Career and Subject Choice Loretta Jennings Director

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Career and Subject ChoiceLoretta Jennings -
Director
Career Development Centre
http/careers.nuim.ie
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Overview

• Career Planning Cycle
• Graduate Job Opportunities
• Employment Graduate/Professional Development
  Programmes (Milkround)
• Subject Choice
• Resources
• Things to be aware of

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Some preliminary thoughts..

• Average employee works a minimum of
• 40 hours a week
• 40 weeks a year
• 40 years in our life
• Long time if you are not fulfilled in your career
• Yet most Leaving Certificate Students spend more
  time planning their Debs than their career

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Effective Careers Work

• Traditional Perception
• focussed on helping people make immediate
  decisions through face-to-face, knee-to-knee
  guidance
• Careers seen as a service provided
• Modern Perception
• broader and encompasses the development of Career
  Management Skills essential to becoming a
  Lifelong Learner such as the ability to make and
  implement effective career decisions.
• Careers as a subject that is taught
• Most effective careers work is done by the
  individual themselves

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Career Learning

• Self
• interests, values, motivations, skills
• Opportunity
• options with your qualification occupations
• Decisions
• Linking Self to Employment/Study Opportunities
• Transition Skills
• Job Search Skills Applications, CVs
  Interviews

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DOTS Model of Career Learning
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Career Planning Cycle
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Know Yourself
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Online Psychometric Packages
www.profilingforsuccess.com
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Know Whats Out There
COURSES
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Virtual Careers Library
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Graduate Development Programme - Sample
DEVELOPMENT
ON BOARDING
PROGRAMME END
Experiential Incl Rotations, Technical Training
Career Development workshop
Recruitment
Skill Development e.g Business Writing,
Communicating Influencing
Selection Assessment Centre
Performance Mgmt / Mentoring Including
assessment centre feedback and development
objectives
Social Activities e.g. BBQ
External Qualifications
Induction
Networking Profiling Events
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Potential Employers
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Time to Remove the Blinkers
Ignore the products behind the brand!
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Guidance Counsellors Dilemma

• Wanting to reduce anxiety over indecision by
  quickly moving to options which does help to
  reduce anxiety.
• . cuts off the energy and excitement about the
  exploration stage of the process.
• By throwing out job/course titles, we
  essentially cut off the role of curiosity.

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Planned Happenstance

• Basic concept is that the career that's right for
  you won't unfold in a nice, tidy, linear process,
  much as we might like to make it so. Concept
  focuses instead on curiosity and taking action.

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Planned Happenstance

• "We do not always need a plan to create a career.
  Instead, we need a plan to act on happenstance -
  to transform unplanned events into career
  opportunity."
• "In praise of uncertainty" by Kathleen Mitchell
  (1998)
• Luck
• is where preparation and opportunity meet!

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Career Shopping
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Subject Choice

• Exceptions
• Teaching
• Languages
• Music
• Businees/Finance/Economics
• Occasionally in specialised fields such as
  Anthropology, Geography, Psychology, History.

• The majority of graduates with non
  professional/vocational degrees will not work in
  areas specifically related to their degree
  discipline.

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• More than half of graduate jobs are for graduates
  of
• any
• discipline

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Simply Put

• Choose subjects that you like and are good at!

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Subject Choice Problems How to Avoid Them

• Familiar Subjects
• Not what students thought they would be
• New Subjects such as Anthropology, Psychology,
  Sociology
• Vague ideas as to what is involved
• Modern Languages
• Arts Courses in Modern Languages are very much
  Literature Courses rather than Language Training
  Programmes
• Teacher Training - Second Level
• Degree and/or subjects must be recognised by the
  Teaching Council for registration purposes.

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Subject Choice Problems How to Avoid Them

• Do not expect your guidance counsellor to have
  told you all you need to know
• not their responsibility
• Research what each subject involves

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Do you know?

• The importance of results throughout college
  years e.g.
• Accounting Firms results in each module is
  taken into consideration.
• Teaching applications based on Second Year
  results for those applying during final year.
• You can enhance your chances by
• gaining relevant experience as an undergraduate
  including voluntary work
• using the Career Development Centre and its
  resources/activities
• You can have a graduate job offer as early as
  November in your final year
• 1,000s of vacancies are available each year for
  students to apply for, before finishing their
  studies.

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Youre already a STAR

• Skills
• Unique bundle of skills and talents
• Treasures
• Things you are truly passionate about
• Ambitions
• Real hopes and dreams
• Roles
• Which roles do you really want to live?