Bridging Self & Career
Brainstorm Questions:
● Have you ever come across an idea or study that changed your perspective on your career field?
● What are some of the biggest challenges currently facing professionals in this field?
● Have you explored or are you aware of different perspectives, opinion, beliefs, or debates within your career field?
Method:
1. Brainstorm Identify a current innovation, challenge or issue in your future career field with the help of AI
Option 1: Challenges or imbalance in the field. Ex: underrepresentation, inequities, or interpersonal, psychological, even physical issues people in the career face.
Option 2: Differing schools of thought (perspectives, beliefs, ideologies, opinions) in your field. Ex: In agriculture - Organic vs. synthetic fertilizer
Option 3: New innovations/methods/practice in the field. What's currently being researched?
2. Research your topic in the Library Databases. Find 2-5 articles related to or in support of your topic.
3. Reflection & Self Analysis:
Write a reflection on your connection to the issue/topic & discuss your findings. Explore possible solutions to the problem/issue you researched, identify your perspective in comparison to others, & explain how you view your role as an upcoming member in the field. Elaborate on the following...
● Discuss possible solutions & the impacts of those solutions.
● Explore advantages & or increasing awareness on the issue.
● Describe how you see yourself adjusting to challenges or issues in the field uncovered during your research.
● Compare your skills, beliefs, personality or interests to someone in the field relevant to your research.
● State if you are in the majority or the minority on the issue, in terms of population, mindset, or opinion.
Agriculture Example: I'm in the organic camp, here’s why...
● Identify skills you could focus on building to ensure you have a positive influence on the field.
● Analyze how this research impacted your commitment to your future career. Are you more or less invested? Elaborate, why.
-
O*NET OnLine This link opens in a new windowO*NET Online includes information on skills, abilities, work activities, and interests associated with more then 900 occupations. This information can be used to facilitate career exploration and vocational counseling.
-
Occupational Outlook Handbook This link opens in a new windowPublished by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) provides valuable career-related information on hundreds of jobs. Information provided includes job and work environment descriptions, salary information, and job outlook projections.
-
LearningExpress: Job and Career Accelerator This link opens in a new windowLearningExpress Job & Career Accelerator provides an easy-to-use search tool with everything patrons and students need to find, apply for, and get hired into ideal positions.
