Career

Telling Your Career Story

Posted on November 29, 2014 by Melissa Hart

Communicating your career experiences with the use of stories is an effective way to promote your professional life. Jobseekers need to tell their stories in varied ways, using many tools.

Start the career story development by identifying a clear idea, mainly why someone should want to hire you. Focus on your skills. What do you have to offer that is better or different than others?  One approach is to review the position for which you are applying.  Create your story to relate your skills and experiences to the job description.

Your online presence should include a profile of your passion and expertise.  Most important is evidence that you are able to address the needs of the available employment position.

Emphasize a “CAR” or “PAR” approach to storytelling. CAR is “challenge, action, results.” PAR is “problem, action results.”  Tell stories to explain challenges or problems and how you handled them.

For additional information on telling your career story, go to:

http://www.keppiecareers.com/tell-career-story-people-will-listen/

http://www.keppiecareers.com/tell-career-story-people-will-listen/#sthash.mIT8l9zv.dpuf

http://www.jobactionday.com/2014-Job-Action-Day.html

 Teaching Suggestions

  • Have students research various approaches for communicating a person’s career skills and experiences.
  • Have students create a short video that communicates their career skills and experiences.

 Discussion Questions 

  1. What themes or story settings might be used to communicate your career skills?
  2. Explain how social media might be used to communicate your career story.
  3. What are some skills and experiences you would emphasize in your career story?
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U.S. Job Growth: Eight-Month Low, Labor Force Shrinks

Posted on September 13, 2014 by Melissa Hart

U.S. employers hired the fewest number of workers in eight months in August and more Americans gave up the hunt for jobs . . .”

This Reuters article describes current employment trends and the effect it has on both the economy and the actions of the Federal Reserve.  Specifically,

  • Nonfarm payrolls increased 142,000 in August after expanding by 212,000 in July.
  • The jobless rate fell one-tenth of a percentage point to 6.1 percent in August.
  • The lower jobless rate in August was the result of more people dropping out of the labor force and not because of an increase in working Americans.
  • The Federal Reserve Board and Fed Chair Janet Yellen will use the weakness in the unemployment numbers to keep interest rates at present levels in order to provide a stimulus for the economy.

Specific information about different industry sectors, labor force participation, the number of part-time employees, etc. is also provided in this article.

For more information go to http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/05/us-usa-economy-idUSKBN0H008E20140905

Teaching Suggestions

You may want to use the information in this blog post and the original article to

  • Reinforce how the nation’s economy can affect a person’s ability to obtain employment, develop a financial plan, and achieve both personal and financial goals.

Discussion Questions

  1. Assume you are unemployed and looking for a full-time position after graduating from college.  What knowledge, skills, and experience do you have that will make an employer want to hire you?
  2. What steps can you take to provide financial security if you think the economy is about to experience a recession?
Categories: Career, Chapter 1, Chapter_11 | Tags: , | Leave a comment

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