Introduction

Choosing a career is one of the most important decisions you will make in your lifetime. It is also one the most challenging. You may even change careers several times in your life. Knowing what career path you want to take is only the first step. You will need education and training. Then you will need to search for that perfect job. You will need to know how to create a resume and cover letter and how to conduct an interview.
 

For this project you will be researching a career that you are interested in. Next you will research a college, university or trade school of your choice. You will present a PowerPoint presentation to the class so others can learn about your career and school. Then you will prepare a cover letter and resume for a job in that career field. You will next conduct a mock interview with your instructor for that job.

The Process

Researching Your Career Below is a list of web sites that are available for you to use in researching your career field.

If you are uncertain about what career you are interested in, here are a couple surveys to help.

http://usa.cx.bridges.com/

• click on student
• username: 0020096
• password: east
• Click on PLANNER (at the top)
• Choose CAREER FINDER (on the left)
• Enter your name and answer the questions.

www.aol.com/webcenters/workplace/career.adp

• Click on TAKE OUR QUIZ (under Popular Careers - may have to scroll down to see this link)
• Click on the Q&A button (right side) and answer the questions.

You are required to have the following information in your presentation:

• Detailed description of the career field
• Education needed. Please include degree needed, major and coursework required
• Experience needed
• Salary
• Interview. You will be required to interview an individual in the field you are researching. From this interview you should find out about the working conditions. The following questions must be answered in your intervew:

1. How many hours per day and week on average would you work?
2. Is traveling required?
3. What is the office atmosphere like?
4. What is the dress code?
5. What computer and people skills are needed?

Researching a College or University

You will also be researching a college, university, or trade school that you wish to attend. The school may be anywhere in the U.S. however, it must have the program for your career choice. Part of your research will include speaking to an individual from your chosen college or univeristy. Here is a list of several Illinois schools' web addresses.

Eastern Illinois University Western Illinois University Illinois State University Southern Illinois University - Carbondale Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville University of Illinois - Urbana University of Illinois - Chicago Waubonsee Community College Robert Morris College Bradley University Northern Illinois University Northwestern University

You must include the following information about your college or university:

• Name and location
• Population
• Size of campus
• Housing
• Tuition--include all fees, cost of books and the cost for housing
• Description of student life
• Description of clubs and organizations, both academic and social related to your field
• Name of degree or program
• Name of contact person--You will be required to email someone from that school in your major to find out information about the program. (Please print or email me a copy of the email sent to that person and a response, whether it is an email or brochure.

Presentation Now you are going to put all the information you found in a PowerPoint presentation. You must follow the requirements given for your presentation.

• presentation must be 7 to 10 minutes long
• you must include all required information for the career of your choice and the college or university you have chosen.
• Include clipart images and sounds to enhance your presentation.
• Speak loudly and clearly. Do not read.
• You may use other forms of visual aids in addition to your PowerPoint presentation.
• Please be creative in your presentation-add clipart images and sounds to your presentation but, don't go overboard.

Resume and Cover Letter

Before you know it you will be graduating from college and hunting for a job. A perfect resume and cover letter is a must. After the lesson in class on resumes and cover letters you should be an expert. Here is a list of web sites help will help you in creating your cover letter and resume.

collegegrad.com Career City DVTips.com All4resumes.com eresumewriting.com Cover Letter Guidelines Resumes and Cover Letters Resumes

Here is a list of requirements for your resume and cover letter.

• resume should have a format that is easy to follow and consistant
• resume and cover letter should contain all of the appropriate parts
• both should have no errors
• both should have all relevant information
• both must be typed

Mock Interview

Now it is time for that very important interview. Remember the interview techniques discussed in class to prepare for your interview. Follow all the guidelines. Don't forget to dress professionally. Contact your instructor to set up a time for your interview.

 

	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 4	Score
PowerPoint Presentation	Time of presentation too short. Many errors were found. Speaker needs to work on speaking louder. No graphic images were used. Research incomlete.	Time of presentaion too short. Several errors were found. Speaker talked softly. Too few graphic images. Research fulfilled several of the requirements.	Presentation had appropriate amount of graphics. Some errors. Speaker should work on taking louder and clearer. Research fulfilled most of the requirements.	Presentation was creative and easy to follow. No errors. Speaker spoke loudly and clearly. Lasted the appropriate amount of time. Information researched and presented was complete.
Resume and Cover Letter	Needs much improvement. Many errors. Format was incomplete.	Needs to work on format. Improve readability. 5-6 errors. Information incomplete.	Format had a few errors. 2-3 grammar and spelling errors.	Format complete. No grammar or spelling errors. Information relevant to job. Not wordy.
Mock Interview	Was not prepared for the interview. Many "Ums" and "Uhs." Poor eye contact. Poorly dressed.	Seemed to be somewhat prepared for the interview. Stumbles on answers to questions. Poor eye contact. Poor professionalism.	Seemed to be prepared, however, had trouble answer questions. Good eye contact. Dress was professional.	Conducted interview in a professional manner. Good eye contact. Answered questions easily and completely and answers were appropriate.

Illinois State Standards: 3.B.2d; 3.B.5; 3.C.5a; 3.C.5b; 4.B.2a; 5.C.2b; 5.C.5a

Now that you have gone through the process of searching for a career you are better prepared for the future. You should be able to find the job of your dreams when you graduate from school. Good luck!

Graphics from:

http://www.clipartguide.com

http://webclipart.about.com

http://www.grsites.com