Career Exploration & Plan Development Workshop

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Career Exploration & Plan Development Workshop

Day Two

Any comments or questions from the first day?

04/20/23 Maine Vocational Rehabilitation 1

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Day Two Agenda

• PWD – Persons with Disability• WOWi Interpretation• Skill Types• Self-Esteem Exercise• Preparation for Turning Achievements Into

Skills• Day Two Thoughts

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Why are we talking about Disability?

The purpose of the Bureau of Rehabilitation Services is to assist people with a documented disability to gain or keep employment

– Research tells us how important it is for a person with a disability to accept their disability

– After that a person can move forward with their goals much more successfully.

Page 14,15,16,17, Activity Workbook


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O*Net Online – Job Accommodation Network

This website is also known as JAN Page 18 ActivityGoal is to help identify accommodations -• The O*Net handout contains a list of websites that

can help with learning about accommodation options.

Record accommodations you need on Career Decision-Making Grid, page 1, item 8.

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We focus on Ability in VR

• In Vocational Rehabilitation -– Through self-assessment in this workshop, we

help you look at your abilities and strengths and how to use those in the classroom and the workplace

– As mentioned, we will continue to explore what accommodations will work for you in the classroom and/or workplace

• Our mutual goal is Employment!


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WORLD OF WORK INVENTORY(WOWi)

• Measures interests, job satisfaction (work values) & aptitudes related to work choices Page 19 Activity

• You took WOWi prior to workshop• You will be sharing your individual results with your

VRC between Day Three and Day Four by appointment

• Group interpretation today:– To answer general questions– To examine suggested career interest areas


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WOWi Career Training Potentials (Aptitudes)

• “What am I good at doing?”• Aptitude is a measure of your “potential to

learn” in different areas• Aptitudes are unique to each individual• Measures individual results in six ability areas• Your scores are compared to others of the

same age and others of the same education


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6 Aptitude Areas - WOWi Aptitude Measured How?• Verbal Using Words• Numerical Basic Math Skills • Abstractions Problem-Solving• Spatial – Form Visualizing 3-

Dimensional Objects• Mechanical/Electrical Mechanical

Reasoning• Clerical Organizing

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Ability Results

–COMPARE your individual ability scores by saying • “I learn better using words than numbers or

vice versa”

– It’s easier to learn in some ways than in others

–We all learn differently – like the Barsch tells us


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World of Work Inventory (WOWi)

• Go to Profile Report– Look at the Summary page with the four boxes.


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WOWi – Profile ReportAptitudes

• First Box on the Left– High-Measured Career Training Potentials • Aptitude and ability• By Age – lists your aptitude strengths compared to

others of same age• By Education – lists your aptitude strengths compared

to others with similar education– Most important score because you’ll most likely be competing

for jobs with people of similar education

Record High-Measured Career Training Potential on Career-Decision-Making Grid, page 1, item 9.


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WOWi – Job Satisfaction IndicatorsThe box in the upper right hand corner.“What’s important to me in the workplace?”• Measures your preferred work values in 12

areas:– Versatile - performing variety of tasks– Adaptable to repetitive work – Adaptable to working under specific instructions– Dominant – self-directed, decisive and can direct

the work of others


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WOWi – Job Satisfaction Indicators- Gregarious – preference for working with others- Isolative - preference for working alone- Influencing – how much you like to persuade others- Self-Controlled – ability to maintain control in

stressful situations and under deadlines - Valuative – making decisions using hunches,

intuition and how they feel about things- Objective – basing decisions on facts and data - Subjective - being creative on the job- Rigorous - paying attention to details and rules


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WOWi – Job Satisfaction Indicators

• Job Satisfaction Indicators– We have defined the JSI’s– You learned your preferences – Do these results describe you?

Remember to record your JSI preferences on the Career Decision-Making Grid, page 1, item 10


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WOWi – Self-Selected ChoicesLower left-hand corner on Profile Report • Do your “Self-Selected Choices” of

Occupational Areas seem to cover your areas of interest?

• Do your selected “Best Liked Subjects” seem to cover your preferred interests?

Record this information in the Career Decision-Making Grid, page 4, item 11, and page 2, item 12.


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WOWi – Career Interest ActivitiesLower right-hand corner - • The content of this box (Career Interest

Activities) suggests a broad range of career interests that “fit” what you know about yourself.

• Record your Career Interest Activities in your Career Decision-Making Grid, page 4, item 13, and Career Recommendations, page 4, item 14.


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Putting the WOWi all together

• Combining the results of:– your career interests (what you like to do)– career training potentials (what you do well) – job satisfaction indicators (what’s important to

you in the work environment)


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Morning Break

• 15 minutes• Return to the workshop at _________


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What is a Skill?

• An ability you have learned from activities at work, school, leisure life, hobbies

• When you write a resume and participate in an interview, you are using language that describes your skills.


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3 Types of Skills

1. Job-Specific or Work-Content Skills2. “Soft Skills” or Self Management

Skills3. Transferable Skills


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Job-Specific Skills

• A type of skill that is unique to a specific job or occupation–Examples – doing a blood analysis,

driving a fork lift, using a cash register


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Job-Specific Skills

• Can you think of a job-specific skill that you have used in the past?

Record work content skills in Career Decision-Making Grid, page 2, item 15.


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“Soft Skills" or Self Management Skills

Skills which describe HOW you work - • Often related to your “work ethic” and Job

Satisfaction Indicators– Examples: independent, dependable, enjoy

working with people, attentive to detail, persuading other people

• Can you name a self-management skill that you have used in the past? P. 20-21 Activity


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Self-Management Skills Inventory• In left-hand column, check any of the

self-management skills that you have demonstrated in the workplace, learning life, leisure life or personal life.

• If you can think of some examples of how/when you demonstrated that skill, list the example in the right-hand column marked “Examples.”


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Self-Management Skills

• Remember to add these skills to your Career Decision-Making Grid. List three of your strengths on page 2, item 16.

Be sure to place your inventory in your manual.


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Transferable Skills

• What are yours?

• These skills could include:– leading, planning, repairing, organizing,

communicating, persuading, and the list could go on


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Transferable Skills• Are abilities used in activities with people,

data, things or ideas– Examples - training adults, computing

numbers, handling money, leading people, planning projects, discussing theories, repairing machines–Remember the connection with your

Holland interests and WOWi results to people, data, things or ideas


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Transferable Skills Scale

• You will be taking the Transferable Skills Scale to help you identify and document your preferred transferable skills.

• Notice that these skills are connected to Data, People, Things & Ideas that we talked about with the Holland Types.

• Your results will connect you with occupations that relate to your transferable skills .


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Making Connections• Analytical ----------------- Data• Numerical ---------------- Data• Interpersonal ----------- People• Organizational --------- People• Physical ------------------ Things• Informational ---------- Things• Communicative -------- Ideas• Creative ------------------ Ideas

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Transferable Skills -Connection to Holland Types?

Transferable Skill Type Holland Type • Analytical Investigative - Thinkers• Numerical Investigative - Thinkers• Interpersonal Social - Helpers• Organizational Enterprising - Persuaders• Physical Realistic - Doers• Informational Conventional - Organizers• Communicative Enterprising - Persuaders• Creative Artistic - Creators04/20/23 Maine Vocational Rehabilitation 30

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Documenting Your TSS Results

• Time to document your TSS results. In which section(s) did you get your highest scores –

Career Decision-Making Grid: Record your preferences (page 2, number 17)

• Occupation (page 3, number 18)


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Noon Lunch Break

• Be back at ……?


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Self-Esteem

• As a group, answer the questions on the Self Esteem Worksheet. P. 22 Activity

Career Decision-Making Grid (Pg. 3, # 21): Record what you learned about self-esteem.


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Developing YourAchievement Story

• Think about everything that you did to accomplish each step of your activity.– This is your opportunity to take credit for the

good work that you did!

• Details should include the skills you used.• Refer to Action Words/Skills (handout).• Tell your story by using pictures, by

storytelling or writing it out.


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The Group Process“I Get By With a Little Help From My

Friends”

• Tomorrow, we will be using groups to help each of you document all of the skills in your stories.

• We will explain the process more tomorrow…


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Homework

• Develop Achievement Story # 1 and celebrate your achievement.


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My Achievement Story

• Name your achievement• Connect to work, leisure, learning or personal

relationships?– When did it occur?– Who was involved?– Personal item related to story? (visual aid)– Major steps– Details of the steps


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Day Two Thoughts?

• Your impressions/reactions to today’s activities……

________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________


Documents

Career Exploration & Plan Development Workshop