w w w. h a m k. f i career planning: self-assessment and opportunity awareness salla niittymäki...

w w w . h a m k . f i

Career planning:Self-assessment and

opportunity awareness

Salla Niittymäki

Project Manager / Pajatso Project

HAMK University of Applied Sciences

[email protected]

0400 127 815

mailto:[email protected]


Content

• Materials and links

1. Career planning

2. Self-assessment

3. Opportunity awareness


Materials

• Advanced Techniques for Work Search (Alberta, CA)• Valtti workbooks:

– Aikkola, R. (2011). Job hunting skills. Workbook. Vaasa University of Applied Sciences.

– Aikkola, R. (2011). Recognise your opportunities. Workbook for students. VaasaUniversity of Applied Sciences.

– http://www.valmistu.net/fi/tuloksia/materiaalit_ja_julkaisut/tyokirjat_opiskelijoille/

• Toolkit for HEIs: http://www.studentintegration.fi/ • Monster.com Career Advice:

http://career-advice.monster.com/

http://www.valmistu.net/fi/tuloksia/materiaalit_ja_julkaisut/tyokirjat_opiskelijoille/

http://www.valmistu.net/fi/tuloksia/materiaalit_ja_julkaisut/tyokirjat_opiskelijoille/

http://www.studentintegration.fi/

http://www.studentintegration.fi/

http://career-advice.monster.com/


1. Career planning


www.careerealism.com


www.ahlanjobs.com

“Every student can have a career in the future,

but not every student is aware of the possibility

that they can shape their future careers.”

Mark L. Savickas


What is a career?

• Series of jobs• Progress, vertical movement• Profession, movement between certain kind of tasks• Individual, sequential choices - life career• Self-satisfying progress and professional development• Growth in competence, skills, know-how and expertise• Development process of professional identity (or even

personality)

Source: University of Oulu, Career Services


Introduction to career planning

• Career planning is an ongoing process that started already when you chose your field of study and continues throughout your studies and after graduation as you enter the professional world.

• Many people think that it is not possible to plan your career in advance, but it helps you to achieve your goals and make the most of upcoming opportunities if you are aware of your skills and abilities, and know how to benefit them when these opportunities arise.


Career planning is…

• Continuous, dynamic process• Recognizing your personal skills, potential and know-how• Estimating and evaluating yourself and your personality• Reviewing your values and interests• Searching for possibilities• Evaluating your choices• Considering your realistic options• Making decisions and taking action



JOB HUNTING SKILLS

Documents and interview skills

DECISION MAKING AND ACTION PLANNING

SELF-ASSESSMENTSkills and knowledge,

areas of interests, goals, values, personality

OPPORTUNITY AWARENESSCareer life expectations and requirements, trends, employment and employability

Career planning themes


Happenstance Learning Theory

• Happenstance Learning Theory is an explanation on how and why individuals follow their different paths through life and how counselors can facilitate this process.

• Planned and unplanned situations = learning experiences

• Every situation can be seen as presenting potential opportunities, if individuals can recognize them and then take action to capitalize on them.


HLT continues…• When you become aware of unplanned events in your life, you can

also become more aware of the opportunities that are out there, but may not be right by “your door”.

• Every action involves some risk, and it is important to evaluate the potential benefits in relation to the cost and effort. The idea is simply based on taking advantage of opportunities to meet new people and getting involved in something new.

• There are three steps in controlling unplanned events:1. Before the unplanned event, you take actions that position you to

experience it

2. During the event, you remain alert and sensitive in order to recognize potential opportunities

3. After the event, you initiate actions that enable you to benefit from it


Four propositions of HLT in Career Guidance

1.The goal of career counseling is to help students learn to take actions to achieve a more satisfying career and personal lives – not to make a single career decision.

2.Assessments are used to stimulate learning, not to match personal characteristics with occupational characteristics.

3.Students learn to engage in exploratory actions as a way of generating beneficial unplanned events.

4.The success of counseling is assessed by what the student accomplishes in the real world outside the counseling session.

by John D. Krumboltz


Exercise

Discuss in small groups (10 min):

1. Why did you choose your degree program and this University?

2. What is your situation right now? What is your next big career-related decision?

3. What are your personal goals for this course?


2. Self-assessment


Self-assessment

JOB HUNTING SKILLS







Self-assessment

• Self-assessment makes the foundation for planning your career.

• Self-assessment helps you identify and recognize the abilities, skills and special expertise that you have to offer for the right employers. – All the applicants have a lot of skills and knowledge – those who can the

best market themselves, will be noted.


Skills and know-how

• Starting point for job seeking process– Identifying your skills and know-how– Ability to describe them with examples,

achievements and things learned• Know and believe in your personal

competence, but also recognize the areas you need to develop



Experience and competence• What kind of competences and skills do you have? • Do you have some special skills that you could emphasis? • In what kind of assignments have you succeeded best in your

previous jobs? Why? • What kind of assignments have been the most challenging / difficult

for you? Why? • What kind of skills and competences do you need to develop / gain

more? • What is your best achievement so far? • What have you learned from your previous employments?



Self-assessment

• Skills can be divided into two categories: 1) work-specific/technical skills (such as knowing how to use specific

computer program or repair a broken engine)

2) employability/transferable skills (fundamental, personal and teamwork skills you need to succeed in every work situations)

• Remember that besides of studying and working you probably have hobbies or other leisure activities that also have developed your skills and remember to mention them if they are relevant considering the job you are applying for.


Source:

Competence categories


Questions

• What do you think these numbers mean in connection with work and career:– 50– 8– 6 – 3

• Name three aspects of career fulfilment?


Questions - answers

• What do you think these numbers mean in connection with work and career:– 50 years of work– 8 hours of work per day– 6 career changes– 3 new professions in the future that do not

exist today• Name three aspects of career fulfilment

– The salary is not all?


Excercise

• Draw a timeline of your career uptil now– Summer jobs– Part-time jobs– Full-time jobs– Volunteer jobs– Hobbies– Events

www.careerealism.com


Excercise

• Draw your network mind map – who are your contacts abroad and in Finland, e.g.:– Family, friends, acquintances– Hobbies, volunteering– Schools, teachers, lecturers, classmates, alumni– Workplaces, colleagues– Projects and project teams– Social networks including social media– Professional networks– Associations, organisations, companies


Self-assessment in connection with career planning:

• Things that are importantValues

• Things I like to doInterests

• Things that suit mePersonality

• Things I can doSkills


www.upstarta.com.au


Skill

s - A

ptitu

de

Personality - AttitudeValues and Interests - A

ttitude

Company requirements

Will you fit in the industry/company culture?

Will you do the job?Can you do the job?


19 transferable skills that will be the most valuable in the future:

http://www.businessinsider.com/valuable-transferrable-skills-of-the-future-2013-8






Excercise

• Identifying skills (Job Hunting Skills Workbook, excercise 2.2., page 6) -> choose 2 skills from the list to do the following table:

• Conversation: What do you think, what kinds of skills are especially important in Finnish workplaces?

Skill / quality Description Skills

E.g. Organising skills

E.g. I organised a student event at university

E.g. Negotiation, coordination, presentation, coming up with ideas


Exercise: TAITO-URA

• Use TAITO-URA self-assessment tool to explore your personality traits, knowledge and skills. TAITO-URA provides you with a report of the self-assessment results. You can save the report and print it out for later use, such as job seeking.

• TAITO-URA in English: http://www.uraohjaus.net/DefaultUK.aspx

http://www.uraohjaus.net/DefaultUK.aspx




3. Opportunity awareness


Opportunity awareness

JOB HUNTING SKILLS







Opportunity awareness

• Self-assessment provides a framework for opportunity awareness.

• Opportunity awareness is about gathering information and looking around, getting to know the opportunities that are out there.

• After self-assessing you have a better understanding who you are and what can you do, what kind of values are important to you, and what your possible dreams and aims for the future are, you can evaluate these ideas in terms of potential opportunities that professional life has to offer for you in Finland and abroad.


Opportunity awareness• Often students do not have a lot of work experience or connections

to companies, so use your studying time to gather these. Excellent ways to connect with professionals of your own field of expertise:– Thesis– Work placement – Project works– Company visits– Events with guest speakers etc.

• Make use of all your connections – people you meet in your hobbies and other leisure activities can be useful also when it comes to job seeking.

• Network with different people (e.g. LinkedIn) and keep your eyes open everywhere you go. Let people know you are looking for a job – somebody might know somebody, who could offer you a job.


What are the companies? Where to find them?

• Industry and trade association websites, for example:– http://teknologiateollisuus.fi/en/member-register/– http://www.rakennusteollisuus.fi/en/

• Company registers of regional business associations, for example:– http://yritykset.kehittamiskeskus.com/index.asp?lang=eng– http://yritykset.fskk.fi/ – http://yritykset.yritysvoimala.fi/

• Company web pages, especially career pages, for example:– http://www.vahanen.com/In-English/Work-at-Vahanen

• General search engines, for example:– http://www.kauppalehti.fi/5/i/yritykset/yrityshaku/– http://www.finder.fi/yrityshaku

• LinkedIn• Job advertisements and job portals - you might not be able to apply for the

position they have open, but from advertisements you can get information about jobs and companies, and also contact information

http://teknologiateollisuus.fi/en/member-register/



http://www.rakennusteollisuus.fi/en/



http://yritykset.kehittamiskeskus.com/index.asp?lang=eng



http://yritykset.fskk.fi/

http://yritykset.fskk.fi/

http://yritykset.yritysvoimala.fi/

http://yritykset.yritysvoimala.fi/

http://www.vahanen.com/In-English/Work-at-Vahanen

http://www.vahanen.com/In-English/Work-at-Vahanen

http://www.kauppalehti.fi/5/i/yritykset/yrityshaku/

http://www.finder.fi/yrityshaku

http://www.finder.fi/yrityshaku


Engineering jobs

• See descriptions of engineering jobs and examples at monster.com: http://career-advice.monster.com/job-search/company-industry-research/Engineering-Stimulus-Jobs/article.aspx

http://career-advice.monster.com/job-search/company-industry-research/Engineering-Stimulus-Jobs/article.aspx






Excercise

• Towards a career (Job hunting skills workbook, excercise 4.)

• My expectations regarding work (Job hunting skills workbook, excercise 4.1., pages 22-24)

• Employer’s expectations (Job hunting skills workbook, excercise 4.2., pages 25-28)


Decision making and action planning

JOB HUNTING SKILLS







Decision making and action planning

• Think carefully what is it that you really want and what are the places to find it

• Apply only to jobs that you really are interested in and have the competences needed (ground rule of 70 %) – don’t waste your and the employer’s time

• Contact companies and get to know your own field of business/technology in Finland (or in other target country)– Search company websites and reports, Fonecta Finder etc.


Where to find jobs• LinkedIn

– Company pages and different kind of professional groups – Job groups, for example: eJobs, Uratärpit

• Facebook– Company pages– Job groups, for example: Työpaikat opiskelijoille - Student Jobs Tampere, Lahti

and other cities– Some recruiters use Facebook to target job advertisements to potential

candidates

• Twitter– Search hashtags, for example: #jobs, #career, #hiring, #työpaikat, #rekry

• 80 % of jobs are hidden - to find these, use people and networks you know: teachers, project work contacts, guest lecturers, friends, family, people form your hobbies etc…


Job portals

• Monster• Uratie• Oikotie• Aarresaari• ejobs• Jobstep.net• Kuntarekry

• JustRecruitMe

• TalentMatch• Jobsafari• Uranus• TE-palvelut (ent. MOL)• Työpaikat.com• MyTech

http://www.monster.fi/

http://www.uratie.fi/

http://www.oikotie.fi/

http://www.aarresaari.net/

http://www.ejobs.fi/

http://www.jobstep.net/

http://www.kuntarekry.fi/

http://justrecruitme.com/fi

http://talentmatch.fi/

http://www.jobsafari.fi/

http://www.uranus.fi/

http://www.te-palvelut.fi/te/fi/

http://www.te-palvelut.fi/te/fi/

http://tyopaikat.com/

http://www.mytech.fi/


Recruiting companies

• www.studentwork.fi• http://www.academicwork.com/ • https://www.barona.fi/for-employees?sc_lang=en• http://www.raukola.fi/pages/etusivu.php• http://www.adecco.fi/en-GB/default.aspx• https://www.staffpoint.fi/• http://vmp.fi/Suomi/fi/Etusivu/ • www.eilakaisla.fi• www.opteam.fi

http://www.studentwork.fi/

http://www.academicwork.com/

http://www.academicwork.com/

http://www.raukola.fi/pages/etusivu.php




http://www.adecco.fi/en-GB/default.aspx



https://www.staffpoint.fi/

https://www.staffpoint.fi/

http://vmp.fi/Suomi/fi/Etusivu/

http://vmp.fi/Suomi/fi/Etusivu/

http://www.eilakaisla.fi/

http://www.opteam.fi/


Job advertisements

• The majority of job advertisements are published online in different job portals

• Many companies have careers websites where open vacancies are published, but not all vacancies are publicly open

• Note that you can also send open applications to companies or call and ask about employment possibilities

• Read the job advertisement carefully and analyze the requirements for the position available. Get to know the company and its’ products, get to know the position you are applying for


Exercise

• How to be prepared for a phone call?• Prepare for a phone call you would make to

potential work shadowing place• Rehearse in pairs: make imaginary phone calls

to each other• Think about the benefits for the company –

why should they take you for a day to ”shadow” them doing their job?


Information Interview

Why Information Interviews?

1. To get valuable information for your job hunting and career planning. It is a good reality check!

2. To learn about particular organization, how you might fit in, and what needs the employer has

3. It may lead to an Internship or further employment

Who Might I Contact?• An information interview is an appointment that you schedule with a

particular individual for the purpose of gaining current, regional and specialized information from an ”insider” point of view.

• A person who has a same academic major, interest, enthusiasm or involvement in some activity or lifestyle, work in a setting you like or in a career area you are interested in.


Exercise: Information interview• Phase 1: Think of organizations that work with things that you would

like to work with in the future.• Phase 2: Find a person from who is doing work that you are

interested in. If possible, try to find a person who has graduated from the Uni. Helsinki and studied the same field you are studying. (or something similar).

• Phase 3: Arrange an information interview (some 30-60 minutes), preferably at the workplace of the person who is interviewed. Ask questions that are relevant to you.

• Phase 4: Write a report of the interview. Have the person you interviewed read it. Ask permission to publish the report in the Moodle course page. The interwee can be anonymous in the report, if they want to. (Research Scientist X, University Y)