Personal Finance Chapter 2

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Personal Finance Chapter 2

• Planning Your Career

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Lesson 2-1Finding a Good Career Fit
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Why People Work

• To meet needs, wants and goals
• Provides a sense of purpose
• Helping others
• Making a difference in the World
• Identity- a sense of who you are.
• Work often becomes a way of life, strongly linked
  to your identity

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Factors Affecting Career Choice

• Your career will affect nearly every part of your
  life
• Values and Lifestyle
• Aptitudes and Interests
• Personal Qualities

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Values and Lifestyle

• Values- are the ideals I life that are important
  to you
• Based on life experiences as well as perceptions
  and beliefs
• You will choose what you believe to be true,
  meaningful, and important
• Are shaped by your family, social and cultural
  groups, and religion
• Influenced by media and society

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Values and Lifestyle

• Lifestyle- is the way people choose to live their
  lives, based on the values they have chosen
• Is evident from the clothes you wear and the
  things you buy, use, do, say and enjoy
• A career is an important part of most peoples
  lifestyle
• It affects the way you spend your time, but also
  your level of income
• Understand the connection between your lifestyle
  choices and the commitments required to achieve
  those goals

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Aptitudes and Interests

• Aptitude- is a natural physical or mental
  ability that allows you to do certain tasks well
• Ex good with numbers engineering or accounting
  would be a good career fit
• Aptitude test can help you ID your natural
  abilities
• Internet is a good place to take these tests for
  free
• Interests- the things you like to do
• By examining what you like to do you can choose a
  career you will find interesting and satisfying
• Ex if you enjoy people sales or a helping
  profession would be a good fit

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Personal Qualities

• Personality- is made up of the many individual
  qualities that make you unique
• May include intelligence, creativity, sense of
  humor, and general attitude
• Most jobs require a particular set of personal
  qualities
• You will be happiest in a job that fits your
  personality

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Career Planning

• Is an important task for your future
• Over the course of a lifetime of work (age 22-65)
  you will have spent around 86,000 hours on the
  job

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Steps in Career Planning

• Effective career planning involves careful
  investigation and analysis
• You should start now and revisit throughout your
  work life
• Step 1 Self-Analysis
• Determine your wants, needs, values and desired
  lifestyle
• Assess your aptitudes and interests and how they
  match your job
• Analyze your personal qualities and the kinds of
  job tasks that best suit your personality

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Steps in Career Planning

• Step 2 Research
• Seek info in books, magazines, web sites as well
  as libraries, counseling centers, online
  resources, and employment offices
• Compare your interests, aptitudes, and personal
  qualities to job descriptions and requirements
• Talk to people in the fields of work you are
  interested in
• Observe occupations, spend time learning about
  jobs and companies, and seek part time work to
  get experience

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Steps in Career Planning

• Step 3 Plan of action
• Use good job search techniques
• Be organized, make a plan, follow through, and
  dont give up
• Develop necessary skills by taking courses and
  gaining exposure to the field you are interested
  in
• Seek a part time or volunteer job to gain
  experience in your area
• Evaluate your choices over time

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Steps in Career Planning

• Step 4 Re-evaluation
• The world changes rapidly you should prepare
  yourself to meet challenges ahead
• Prepare to take advantage of new opportunities
• About every five years or so look ahead to see
  where you want to go in the next five years

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The Importance of Goals

• Goal- is a desired end toward which efforts are
  directed
• Three types of Goals
• Short-term goal- one you expect to reach in a few
  days or weeks
• Ex get a B on the next Calculus test
• Intermediate goal- one you wish to accomplish in
  the next few months or years
• Ex graduation from college, a spring break trip,
  or plans for a summer trip
• Long-term goal- one you wish to achieve in the
  next five to ten years or longer
• Ex career, marriage, or family
• Your goals should be meaningful, should be
  defined, and written to become part of your life

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Role of Experience

• Experience- is the knowledge and skills acquired
  from working in a career field
• More experience you gain in a field the more
  valuable you are to an employer

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Lesson 2-2Finding Career Opportunities
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Sources of Job Opportunity Information

• Contacts
• Many jobs are not advertised
• They are filled from within or by people outside
  who have been privately informed of the opening
  by a contact
• Contact- is someone you know, such as relatives,
  friends, members of groups to which you belong,
  and former employers
• Can provide you with inside info on job openings
• The more people you know the better your chances
  of hearing about a job opening

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Sources of Job Opportunity Information

• 2. School Counseling and Placement Services
• Most schools have these programs to assist their
  students
• Cooperative work experience or supervised field
  experience is an example of a program
• Students receive high school credit for on the
  job experience that directly relates to classroom
  studies in a chosen career field
• Students placed in work situations are given
  grades on their work and are paid minimum wage
• Employers are given tax credits for this program

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Sources of Job Opportunity Information

• School Counseling and Placement Services
• School counselors and teachers are also good
  sources of job opportunity info
• They are often asked by employers to recommend
  students for them
• Placement centers
• Usually offer services for free
• Post job openings at the school and provide info
  to qualified students
• Keep info about students so potential employers
  can view the information
• Folder contains attendance, academic, and
  disciplinary records

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Sources of Job Opportunity Information

• Public and Private Employment Agencies
• These are business to help you find a job for
  which you are prepaid and help employers locate
  the best applicants for job openings
• Private agencies will charge for their services,
  either the employer or prospective employee
• Compare agencies before signing on
• Public agencies do not charge a fee
• Obtain info about govt job training assistance
  programs
• Ex YES(youth employment services), Youth Corps,
  Civil Service, and apprenticeship boards

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Sources of Job Opportunity Information

• Newspaper, Yellow Pages, and Private Job Listings
• Help wanted ads
• Give brief descriptions of the positions, often
  with salary ranges
• Respond quickly
• Yellow Pages
• Alphabetically arranged subject listing of
  businesses advertising their services
• To look for a job in a certain field look for the
  subject heading
• Send your resume by mail or email to all those
  listed, asking to be considered for the next
  opening
• Bulletin boards
• Are located in many businesses, as well as
  companies advertising for jobs

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Sources of Job Opportunity Information

• Online Job Information
• Searching the Internet using keywords related to
  your field will provide many new sources of job
  info
• certain web sites are designed to help find jobs,
  allowing you to post your resume, and even apply
• Ex Monster.com, careerbuilder.com
• Many companies list job openings on their website
• Professional associations
• Allow job seekers to post resumes and browse
  their database of job openings
• Ex SD teachers can post to Associated School
  Boards Website

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Job Search Techniques

• Work history- is a record of the jobs you stayed
  with each employer
• When applying for a job an employer will evaluate
  your history
• If you change jobs frequently, it will show to
  employers that hiring you is risky

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Job Search Techniques

• Get Organized
• This is the 1st step after deciding on a job
• You will need to prepare a checklist to complete
  this task
• assemble all the info you will need about the
  type of work you want to do
• list prospective companies for which you would
  lke to work
• Gather sources of info, research descriptions,
  skills and aptitudes needed
• make lists of personal contacts, places to go and
  people to see
• prepare a current resume and letter of
  application
• Ask previous employers, teachers, or others to
  write letters of recommendation for you
• update your placement folder at school

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Job Search Techniques

• Make a Plan
• Is important to your job search success, as it
  shows you what you have done and what you need to
  do
• A good plan lists all your goals and shows a time
  frame for getting them done
• When meeting a goal be sure to check it off

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Job Search Techniques

• Follow Up
• After contacting a potential employer by letter,
  application, or after an interview be sure to
  check back from time to time
• This will show them you are interested in the
  position
• Ask them a time frame to when they will make a
  decision on the job

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Job Search Techniques

• Dont Give Up
• Remain courteous and upbeat, and keep checking
  back for openings
• Try all job leads
• Be prepared, incase you are granted an interview
  in a short notice
• Check constantly the want ads, your contacts
• A good job search may take several weeks or
  months
• REMEMBER the effort will pay off!!!!! ?