CAREER ADVANTAGE VIDEOS
Episode Summaries

SECTION I SELF-KNOWLEDGE AND EXPLORATION: What Do I Really Want?

 
EPISODE 1: Introduction
This lesson introduces students to the three main components of the career development process: (1) Self-Knowledge and Exploration; (2) Career and Educational Exploration; and (3) Career Planning and Implementation.  Students also meet the "real people" who will describe their career decision-making experiences throughout the coming episodes, as well as some of the experts including Richard Bolles, Jeremy Rifkin, Barbara Sher and Howard Figler.
 

EPISODE 2: Where Are You Now?
This lesson introduces students to the Donald Super's concept of life roles, and the importance of having support systems.  Students evaluate their satisfaction with their current life roles - work, home and family, leisure, self-improvement and community, and begin to identify key people in their personal support system.
 

EPISODE 3: Self-Knowledge and Beliefs
This lesson presents simple methods for expanding self-awareness, and introduces students to the connections between their beliefs, their attitudes and their subsequent behaviors.  Students practice techniques for identifying personal beliefs about their ability to be successful by listening to their self-talk, and begin to develop their Personal Career Profile.

 
EPISODE 4: Values
This lesson introduces students to the relationship between their values and the kinds of choices they make each day, and how values relate to career decisions.  Students begin to identify some of their key values and to consider how their family background may have shaped their values.
 

EPISODE 5: Personality & Interests
This lesson presents the connections between personality, interests and work preferences such as working with information, ideas, people and things.  Students begin to identify their primary interest patterns and aspects of their personality through various exercises.
 

EPISODE 6: Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
In this lesson, students are introduced to the differences between knowledge, skills and abilities.  In addition they are presented with the basic skills required by today's employers identified by the US Department of Labor SCANS Report.  Students learn to identify their skills through examining past accomplishments and to consider how skill development may be influenced by societal or cultural pressures.
 

EPISODE 7: Keeping Track of Self-Knowledge and Exploration
This lesson concludes the self-assessment section of the course.  Students expand their Personal Career Profiles by identifying preferred values, and interests, and by identifying current skills as well as skills they want to develop in the future.
 
 

SECTION II CAREER AND EDUCATIONAL EXPLORATION: What's Out There For Me?

 
EPISODE 8: Introduction to Career and Educational Exploration
This is the introductory lesson to the self-exploration phase of this course, and is the first of two lessons which explore contemporary changes in the economy and the world of work.  The lesson introduces three principal changes - technology, globalization, and changing workforce demographics.  Students review a variety of strategies     for coping with these changes including considering new work options such as self-employment and contract work, and the need for lifelong learning.
 

EPISODE 9: The Changing Workplace: Technology & Globalization
This second lesson on the changing workplace focuses on how technology has changed the kind of work we do, how work is done, and where work can be done. Students are introduced to the concept of global business and the skills essential to stay employable in a global economy.

EPISODE 10: What Employers Want: Skills and Attitudes
This lesson introduces students to the skills and attitudes essential for success in today's workplace - competence, communication, adaptability, group effectiveness, and influence.  Students are introduced to the concept of global business and the skills essential to stay employable in a global economy.

EPISODE 11: What's Out There: How the World of Work is Organized
In this lesson students are introduced to the distinctions and similarities between industries and functions.  Several primary industries and job functions are described and students gain insight into how their interests can offer clues to industries or types of work that they might enjoy.
 

EPISODE 12: Generating Career Options
In this lesson students are presented with a variety of strategies for generating a list of career possibilities.  Students are encouraged to brainstorm ideas and emphasize quantity over quality of ideas at this stage of the process.
 

EPISODE 13: Researching Career Options: New Technologies and Current Techniques
This is the first of two lessons about exploring career options.  The lesson introduces students to both print and electronic sources of occupational information.  Students learn the components of a research strategy and are presented with the categories of key information to help them focus their research efforts.
 

EPISODE 14: Informational Interviewing And Networking
In this second lesson about exploring career options students are introduced to the benefits of using networking and informational interviewing to learn more about careers which interest them.  Students learn how to identify networking opportunities and potential networking contacts, as well as a strategy for conducting informational interviews.
 

EPISODE 15: Evaluating Career Options
This lesson presents students with the "Three C's" a framework for evaluating career options using content, conditions and compensation.  Students use information from their Personal Career Profiles to identify their own preferred content, conditions and compensation and begin to compare their preferences to information gathered from their occupational research.
 

EPISODE 16: Overcoming Barriers to Employment.
In this lesson students are introduced to some of the legal issues related to discrimination in hiring and in the workplace, as well as some techniques for confronting, challenging and coping with discrimination.  In addition, students are presented with questions they can ask to gauge a company's corporate culture and commitment to diversity.
 

EPISODE 17: Lifelong Learning
This lesson looks at the range of educational options students may consider in order to obtain their occupational goals including vocational training, community college, undergraduate and graduate degrees.  In addition, students are presented with the benefits of experiential education such as coops and internships, and the need for lifelong learning to keep skills current. 
 

SECTION III CAREER PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION: How Do I Get What I Want?

 
EPISODE 18: Introduction to Career Planning and Implementation
This lesson introduces the implementation phase of the course and provides an overview of the next steps including making a career decision, deciding on an action plan and launching the search for work opportunities.  Common myths or misperceptions about the job search process are also presented and debunked.
 

EPISODE 19: Decision Making Strategies
This lesson takes a look at both rational-linear and intuitive decision making strategies.  Students begin to assess their personal decision making style and gain insight into how their values, willingness to take risks, and ability to be objective may influence their decision making process.  Finally, students are introduced to a strategy for using their personal priorities to guide their decision making.
 

EPISODE 20: Goal Setting & Action Planning
In this lesson students are given criteria for attainable goals and objectives - specific, measurable, realistic, and meaningful - and practice evaluating goals on the basis of these criteria.  Students begin to draft their own goals and action plan for implementing their search.
 

EPISODE 21: Finding Work Opportunities: New Technologies and Current Techniques
This lesson focuses on finding work opportunities by accessing the hidden job market through networking.  Students are guided in the development of networking statement and presented with the advantages of several methods of finding work including cold calling, employment agencies, temporary assignments, internships and volunteering.
 

EPISODE 22: Staying on Track In Your Work Search
At this point in their job search students may be experiencing stress and having difficulty staying motivated.  This lesson covers a variety of stress management and time management techniques that can help students stay focused and on track.
 

EPISODE 23: Resume Preparation
This lesson covers the development and use of both chronological and functional resumes.  Students draft accomplishment statements using action verbs and emphasizing the results they produced.
 

EPISODE 24: Interviewing Strategies
This is the first of two lessons on interviewing, and introduces the three essential steps to interview preparation - know yourself, know the position, and know the company.  Students consider their responses to some typical interview questions and learn the STAR (Situation-Task-Action-Result) framework for describing their accomplishments to employers.
 

EPISODE 25: Interview Follow-up
This lesson covers specific steps students should follow immediately after an interview, such as writing a thank you letter, and later, such as maintaining their networking and keeping momentum in their work search.  Strategies for turning a rejection into a positive and useful experience are also described.
 

EPISODE 26: Series Conclusion
This concluding episode reviews several methods for getting unstuck and staying on track while looking for work opportunities, and presents strategies, such as ongoing self-assessment, for building and managing a successful career.  Students draft one-year, ten-year and lifetime goals to help them build a vision for the future.

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