Step 3: Career Immersion |
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5 Steps in Successful Career Planning
 Self-Awareness Know yourself, your preferences, needs, desires
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 Career Awareness Know what careers are available and what they involve
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 Career Immersion Engage in specific career-related learning and activities
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 Evaluation and Decision Making Review your options and make informed decisions
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 Planning Know yourself, your preferences, needs, desires
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Once you have identified possibilities, your next task is to find a match between what you would like to do (your preferences) and the options available. Before you commit to any course of action, you should spend time immersed in a career, including gathering information, spending time with a professional in that field or in the work environment itself, or taking a relevant class. You may be able to spend as little as 30 minutes to know if an option is not right for you or you may need to spend an hour, a day, a week, a month or a year to really understand what an option means for you and your career.
Informational Interviewing
The technique of informational interviewing will give you an opportunity to learn from others who are already on a career path. The Career Centre has developed a handout called ‘Informational Interviewing’ to assist you with this process. You can access Laurier Alumni through the ASK Program (Alumni Sharing Knowledge). This is a resource designed to link Laurier students and graduates for the purpose of conducting research and making network contacts.Students with disabilities have told us that it is helpful to speak with people in the work world with similar disabilities regarding their experiences and advice. If you would like to speak with a mentor with a disabilitiy, please contact the Career Consultant: Disability Programs, Fleurette Puthran at 519.884.0710 ext. 3884 or fputhran@wlu.ca.
Professional Connections
There are opportunities to join professional associations and organizations where you can meet and learn from others interested in a specific career path. By seeking these organizations out you can make connections and gather key information to assist you with your career decision-making process. In addition, once you select a career path, the contacts you made through these organizations can provide you with valuable information and job leads.To find these organizations, you can conduct internet searches, speak to professionals within certain industries, search through directories at the library, speak to a professor or come to the Career Centre.
Job Shadowing and Strategic Volunteering
All the information you can gather through research and by talking to others is no substitute for taking the time to try out a job or a set of skills. The value of volunteering or job shadowing a professional in a career path cannot be underestimated. You can focus on volunteering in a specific type of job, a type of sector, or volunteer in a specific type of activity. For volunteer opportunities, visit the Laurier Volunteer Website.Research shows that some students with disabilities may graduate with less experience in the work world for a variety of reasons. Gaining experience to complement your academic career cannot be underestimated. If you are seeking assistance in this area, please contact the Career Consultant: Disability Programs, Fleurette Puthran at 519.884.0710 ext. 3884 or fputhran@wlu.ca or speak with a Career Consultant.