Benchmark: Career Self-Assessment and Exploration Template Part I: Career Self-Assessment After completing the Career Inventory Activity Assignment, please address all aspects of

Benchmark: Career Self-Assessment and Exploration Template

Part I: Career Self-Assessment

After completing the Career Inventory Activity Assignment, please address all aspects of each question in-depth as related to your assessment results or personal reactions. The Part I: Career Self-Assessment section of your paper should be 4-6 pages in length.

 Career Instrument Results

O*NET Interest Profiler

·     What were your scores/results from the O*NET Interest Profiler?

·     Using your textbook, read about John Holland’s theory of types (pp. 60–70). Describe your top 3 Holland vocational personality types. Describe the characteristics of your types based on your score report, the textbook descriptions, or any additional scholarly sources (Please do not just list traits, but integrate the traits into a narrative description).

·     Name the top 2 occupations that resulted from your primary interest area search.

Value Sort Activity

·     Describe/define your important values from the Value Sort Activity. Provide a detailed discussion of at least your top 3 values, but no more than 5 values.

·     Name the top 2 occupations that appeared based on your principal value search.

Spiritual Discernment Decision-Making Factors Survey

·     Using the survey found at the end of the Horton (2009) article, discuss which decision-making factors described by Horton are very important to you when making decisions.

·     Based on these factors, which approach to spiritual discernment, as described by Horton, are you most likely to follow? Why?

Personal Reactions

·     Explore your reactions to and feelings about the results of each instrument.

·     Do the overall results of your self-assessment fit or not fit your self-perception? Why or why not?

·     Identify traits of agreement or disagreement related to the Holland code descriptors.

·     What past and present factors could have influenced your approach to spiritual discernment? Include family, spiritual heritage and religious background, present religious beliefs, and past experiences.

Evaluation of Instruments

·      Examine the assessment instruments for characteristics such as purpose, reading level, reliability, validity, gender fairness, and cultural fairness to determine suitability for you personally. Determine if any intrinsic factors such as race, age, gender, or disabling conditions may have influenced your assessment results.

·     Describe any external factors such as feeling tired, being rushed, interruptions, technology issues, etc., that may have influenced your assessment results.

Conceptualization

·      Describe how the results of each of the assessments appear to relate to or disagree with one another.

·      Utilize the concepts of differentiation and consistency from Holland’s theory to help you conceptualize your top three Holland scores.

·      Discuss the best work environment fit (congruence) based on your top three Holland scores.

·      Discuss the career themes or patterns that emerged.

·      Describe how your approach to spiritual discernment has influenced your career development and/or decisions.

·      Consider your level of satisfaction in past and/or present occupations. How might your assessment results explain your level of work satisfaction or fulfillment in these positions?

·      Describe any recommendations you (as a Career Counselor) would make for yourself based on your assessment results.

 

Part II: Occupational Exploration

Using the results from your Career Self-Assessment (Part I) you will identify one occupation and use career information and communication technology sites to explore the characteristics of the occupation. You will then compose a description of your findings from this exploration process. Your Part II: Occupation Exploration section should be at least 3 pages in length. For part II of this assignment, much of the information that you report will come directly from O*NET. Thus, you will cite information from O*NET in this paper differently than your other references. In the introduction paragraph for Part II, include the following sentence:

 

Unless otherwise cited, the career information presented in this paper was obtained from O*NET On-Line (National Center for O*NET Development, 20XX).

 

In addition to O*NET, you must also use CareerOneStop and the Occupational Outlook Handbook to explore the occupation. These 2 sources are accessible through the O*NET summary page for your occupation. These resources must be cited in text using current APA format. All references must be included on the reference page.

 

Career Field and Occupation of Choice Introduction

·       Identify the occupation you have chosen to explore based on your top 3 Holland types and list the O*NET SOC Code.

 

The Nature of the Work for this career, including such things as:

·     Duties,

·     Skills,

·     Activities, and

·     Typical work day.

Working Conditions for this career, including such things as:

·     Work environment,

·     Hours,

·     Work alone or with others

·     Type of supervision,

·     Populations worked with (age, socio-economic level, presenting issues), and

·     Psychological aspects of work setting (stress levels, crisis situations, deadlines, multiple tasks, etc.).

Preparation and Qualifications for this career, including such things as:

·     Education,

·     Skills,

·     Experience, and

·     Personal traits.

Opportunities and Future Outlook for this career, including such things as:

·     Occupation workforce size and composition,

·     Geographic distribution,

·     Large/small firms, and

·     Security/advancement/related opportunities.

Economic and Non-Economic Benefits for this career, including such things as:

·     Entry-level/average annual earnings (locally and elsewhere),

·     Related benefits (insurance, vacation, sick leave, education), and

·     Non-economic benefits:

o  Personal satisfaction factors,

o  Associated lifestyle, and

o  Psychological rewards.

Disadvantages and/or Special Situations for this career, including such things as:

·     Irregular work hours,

·     Seasonal work,

·     Overtime or night work,

·     Travel, and

·     Hazards.

Reflection

·     What aspects of the occupational characteristics and requirements appeal to you? Which aspects surprised or disappointed you? What have you learned about yourself?

·     How do these occupational characteristics and requirements fit with your current interests and values?

·     How do the occupational characteristics and requirements fit with your career goals?

·     Describe the advantages and limitations of using career information and resources in your future career as a counselor.

 

Part III: Practical Application

Please use the following case scenario to respond the following questions. Your responses should demonstrate your knowledge of relevant ethical codes (NCDA, ACA, AAMFT, ASCA, AACC) and ethical decision making in managing the ethical dilemma. Your Part III: Practical Application section should be at least 3 pages in length.

A 19 y.o. Asian-American client comes to you for counseling at the university’s career counseling center. She has been worried about choosing a major and complains about struggling with sleep problems, headaches, and low energy. She has been getting average grades in her Engineering courses and fears she is a disappointment to her parents. She does not want her parents to know she is seeing you as this may be yet another disappointment to them. She has completed the Interest Profiler which revealed a Holland type of SCI. She indicated a search on O*NET pointed her toward becoming a registered nurse; however, her parents are urging her to continue pursuing an Engineering degree. She states she is also struggling to choose a major because, “I am afraid that it may not be God’s will.” In addition to the cultural differences between you and the client, you notice from the start, it is evident that she has a different Spiritual Discernment decision-making style than you.

·       As a counselor attending to the career concerns of your client, how might your personal position(s) potentially influence how you address this client’s concerns?

·       Describe the strategy you will use to ensure that you do not impose your personal position, spiritual discernment approach, or values on the client.

·       Describe three counseling strategies you could use with this client (i.e., additional assessments, culturally responsive techniques, use of technology/information resources).

 

Information about References for this Assignment

O*NET: When siting the Summary Report for your selected occupation in Part II you will adapt the following reference format for your selected occupation. The date to use in the reference is marked below. The following information is for the Mental Health Counselors report from 2010 (be sure to use the current updated date):

 

National Center for O*NET Development. (2010). Summary Report: Mental Health Counselors. (O*Net Report No. 21-1014.00). Retrieved from O*Net Online website (link can be found in the Benchmark Career Self-Assessment & Career Exploration Resources section of the assignment prompt).

 

 

 

In the following image, you will see where to find the links to the following required sites from your selected occupation summary page:

 

 

CareerOneStop: Selecting information for your state will take you to the CareerOneStop site.

 

Occupational Outlook Handbook: Go to the sources of additional information for your occupation. This will take you to the Occupational Outlook Handbook site. Review APA formatting when citing information from these 2 organizations.