Reference no: EM132193948 , Length: word count:700

Part 1 - Exercises

Complete given exercises. Share your results and explain if any of the results surprised you and how it relates to your current field of study and plans for the future.

Exercise 1 - Values Clarification

How do you determine what values are most important to you? You have already had the chance to complete a short inventory on lifestyle preferences. Another strategy is to do a values clarification exercise in which you assess each value in terms of its importance to you.

1. Take a piece of paper, and title it "Values Clarification" Place it lengthwise. At the top margin, from left to right, write "ALWAYS VALUED", "OFTEN VALUED", "SOMETIMES VALUED", "SELDOM VALUED," and "NEVER VALUED." Each title should have its own column.

2. Your task is to assess each value presented below and to write it under the title that seems most appropriate to you.

3. Go through the list, value by value, until all have been entered in the columns according to your personal value system.

Include other values not listed that are important to you. Address the following questions:

1. Did any of your results surprise you? Explain.

2. Do you see these values changing in the future? Which ones? How so?

3. What themes emerge from your results (e.g., valuing security and structure over change and variety)?

4. How might this exercise benefit you in your career-life decision-making process? What did you learn about yourself from this activity?

5. In 25 words or less, write a brief description of your value system.

Exerciser 2 - Work-Style Preferences

Your work-style preferences indicate how and where you like to work. They can include the type of structure you like to work in, the size of the organization, the number of hours devoted to work, the type of environment, whether you prefer to work alone or on a team, the flexibility of your work hours, and so forth.

This exercise on work-style preferences will help you gain an appreciation of how your personality can influence the work environment you seek. For each statement, put 1 if it is a factor you DON'T SEEK MUCH in a work situation, 2 if it is a factor that you SEEK in a work situation, or 3 if it is a factor that you SEEK VERY MUCH in a work situation.

1. Own office: Work in a setting where I have my own private office.

2. Work alone: Do projects by myself, with limited contact with others.

3 Set own hours: Have the flexibility to come and go as I wish.

4. Work under pressure: Work under deadlines where pressure is common.

5. Decision responsibility: Have to make significant hiring and firing decisions.

6. Teamwork. Work on projects with team members.

7. Working unplugged: Be able to work on a computer away from an office.

8. Casual attire: Decide what I want to wear to work (within reason).

9. Uncertainty: Expect every day to be different; have frequent change in routine.

10. Compensation: Have a stable rate of pay regardless of effort; earn no commissions.

By identifying your most important and least important work-style preferences, you can focus on career directions, specific jobs, and work settings that suit your personal style. Almost as important, you will be able to eliminate those careers or work situations with which your style might conflict. As with all aspects of self-assessment, work-style preference is another piece of the overall career-life jigsaw puzzle.

Follow-up questions -

1. What are the items that you indicated you "SEEK VERY MUCH"?

2. What were the items that you indicated you "DON'T SEEK MUCH"?

3. How might this activity on work-style preferences help in the decision-making process for a new job or a job change?

Exercise 3 - Analyzing the Holland Personality Types

John Holland (1997), a pioneer in the field of career development, developed a theory in which he described six different personality types: realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional. He theorized that each individual has a preference for one type over another. Individuals can have a combination of preferences that is called a theme. One example of a theme is SAE, with social the most preferred, artistic second and enterprising third. Holland also generated personality code themes for occupations. Once you know your personal theme, you can gauge your "fit" with various occupations of interest. The Strong Interest Inventory (SII) is based on Holland's personality types. You can complete the SII through your career development center or a trained career counselor.

1. Read the descriptions of each type (below). Rank the types from 1 to 6, with 1 being most like you and 6 being least like you.

2. After ranking the types, generate a code based on your top three rankings (i.e., rankings 1, 2, 3). This is your informal Holland code.

3. Now, go to your career center and inquire about computerized assessment programs, or take the SII. Obtain the results from either exercise.

4. Compare your own rankings with the results from the software program or inventory.

5. Address the Follow-Up Questions. Place the results of this exercise in your portfolio.

HOLLAND PERSONALITY TYPES: GENERAL DESCRIPTIONS

Realistic: You like to work with things. You enjoy working with your hands and fixing things. You prefer things that seem real rather than ideas or concepts. You enjoy mechanical and/or athletic tasks.

Investigative: You enjoy logical thinking and like to understand how things work. You like scientific tasks, mathematical problem solving, and research.

Artistic: You enjoy art, dance, acting, and music. You appreciate creativity and free expression. You may oppose conformity and structure.

Social: You enjoy working with others. You like to solve problems by talking about them. Your work with people often includes helping, counseling, and teaching.

Enterprising: You like to lead people and are comfortable supervising others. You like to be in control and often thrive on competition. You enjoy talking, persuading, selling, and negotiating.

Conventional: You keep things in order and appreciate rules and instructions. You tend to be good with details and are very careful and accurate with numbers, measurements, accounting, and so forth.

Follow-up questions -

1. What is your three-letter theme code? How does your personal ranking compare to the assessment ranking from the software program or inventory?

2. Were you surprised at any of the results? Explain why or why not.

3. Based on these results, what careers do you plan to research more thoroughly?

4. How did the results confirm what you already knew about yourself?

5. Briefly describe how you plan to use the results of this inventory in your major and career-planning process.

Exercise 4 - Cognitive Imagery: What Do You See?

Share your answer for the "Practical Exercise: Goal Setting".

Visualization, also known as cognitive imagery, is a powerful tool for reaching your goals. Read the steps below and follow through with the experiential activity.

• Take a few quiet moments to yourself. Sit in a comfortable position. Concentrate on your breathing.
• Imagine that the date is exactly five years from now.
• What are you doing? Try to imagine a typical workday.
• Visualize yourself doing whatever you hope to be doing in three to five years. Refer back to your long-term goals for ideas. Be creative. See yourself being successful.
• Imagine your home life. Where are you living geographically? Is anyone with you? Are you in a big city, in a small town, or in the country? Are you in an apartment, a house, or another living arrangement?
• What is taking place in the varied roles in your life? Are you a student? A parent? A caretaker? A partner?
• What else is going on in your life?

After your visualization, spend live minutes writing spontaneously about what you imagined. Capture the ideas that went through your head. Use a separate piece of paper for this part of the activity, and file your response in your portfolio.

Practical Exercise - Goal Setting

My next job. What do you want to do? Only you can decide.

After all of the exercise and planning, it's time to create your ideal job. You may wish to write a job objective, or you can be more subjective in your description. Imagine that you need to search for work today. What job or area of work would you begin your search with?

Remember to stay focused on your goals, but also remember to enjoy the journey. Often, we can get so involved with reaching our final destination in the future that we miss the joys of today.

Part 2 - Respond to 2 Peers  

Respond to two of your peers' posts (attached) by extending the conversation with the introduction of new ideas and thoughts.

Attachment:- Assignment Files.rar