field?
12.
What types of training do companies offer persons entering this field?
13.
What are the basic prerequisites/education for jobs in this field?
14.
Which professional journals and organizations would help me learn more about this field?
15.
What do you think of the experience I've had so far in terms of entering this field?
16.
From your perspective, what are the problems you see working in this field?
17.
If you could do things all over again, would you choose the same path for yourself? Why? What would you change?
18.
With the information you have about my education, skills, and experience, what other fields or jobs would you suggest I research further before I make a final decision?
19.
What do you think of my resume? Do you see any problem areas? How would you suggest I change it?
20.
Who do you know that I should talk to next? When I call him/her, may I use your name as a referral?
Cited from Lone Star College System http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CB8QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lonestar.edu%
2Fdepartments%2Facademicaffairsstusuccess%2FCareer_Exploration_Instructions_and_Acti.docx&ei=WFwHVbyTONK4oQSP6oCoB
Q&usg=AFQjCNGEGgAk9ub0PoLf9-ZyUynFmTcyBw&bvm=bv.88198703,d.cGU
)
Box 358555 18115 Campus Way NE Bothell, WA 98011 425.352.3706 career@uw.edu uwb.edu/careers