Another Online Source for Career Clusters-based Information

April 13, 2009 - Author Jennie Harp

Another Online Source for Career Clusters-based Information

I’m always on the lookout for websites that are simple, easy-to-use and provide quality, current information about career planning. This past week, I found another one worth mentioning here on the Relevant Classroom Tips of the Week: ISEEK.

ISEEK is Minnesota's comprehensive career, education, and job resource. The website is sponsored by a partnership of Minnesota agencies and institutions formed in 1999.

Here’s what I like about the site:

  • Objective, data-driven perspective about careers
  • Uses the Career Clusters model to organize careers
  • Easy navigation
  • Up-to-date content
  • Clean, simple layout and design

Kudos to the team at ISEEK. Even though the site has components specific to careers in Minnesota, there is a lot of great information that anyone can use.

If you are looking for a free, easy-to-use site for students to explore career possibilities, I’d recommend starting here: http://www.iseek.org/careers/clusters.html.

Career Development Tip for the Week of April 13, 2009

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High Demand Jobs

October 31, 2008 - Author Jennie Harp

High Demand Jobs


Have you ever wondered what jobs are in highest demand in today’s labor market? Afterall we are preparing students for careers and life after school. What opportunities are out there for them after they have a diploma or complete some form of post-secondary training? Career Voyages, a partnership between the Department of Labor and the Department of Education is a unique website designed to help students explore careers in a number of high growth industries.

According to their Web site the following are today’s highest growth industries:

• Advanced Manufacturing
• Aerospace
• Automotive
• Construction
• Education
• Energy
• Health Care
• Homeland Security
• Hospitality
• Information Technology
• Retail
• Transportation

Emerging industries include: Biotechnology, Geospatial Technology and Nanotechnology. If you’re like me you are probably wondering what a couple of those even mean! Check out the this website, it’s well organized and provides a number of resources to help both you and your students understand opportunities in these high growth and emerging industries.

Career Development Tip for 10.31.08

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Free! Career Exploration Resources Web Quest

October 2, 2008 - Author Jennie Harp

Free! Career Exploration Resources Web Quest

I recently completed a Web design course. I learned a couple things: a) it’s not as hard as the Webmaster I used to work with made it sound and b) I wish I had learned a little Web design in my preparation to be a teacher! The Web with, in all its media and resource rich glory, is a tremendous resource to help students explore careers.

One of my class projects involved creating a Web Quest. For my project, I married my interests in career development with my new found Web development skills and viola’ I produced my very first Web Quest on Career Exploration Resources. I thought I would share the Web Quest as a free resource for your career development toolbox. The activity may last for a 50 minute class period or you may want to provide this as an ongoing project that is due at the end of a unit. (It’s always nice to have meaningful material to engage students if they finish early on other classroom activities and assignments.)

The content for the Web Quest was inspired by Relevant Classroom’s very own middle school career exploration curriculum – Engage! During the development our team found a number of great resources to help students in their career exploration efforts. This Web quest and a number of other resources are all included in the Engage! CD-ROM.

If the link above does not work you may access the Web Quest at: http://web.missouri.edu/~dpk392/miniproject3/career_web_quest.html

Career Development Tip for 10.2.08

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Piecing Together a Career Portfolio

September 25, 2008 - Author Jennie Harp

Piecing Together a Career Portfolio

Developing and maintaining a professional portfolio is a useful experience for students as they begin their careers.

A career exploration portfolio is a “beginning” version of the student’s professional portfolio. A career exploration portfolio should help students actively reflect upon their career exploration as it unfolds throughout middle and high school. In addition, a career exploration portfolio should help students practice the same skills associated with the creation and use of a professional portfolio. Here are four easy steps to help you guide students in setting up a career exploration portfolio:

Step 1: Outline the criteria for a career exploration portfolio. Some criteria we suggest:
1. Store your artifacts in a common location. Some places to call "home" include:

  • A file folder
  • An electronic file folder on the student’s school workspace
  • A Web page created by the student to host the files
  • A three-ring binder with sheet protectors and dividers

2. Include up to 6 artifacts that show others:
  • …your current career interests and,
  • …relevant skills you have that will help you be successful in a career.

3. Include a paragraph about each item that summarizes:
  • What is the item?
  • Why did you select the item for your portfolio?
  • How did you improve the item before including it in the portfolio?

Step 2: Help students select artifacts to include in a career exploration portfolio. Some potential artifacts to create and include are:
  • Personal Mission Statement
  • Presentation about a Career Cluster that interests you
  • 6-8 year career and education plan
  • Results from a career interest inventory
  • A journal entry or reflection on career interest inventory results
  • A self-rating sheet showing how you rate yourself on career skills with a paragraph reflecting on how you have grown since you completed the self-rating sheet.
  • Picture or map of the local community showing where the 16 career clusters are found locally
  • Summary of an interview with an individual who has a career that interests you

Step 3: Have students create the portfolio, evaluate the artifacts and then present it for assessment. For example, you may have students present their portfolio to their parents, a counselor or an adult mentor. Use this as an opportunity to continue the conversation between the student and parents about the student’s interests, desires and plans.

It's that easy! Engage your students in starting a career exploration portfolio today!

Are you looking for more career exploration resources? Our middle school career exploration curriculum, Engage!, offers a project based approach to career exploration. In fact, the project described here is adapted from the detailed plan included in Engage! For more information check out Engage! at www.relevantclassroom.com.

Career Development Tip for 9.25.08
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Career Cluster Interest Inventory

August 28, 2008 - Author Jennie Harp

Looking to expose your students to Career Clusters? Wanting to dig a little deeper than just asking what your students want to be when they grow up?

Check out the Career Cluster Interest Inventory available on CareerClusters.org. It’s a PDF you can print off for each student with the scoring directions and brief information on each cluster. The inventory itself is straightforward and very easy to score. It will help students identify the top three clusters they may be interested in. If you’re planning for students to take the inventory in class, budget at least 20 minutes for the actual assessment and scoring.

Take it one step further by compiling classroom results to help you cater content examples to your students’ interests.


Career Development Tip for August 28, 2008

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