2016

Career Exploration
and Job Search
Getting started with your career planning & job search

Table of Contents:
- Introduction page # ‘s
- Rationale
- Purpose
- Guide Summary
- Module 1 - Career Planning & Research

- Module 2 - Setting goals and Job Search Strategies

- Module 3 - Resume and Cover Letter Writing
- Module 4 - Job Search Plan & Maintenance
- Module 5 - Interview Preparation
- Module 6 - Job Maintenance & Business Communication
- Final Assignment – Creating a Personalized Career Portfolio
- Resources
- Appendix?

Final Design Project by:

Bao-Van Hill | Paul Parungao | Brittany Reid | Vibhu Vashisht

Created for: ETEC 510 – 65C, Dr. Diane Janes, Ph.D.

University of British Columbia
April 3rd, 2016
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Table of Contents

Introduction: __________________________________________________________________22
Introduction:__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Rationale________________________________________________________________________ 2
The Purpose_____________________________________________________________________ 2
Guide Summary
Summary_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________ 4

Module 1: Career Planning & Research

Research____________________________________________
____________________________________________ 6
Module 2: Setting Goals & Job Search Strategies
Strategies____________________________________
____________________________________ 7
Module 3: Cover Letter & Resume Writing
Writing__________________________________________
__________________________________________ 8
Module 4: Job Search Plan & Maintenance
Maintenance_________________________________________
_________________________________________ 9
Module 5: Interview Preparation
Preparation________________________________________________
________________________________________________ 10
Module 6: Job Maintenance & Business Communication_____________________________ 11
Communication_____________________________

Resources:
Resources:___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________ 12
___________________________________________________________________12
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Introduction:
The curriculum guide was collaboratively developed by graduate students
enrolled in the Masters of Educational Technology program at the University of British
Columbia - Bao-Van Hill, Paul Parungao, Brittany Reid and Vibhu Vashisht. The guide
was created as a course requirement for ETEC 510 and plans to expose students to the
essential employment skills and resources necessary to thrive in future positions after
graduating from secondary schools.

Rationale
Jobs in the 21st century are changing rapidly and require more complex and
creative thinking, technology savviness; while the demand for routine and manual skills
are quickly declining. As education systems are unable to keep up with the high
demands of the 21st century workforce, many graduates are leaving secondary school
without the basic skills necessary to be considered effective employees. (Huffington
Post Education, 2010). According to the Critical Skills Survey conducted by the
American Management Association, employers deem communication skills, critical
thinking skills, collaboration skills and the ability to be creative and innovative as the
most essential skills for management level employees to possess. (AMA, 2010). These
skills will be referred to as the 4 C’s. Various organizations, such as the Partnership for
the 21st Century Skills (P21), have begun to create frameworks that successfully
identify the key skills necessary for the 21st century. However, schools and educators
need to take the initiative and address these growing needs by providing students the
opportunity to acquire and apply these skills in real work situations. (HuffingtonPost
Education, 2010). The goal of our design project is to provide secondary students with
an opportunity to engage with their current and future peers while acquiring the
essential skills necessary to succeed in the 21st century workforce.

The Purpose
The focus of the guide is to create a comprehensive training program, available
to educators at the secondary level, that can be integrated into the secondary career
and personal planning curriculum. The curriculum guide will serve as the information
gateway to employment training resources and will house the learning materials
available to educators and students. The lessons within the guide will focus on the listed
essential skills below (4 C’s):
 communication skills
 critical thinking skills
 collaboration skills
 creative and innovative thinking
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In addition, 9 essential skills are identified and deemed necessary by the Canadian
Government.

1 Reading Understanding written sentences/paragraphs in letters,

manuals

2 Document Use Finding and understanding information from various types of

documents

3 Numeracy Using numbers and thinking in quantitative terms

4 Writing Communicating by writing onto paper or computer screen

5 Oral Using speech to exchanged thoughts and information

Communication

6 Working with Interacting with others to complete tasks

Others

7 Thinking Finding and evaluating information to make rational decisions

8 Computer Use Using computers and other forms of technology

9 Continuous Participating in the ongoing process of improving skills and

Learning knowledge
(Skills and Employment Office of Literacy and Essential Skills, 2009).

One of the key intentions of the guide is to encourage the honing of basic
employment skills as seen on the Skills Canada website. The design intends to have
students understand possible career options, and have a participatory platform to build
skills surrounding that career. Another intention of the design is to allow students to
seek more information regarding a specific career path. This "career self-awareness" is
not instinctive at all. Students need to be instructed and given time to explore and
negotiate on what they want, how to build skills for their career goal, while broadening
their scope of career possibilities simultaneously. The final goal is to get students to
build specific skills of their chosen industry and consider what to focus or expand on to
increase their competitiveness in the job market after secondary and post-secondary
studies. After completing the six week course, students will be exposed to the
information necessary to create a personalized career portfolio that can be used for
current and prospective career goals.
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Guide Summary
The guide will include a 6-week curriculum to teach secondary students the
essential skills for career planning effectiveness. In order for the training program to
address the 4 C’s and the nine essential employment skills addressed above, an array
of teaching pedagogies have been incorporated into the lessons. The lessons
effectively incorporate case studies, where students will be required to collaboratively
discuss solutions to real world problems. The curriculum takes into account the
constructivist approach to learning as students will be required to actively engage with
the materials and construct their own knowledge (Tam, 2000).

Students will work through the materials and engage in small group discussions,
making the learning and acquired knowledge more meaningful and relevant to the
learner. Some of the core skills that will be addressed are communication and
collaboration. Students will be required to participate in discussions and create a final
presentation using the medium of their choice. Vygotsky is a major supporter of
collaborative learning environments and explains that students learn more effectively
when they are able to interact and communicate with their peers (Vygotsky, 1962).
Within the framework of the lessons, students will work through case studies and
scenarios in small group settings. The Case-Based Learning strategies will incorporate
situated learning principles as the knowledge will be presented and learning will occur in
authentic contexts where social interaction is required.

(BC Ministry of Education, 2)

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The guide has been designed to use alongside Edmodo to create a blended
learning environment that will help target 21st century skills by giving students the
opportunity to communicate and collaborate with their peers. Although the use of
Edmodo is suggested, the curriculum guide can easily be used without the use of
Edmodo through minor modifications.

The guide is organized into six modules:

 Module 1: Career Planning & Research
 Module 2: Setting goals and Job Search Strategies
 Module 3: Resume and Cover Letter Writing
 Module 4: Job Search Plan & Maintenance
 Module 5: Interview Preparation
 Module 6: Job Maintenance & Business Communication
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Module 1: Career Planning & Research

Lesson Name: Career Planning Goals and Objectives:

and Research
Suggested Time Frame: 1 Week
Discussion Prompts:
At the end of the lesson, ask learners
to post on the question “What qualities
did you like about this job besides the
financial aspect?”
 To learn about websites that can help
assess the types of jobs that would
best suit the learner
 To discover some jobs that would
best suit the learner
Resources:
 Career Compass (WorkBC)

Activity Description:
Learners complete 3 tasks in this module.

Task 1 – Self-Assessment
 Guide learners to the Career Compass (WorkBC) website and ask them to pick
one of the three quizzes to complete (Abilities, Work Preference, or Subjects
Quiz)
 Ask learners to pick one job out of the result and complete the Self-Assessment
Assignment. Assignment can be found as a short answer quiz in Edmodo.

Task 2 – Job Exploration

 Guide learners to the Explore Careers (WorkBC) website and ask them to type in
the one job they picked from Task 1 and search for it. Jobs that have a video
should we watched by the learners. The information found on the page about the
job will be used to complete the Job Exploration Assignment. This assignment is
found as a short answer quiz in Edmodo

Task 3
 After learners have completed Task 1 and Task 2, ask them to engage in a
discussion by answering the question “What qualities did you like about this job
besides the financial aspect”?
 Remind learners at the end of the module to keep a copy of all work done in
Module 1 for their final project

Notes:
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Module 2: Setting Goals & Job Search Strategies

Building a Career Plan

Goals and Objectives:
Suggested Time Frame: 1 week
 To identify personal skills, strengths
and interests and create a job search
plan accordingly
Activity Description: Discussion Prompts:
 Creating a career plan with both  Long term and short term goal setting
 What are your personal strengths
long term and short term goals is a  Identifying and Discuss
and interests? communicating
how these
critical piece for a career portfolio. barriers
strengthsand using
and critical
interests arethinking
assetsandfor
Have learners read Lessons from creative problem solving
the career you have chosen? skills to find
Jeff Weiner. Discuss how Jeff viable solutions
Weiner’s personal mission  Identify obstacles or barriers you may
statement acts as a long term face in attaining your desired career.
career plan. Resources:
Use your critical thinking and creative
problem solving skills to help a peer
 Three Questions to unlock your
 Watch Ashley Stahl’s TEDx. Have overcome
authentic the barriers
career: theyStahl
Ashley mayatface
learners identify: what they are TEDxBerkeley
good at, what people tell them they  Module 2 - What am I good at
Notes:
are good at and what is holding handout.docx
them back have students reflect on  Lessons from Jeff Weiner,
their prior career research and LinkedIn’s Networker-in-Chief
share their answers in a partner
 Smart Goal Checklist
share.

 Discuss the importance of goal

setting using the Goal setting Prezi.
Afterwards, have learners use
UBC’s Career Development Plan to
begin setting both long term and
short term goals.

 Learners are to use the Edmodo

Discussion Forum to discuss the
discussion prompts. Learners will
be required to reply to peer
responses and help find solutions to
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Module 3: Cover Letter & Resume Writing

Creating a Cover Letter and Goals and Objectives:

Resume
Suggested Time Frame: 1 week
Discussion Prompts:
 What is a cover letter? What kind of
information goes into a cover letter?
 What are the key points in the job
ad?
 What is a “CV”? What is the
difference from a resume?
 What kind of information goes into a
resume? What is not included?
 What are the main
sections/categories and order of the
 Review different types of resumes
and identify which resume type is the
most effective for them
 Review basic rules for resume writing
 Create a resume for learner’s short
term job goal and cover letter
Resources:
 Cover Letter examples
 Differences between CV & Resume
 SFU Co-op Resume examples
 BCIT Cover Letters
Handouts: Action Verbs, Creating Cover
Letters, Resume Types and Format,
Sample Job Ad

Activity Description
Cover Letters:
 Looking for work requires the two “advertising pieces”, the cover letter and resume. Encourage
learners to discuss with each other in order to better understand what a cover letter and resume
are, the different formats, styles and how to create them

 Have learners post in the discussion board about what is a cover letter and what kind of
information to include when writing one

 Have learners review the Creating Cover Letters handout to further understand the different types
and how to dissect the job ad, and post any other questions regarding cover letters and job ad in
the discussion board

Resumes:
 Have learners post in the two discussion boards respectively about what the difference is between
a CV and Resume, and what kind of information and categories goes into a resume. Then review
the Differences between a CV and Resume website and understand when to use one. Have
learners post any additional comments into the discussion board.
 Have learners review the Resume Types and Format handout to further understand the different
types and how to tailor the resume for the job ad, and post any other questions regarding
resumes in the job board

Think like an employer:

 Have students review the sample job ad and the two applications and discuss which one is the
most suitable candidate and why? Encourage the discussion in order to show both the pros and
cons of each application, and how “thinking like an employer” puts things into a different

Notes:
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Module 4: Job Search Plan & Maintenance

Lesson Name: Job Search Plan Goals and Objectives:

& Maintenance
 To learn about BC Employment
Suggested Time Frame: 1 Week Standards
 To learn about telephone
communication etiquette in a
professional environment

Discussion Prompts:
 At the end of the lesson, ask
learners to post on the prompt
“Comment on one interesting thing Resources:
you learned from the BC  BC Employment Standards
Employment Standards and one  Telephone Etiquette – Asper School
interesting thing you learned from of Business
Telephone Etiquette”.

Activity Description:
Learners complete 3 tasks in this module.

Task 1 – BC Employment Standards

 Guide learners to the BC Employment Standards page and ask them to read
through the entire set of questions on this web page.
 Next ask learners to complete the BC Employment Standards assignment found
as a short answer quiz in Edmodo. Some of the questions are real life scenarios
that the learners will need to answer based on the content they read in the BC
Employment Standards webpage in the step 1.

Task 2 – Communication Etiquette

 Provide learners with the handout made by Asper School of business and ask
them to read the handout.
 Next, ask learners to complete the Communication Etiquette assignment found
as a short answer quiz in Edmodo.

Task 3
 After learners have completed Task 1 and Task 2, ask them to engage in a
discussion by answering the prompt “Comment on one interesting thing you
learned from the BC Employment Standards and one interesting thing you
learned from Telephone Etiquette”.
 Remind learners at the end of the module to keep a copy of all work done in
Module 1 for their final project
Notes:
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Module 5: Interview Preparation

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Module 6: Job Maintenance & Business Communication

Job Maintenance and Goals and Objectives:

Communication
Suggested Time Frame: 1 week
Discussion Prompts:
 After researching your name on the
internet and various social media
sites, what have you discovered
about yourself that you did nott
realize was public knowledge?
Could this be detrimental to your
current or future career? If you
didn’t find any information, why do
you think this might be?
 To learn how to communicate
effectively and solve conflicts in the
work place using problem solving
and critical thinking skills
 To recognize cultural and personality
differences
 To understand the importance of
social media privacy settings
 To complete the final career portfolio
project
Resources:
 Centre for Intercultural Learning
 Resolving Workplace Conflict

Activity Description:
 To maintain a level of professionalism in current or future careers, it is important to understand
when and how to use privacy settings on social media accounts. Have learners research their
name using Google and/or Facebook or other social media platforms that they may use. What
have the learners discovered about themselves that they didn’t realize was public knowledge?
Could this be detrimental to their current or future career? Have learners share their answers in
the Group Discussion forum for Module 6 Task 1

 While employed in a work place, it is essential that one understand cultural, managerial and
personality differences. For this activity, learners will be partaking in a jigsaw activity. The
instructor will place each person from the class into a group of 9. Each student will sign up for one
of the topics listed on the Centre for Intercultural Learning website and read their assigned section.
After reading the section, each learner will create a short summary of important points and share
it on the group discussions forum. Finally, the group will work collaboratively to create a final
summary that will be posted on the main discussion forum.

 Conflict in the workplace is quite common. It is essential that one understands how to identify,
confront and effectively resolve conflicts in the workplace. For this activity, learners will be
required to read Resolving Workplace Conflict. Once they have completed reading the resource,
they will have to apply the information that they have learned to solve the following workplace
conflict. Have learners post the steps you would follow in order to effectively resolve this particular
conflict.

You have been newly hired by a corporate office as an administrative assistant. Until your hire, an employee was in
charge of ordering supplies for both the office and fieldworkers. Upon your hire, you assumed the role of ordering all
supplies. You find that there are many discrepancies in your orders and are having trouble balancing the books. After
further investigation, you find out that the Human Resources employee, who was previously in charge of ordering, has
continued to create orders for certain employees.

Notes:
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Resources:
British Columbia Ministry of Education. (2015). Update on Career Education K to 12.
Retrieved from https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/sites/curriculum.gov.bc.ca/files/pdf/career-
education.pdf