Free Career Modules for Students

Purpose:

• Learn about employability skills.
• Develop an understanding of how your accomplishments and interests impact your skills.
• Learn how the skills you possess impact the value you offer to employers.

Learning Outcomes:

• Reflect on skills you possess.
• Outline a plan for developing employable skills.
• Recall your accomplishments and interests.
• Outline your transferable skills.
• State your skills and value to employers.

Topics Covered:

1. Employability skills
2. Interests and transferable skills
3. Developing your employability skills
4. Communicate & develop skills statements

Assessment:

1. Identifying Your Skills worksheet – reflect on skills you possess, skills you would like to develop, and strategies to develop your skills;
2. My Accomplishments worksheet – list all of your accomplishments; write a skills statement for each accomplishment using a formula (action verb, description, result)
3. Meeting with a Career Advisor to review My Accomplishments Worksheet

Co-Curricular Record Description:

This student completed Module 1 of the Career Micro-Certificate for Students course. They were responsible for completing a career self-assessment, reflecting on their skills, accomplishments and interests and creating a plan for further developing their employability skills. They were responsible for defining their transferable skills based on their skills, accomplishments and interests to better understand their value. Finally, they were responsible for meeting with a Career Advisor to discuss the completion of their Skills and Accomplishments activities.

Co-Curricular Record Learning Outcomes:

1. Continuous Learning / Intentional Learner
2. Continuous Learning / Planning and Organization
3. Continuous Learning / Technical Competence

Purpose:

1. Learn strategies for completing a job search
2. Gain an understanding of the different components of a resume, cover letter and reference page
3. Develop skills necessary for writing a resume and cover letter

Learning Outcomes:

• Create a job search goal.
• Develop a job search plan.
• Create a resume relevant to your career interests and work experience.

Topics covered:

1. Finding and evaluating job opportunities
2. Writing a resume and reference page
3. Writing a cover letter

Assessment:

1. The Job Search Action Plan – Develop a job search plan, specifying the actions, timelines, resources and outcomes.
2. Resume Template – Download a resume template and begin preparing your resume.

Co-curricular Record Description:

This student completed Module 2 of the Career Micro-Certificate for Students course. They were responsible for reflecting on their current and future academic and career journey in order to develop a job search goal and a job search plan. They were responsible for developing a resume and cover letter by reflecting on their past experiences in order to translating these experiences into accomplishments.

Purpose:

• Develop an understanding of the ‘professional voice’ in verbal, non-verbal, and written workplace communication.
• Gain skills necessary for communicating with different levels in an organization, initiating collaboration, and dealing with bad news.

Learning Outcomes:

• Apply professional communication strategies in an interactive workplace simulation
  • Compose appropriate emails when communicating with colleagues at various levels in a company hierarchy
  • Initiate collaboration with colleagues
  • Use conflict management strategies to resolve uncomfortable situations
  • Construct a professional summary

Topics covered:

1. Professional Communication

Assessment:

• Ametros simulation on professional communication
• Students must complete four tasks including:
  • Accepting a task from a supervisor
  • Soliciting input from a colleague
  • Responding to conflict / bad news
  • Drafting an appropriate brief response

Co-curricular Record Description:

This student completed Module 3 of the Career Micro-Certificate for Students course. They were responsible for participating in a simulation learning activity that replicated a real-life scenario in which they had to practice using their ‘professional voice’ to communicate within different levels in an organization. They were responsible within the simulation to take instruction, initiate collaboration, and deal with uncomfortableness.

Co-Curricular Record Learning Outcomes:

1. Collaborator / Teamwork
2. Collaborator / Interpersonal Relationships
3. Collaborator / Effective Communication
4. Continuous Learning / Planning and Organization
5. Continuous Learning / Technical Competence
6. Continuous Learner / Adaptability & Flexibility

Purpose:

• Develop an understanding of how to create a personal “professional brand.”
• Consider the benefits of developing an ePortfolio to showcase your learning journey.
• Understand the importance of networking as an effective job search strategy.
• Gain skills necessary for preparing for and completing a successful interview.

Learning Outcomes:

• Reflect on your personal “professional brand"
• Compare your developing “professional brand” with your current online presence
• List networking strategies you plan to use as a job search strategy
• Describe the benefits of networking for seeking professional opportunities
• Compare and contrast different interview types and formats
• Prepare effective, personalized responses to a variety of common interview questions
• Apply the Situation, Task, Action, Response (STAR) method to respond to behavioural interview questions

Topics covered:

1. Professional Brand
2. Networking
3. Interviewing

Assessment:

1. 30-second commercial - write/record a 30 second commercial that can be used to network with potential employers
2. STAR Method - Apply the Situation Task Action Result interview question response method to answer two interview questions

Co-curricular Record Description:

This student completed Module 4 of the Career Micro-Certificate for Students course. They were responsible for reflecting on their personal brand and aligning it to their online presence. They were responsible for preparing a 30-second elevator-pitch for learning how to network. Finally, they were responsible for developing personalized responses to common interview questions by applying the STAR method.

Co-Curricular Record Learning Outcomes:

1. Collaborator / Interpersonal Relationships
2. Continuous Learning / Intentional Learning
3. Responsible Citizen / Self-Awareness & Positive Attitude

Purpose:

• Review key learning from Modules 1 – 4
• Develop an understanding of what you need to know and do to be successful when starting your career
• Reflect on areas for growth and plan for engaging in continuous learning and professional development
• Make connections between the Career Micro-Certificate for Students course, your academic studies, and your career goals

Learning Outcomes:

• Identify different workplace cultures in practice
• Set relevant and attainable professional development goals
• Develop a professional development plan
• Synthesize prior learning from the Career Micro-Certificate for Students course
• Create a representation of the connection between Career Micro-Certificate for Students learning, classroom learning, and future career goals
• Describe a plan for implementing new learning from the Career Micro-Certificate for Students course

Topics Covered:

1. The first 30 days
2. Teamwork
3. Continuous Learning & Professional Development

Assessment:

1. Professional Development Planning – Reflect on Professional Development goals and develop an action plan
2. Summative Reflection - Reflect on and synthesize learning from the Career Micro-Certificate for Students course with course/classroom learning and career goals

Co-curricular Record Description:

This student completed Module 5 of the Career Micro-Certificate for Students course. They were responsible for participating in a workplace cultures activity, and for creating a professional development plan that required them to set goals and monitor their progress toward their continuous learning journey. Finally, they completed a summative reflection that asked them to consider the connection between their academic program and their career goals.

CCR Learning Outcomes:

1. Collaborator / Teamwork
2. Continuous Learner / Intentional Learning
3. Continuous Learner / Planning and Organization