CAREER/ ACADEMIC COACHing

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Are you having trouble setting career goals? In searching for the right career, there are so many options and decisions. Hollandcodes.com has the tools that will help you to make the right career decisions.

Overview

There are three steps in career planning cycle that will help you achieve your career goals and search for a career.

Step One: Get a Clear Career Goal

The first step in search for a job is setting a career goal.

In order to set a career goal, you have to take inventory of yourself to determine what you can offer an employer.

You need to –

• Build awareness, knowledge and understanding of our strengths, interests, abilities, and skills
• List your ambitions, values, education, and experiences
• Determine your job preferences –job duties, salary, geographic location, and work conditions

Step Two: Explore Career Options

In order to identify potential careers, you may use career exploration and social media resources to gather the following occupational information –

• Labor market
  
• Work industries
  
• Companies, organizations, or agencies
  
• Specific careers

Use online career exploration resources to identify potential careers.

Step Three: Overcome Career Roadblocks

When you are trying to reach a career goal, there will always be obstacles. You solve career problems by completing the following steps –

• Identify educational and career planning obstacles
• Create solutions or courses of action
• Set achievable goals
• Resolve conflicts
• Commit to reach our goals

Problem solving should take into consideration personal interests, skills, values, and financial resources. Big problems are broken down into smaller, more manageable steps. Achievable goals result in the production of new competencies, attitudes, and solutions.

As an individual, you:

• Set, formulate, prioritize, and rank goals
• Clearly state our vocational interests, abilities, and values
• Derive plans or strategies to implement the solutions
• Make a commitment to complete the plans
• Understand decision-making processes
• Evaluate the primary choice
• Consider a secondary occupational choice, if necessary
  

Decision-making processes include:

• Develop a career plan
• Identify potential occupations
• Select appropriate educational programs
• Figure the costs of educational training
• Consider the impact of career decisions

Step Four: Execution

You execute your career plans when you use different strategies –

• Reality testing
• Social Media
• Job Search Strategies – Resume Writing and Interview Preparation

Reality Testing

While implementing and, you translate vocational interests, abilities, and skills into job opportunities. You do reality testing by implementing the following strategies –

• Informational interviewing
• Networking
• Job shadowing
  
• Internships
  
• Part-time employment
  
• Full-time employment
  
• Volunteer work
  

We have a variety of different topics that we use different career/ academic advising sessions -

• Selecting Career test
• Different career tests
• Other career topics - social media, resume writing and interviewing

Need help selecting the right career test!

We have resources to help you decide on the right career test.

Cost: $30/ 30 minute coaching session

Additional coaching sessions

We offer assistance with the following areas -

• Test interpretation
• Holland Codes Overview
• Career Exploration
• College Major Exploration
• College Search
  

Resume Writing and Interviewing Strategies

Resume writing and interview preparation are essential skills needed to land a potential job.

Resumes

Your resume is your sales tool that lets employers know your strengths, interests, experience, and educational background.

The appearance of your resume is extremely important. Check the appearance of your resume - your font, spelling, spacing, margins. In a resume, you will highlight your skills that make you unique and set you apart from others. Common areas covered in a resume are –

• Objective (optional)
  
• Skills
  
• Education
  
• Honors/ Awards
  
• Experience
  
• Volunteer Experience (if relevant to the potential job)
  

Types of resumes are –

• Chronological – listing experiences in reverse chronological order
• Functional – emphasizing specific skills

Interviewing

There are steps to prepare for a successful interview -

• Review common interview questions
• Prepare for behavior or STAR interviews
• Practice - Practice is essential for a successful interview
• Dress for success