Assignment 3: Career Exploration Paper

For this paper, you will explore the career of your choosing by researching it using one or more career exploration tools and conducting an informational interview with someone in the field.

PART I: CAREER RESEARCH

In your discussion, please include the following content:

• What appeals to you about this profession? Why did you choose this profession to research?

• What details did you research regarding your career? You may consider some of the following areas to explore: salary; job outlook; how the required skills, values, and interests for this professional correspond to your self-assessment results (O*NET details these items for each profession); working conditions, size and scope of the labor force, education required, work environments, scope of work duties, other interesting facts, etc.

AND

• Based and what you researched, what did you find? What is your reaction to these findings?

• What did you find that was interesting, surprising, or confirming about your chosen profession? Does this reinforce your choice of this profession or make you reconsider this profession? Why? Explain.

Career Exploration Tools you may use for your research:

• O*NET

• NCDA

• Career One Stop

• Vault

• Occupational Outlook

You may use additional reputable resources not listed here

PLEASE CITE ALL SOURCES USED THROUGH BOTH IN-TEXT CITATIONS AND A REFERENCE LIST AT THE END OF YOUR PAPER

PART II: INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW

• Identify an individual who you would like to contact for an informational interview

• Make arrangements to speak with this individual via email, phone, in-person, or through video conferencing

• Prepare at least 7 questions to ask this individual regarding your potential career path, college major as it relates to your career, or professional area of interest (Potential questions were discussed in PowerPoint on Career Exploration)

• For the narrative portion of your paper, describe your experience conducting the informational interview. Potential topics for discussion may include some of the following: why did you choose this individual to interview?; what did you learn from the interview?; what were the challenges/rewards in completing the interview?; how has this interview influenced your feelings about your career interests?; how has the interview helped you to better understand the profession?; how has the interview helped you identify skills you need to develop/areas you need to grow before entering the field?

• Based on what you learned in the interview, what next steps will you take to further your professional development? How will you continue to explore your career interest area?

You can identify individuals for informational interviews via Student Alumni Career Connect (located in CareerKnight and discussed in class). You may also choose to conduct an informational interview with someone you already know in your field of interest or have met through other networking opportunities.

PART III: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

• List the 7 questions that you asked in the interview (just the questions-not the answers)

Please submit your paper as a Word document or PDF and adhere to the following format:

• 12-point font

• Double-spaced

• 3 page minimum (Parts I, II, and III)--counting the Career Research Write-up, the Interview Summary, and List of Interview Questions)

• 1 inch margins

• In-text citations when necessary (include a reference list if applicable

Your paper will be graded on the following criteria:

• Content (meaningful discussion, addressing major questions posed)

• Inclusion of all required sections

• Grammar, spelling, punctuation

• Adherence to formatting guidelines