Career Development Relating to Employment Opportunities

1. Career Development Relating to Employment Opportunities Instructional Materials Service IMS #8000A2

2. Objectives • Discuss career opportunities in agricultural-related occupations and the need for continued education for advancement. • Identify effective methods to secure and terminate employment. • Demonstrate effective written and oral skills.

3. Objectives • Follow through on assigned tasks. • Demonstrate dependability and punctuality. • Demonstrate productive work habit and attitude. • Develop pride in the quality of work performed.

4. Objectives • Recognize the dignity of work. • Develop skills in planning and organizing work. • Apply required methods and sequences when performing tasks. • Apply principles of time management and work simplification when performing assigned tasks.

5. Introduction • The agricultural industry boasts an abundance of exciting employment opportunities. • Regardless of interest, there is a perfect career, occupation or job out there for everyone.

6. Differentiating Between A Career, Occupation, & Job • Career - involves the general direction of a person’s life as related to work. • Occupation - involves an area of work with specific duties. • Job - specific work that has definite duties and is done in a particular place.

7. Introduction • People spend half of their life working. • Therefore it is extremely important that a person choose a career that he/she will love. • By taking a personal inventory of one’s abilities and interests, a person can get an idea of a career field or pathway that may be of interest to him/her.

8. Introduction • Careful research into the desired career and available positions, as well as careful consideration of whether or not the career offers what an individual desires, helps ensure that the individual doesn’t choose a position that isn’t right for him/her.

9. Introduction • Being hired depends on an individual’s ability to express his/her strengths and desirable qualities. • To successfully maintain employment, one must possess the appropriate skills for the job, as well as desirable traits and ethics.

10. Things to Consider When Selecting a Career Field • Personal Interests • Aptitudes • Abilities • Personality and Attitudes • Values and Standards • Goals • Resources

11. Interests • Include hobbies, activities, events, and ideas that a person enjoys.

12. Interests • Determined by answering the following questions: • What do I do in my spare time? • What would I like to do that I haven’t experienced yet? • What do I like to talk about with others? • What is my favorite thing to do?

13. Aptitudes • Natural physical and mental talents for learning the skills required for professional choices. • May be determined based on self-knowledge or tests offered by school. • General Aptitude Test Battery, which measures nine different aptitudes and may indicate strengths and weaknesses, may be available through school guidance counselor.

14. Abilities • Capacity to perform a task well. • May be learned and developed, or may be a natural talent. • Generally, an ability for a skill is more easily acquired when a person has an aptitude for the skill.

15. Values • Ideals and principles that a person holds most important in life. • May be influenced by parents, teachers, and friends. • Naturally developed by keeping and disregarding the ideas of outside influences and combining kept values with personal experiences.

16. Standards • Set the basis for an individual’s expectations when his/her values are questioned. • Draw the line that a person doesn’t feel comfortable crossing. • Set for everything including living habits, friendliness, professionalism, self worth, personal ethics, and goals.

17. Goals • Aspirations a person strives to achieve. • May include short-term or long-term goals. • Short-term goal may be to finish a class assignment before the due date. • Long-term goal may be to graduate in the top ten percent of the class. • Set based on values and standards.

18. Values, Standards, and Goals • Tend to change over time. • Should be continually re-evaluated.

19. Personality • The way a person behaves and acts. • Identifies a person as an individual. • Involves a person’s emotional and physical well being and influences others’ views of him/her. • Determines the character of a person.

20. Personality • A key characteristic that employers use to evaluate job candidates. • Employers look for employees with a happy, cheerful personality that will benefit the company and fit into its environment.

21. Attitude • A characteristic of personality. • The way a person feels and acts in regards to him/her self and others. • Affects the way a person responds to certain stimulus.

22. Characteristics Affected by a Person’s Attitude • Dependability • Friendliness • Loyalty • Honesty • Initiative • Open-Mindedness • Self-Confidence • Self-Control • Sense of Humor

23. Attitude • Employers want a person who works well with others and has a positive attitude. • Negative or bad attitude can carry from one person to another and cause a drop in effectiveness, efficiency, and production.

24. Resources • Resources include skills, abilities, talents, knowledge, and time. • Tangible resources include money, tools, personal belongings, and other resources. • Personal contacts are also resources. • All types of resources can help one choose a career.

25. Researching Careers • Familiarity with career pathways may aid in researching careers. • Career pathways are groups of occupations with similar broad skill requirements and work responsibilities.

26. Common Career Pathways in Agriculture

27. Examples of Occupations in Career Pathways

28. Researching Careers • Sources of information for researching careers include: • Libraries and the Internet • Human Resources • Career Fairs • Co-op Experiences, Internships, Apprenticeships, and/or Shadowing • Resource chosen should provide information on a variety of topics.

29. Libraries and the Internet • Libraries may offer resources such as: • Newspapers • Magazines • Books • Journals • On-line information

30. Libraries and the Internet • Use a library’s card catalog, or an Internet search engine, to search by keyword for information on the career of interest.

31. Libraries and the Internet • For example, if interested in animals, complete a search using the key words: • animal; • animal science; • animal research; • animal rights/welfare; • pets; or • animal care.

32. Human Resources • Includes counselors, mentors, and friends who may serve as a source of career information.

33. Counselors • May be able to direct individuals to desired information. • May maintain up-to-date folders on different occupations and educational requirements. • May help individuals better understand their personal interests, aptitudes, and abilities.

34. Mentors and Friends • May have personal experience and knowledge to share. • May help a person recognize personal characteristics and traits. • May be able to direct an individual to associates involved in career fields of interest. • May be willing or able to help a person find employment opportunities.

35. Career Fairs • May include career fairs, career conferences, or career consultations. • Opportunity for direct contact with people employed with the company of interest or in desired career fields. • People are available to answer questions regarding their employers or job opportunities.

36. Career Fairs • Questions for company representatives should be related to the following: • Training • Getting the first job • Company environment • Job likes and dislikes • Questions should provide further insight into the company or career field.

37. Co-op Employment • Involves a cooperative agreement between the employee and employer to employ a person while he/she is still in high school or college. • High school co-op employment is part-time and generally involves 15-20 hours of work per week. • College co-op employment can be either part-time or full-time.

38. Co-op Employment • Direct supervision and help is provided to the employee. • Employee usually earns a salary. • Individual learns the duties and responsibilities of the position and workplace.

39. Internship • Similar to a co-op experience, but individual usually has some training. • Intern may be assigned to a specific person or department to work with, or may be assigned general duties. • Interns receive hands-on experience before formal education is completed.

40. Internship • Position may be paid or unpaid. • Offers experience and the possibility of receiving valuable recommendations for future jobs.

41. Apprenticeship • System of employee training that combines on-the-job training with technical instruction. • Programs are most common in fields requiring skilled or “craft-workers” such as electricians and construction workers.

42. Apprenticeship • Involves agreement between apprentice and employer regarding the following: • Length of Training • Hours of Instruction • Wages • Outline of Skills to be Learned

43. Shadowing • Short-term commitment between the individual and company. • Provides an individual with an opportunity to follow, or shadow, a professional engaged in a specific career role. • Should provide enough time to provide an in-depth knowledge of the position. • Normally non-salaried.

44. Evaluating Careers • All job opportunities and job offers should be evaluated. • Opportunities should be evaluated based on questions related to the following: • Career Goals • Job Expectations • Effect on Personal Lifestyle

45. Career Goals • Is there potential for future work involvement? • Is this related to my specific area of interest? • Would this career motivate me to seek advancement?

46. Career Goals • Will there be opportunities to gain the experience needed for advancement? • Does the opportunity exist within the organization for advancement?

47. Job Expectations • What is the desired treatment by employers and peers? • What level of job training is given before assuming responsibilities? • What degree of responsibility does the employee desire? • Does the company encourage creativity?

48. Job Expectations • How does the company accept new ideas? • What are the company policies on gender, religion, and family issues? • Does the company atmosphere reflect social interaction or is social interaction discouraged?

49. Personal Lifestyle • Does the job require relocation, and is relocating acceptable? • Does the time this job requires still allow time to pursue personal interests? • Will there be time to get away from work and relieve job stress? • Will there be time to marry and start a family or devote to a family?

50. Personal Lifestyle • How much time is there for personal social interaction? • Can this job support the desired lifestyle or family? • Will this job conflict with the spouse’s career, or agree with it?