Week 1
Personal qualities that help you work well with others, such as communication and teamwork.
What are soft skills?
This free online resource from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics provides information about careers, including job duties, salary, education, and job outlook.
What is the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH)?
Talking with teachers, mentors, professionals, or alumni to learn about careers and opportunities is called this.
What is networking?
This one-page document summarizes your education, experiences, accomplishments, and skills to show employers why you may be a good candidate for a position.
What is a resume?
During an interview, maintaining eye contact, sitting with good posture, and offering a confident greeting are examples of this type of communication that does not involve speaking
What is nonverbal communication?
These are teachable, job-specific abilities like coding, welding, or accounting.
What are hard skills?
You want to earn a bachelor's degree but save money by completing your first two years before transferring to a four-year school. Which type of school would you most likely attend first?
What is a community college?
A summer position that allows students to gain real-world experience in a career field, sometimes for college credit or pay, is called this.
What is an internship?
When listing work experience on a résumé, students should use these type of words such as "organized," "created," or "managed" to describe their accomplishments.
What are action verbs?
A new employee notices that their workplace has a different communication style, dress expectation, and approach to teamwork than they are used to. Instead of ignoring these differences, they adjust their behavior to fit the organization’s expectations. This ability is known as this.
What is workplace adaptability?
Skills like leadership, problem-solving, and time management can be applied across many different careers.
What are transferable skills?
Maria wants to become an electrician through paid, hands-on training while learning from an experienced worker. Which education or training option best fits her goal?
What is an apprenticeship?
An employer is choosing between two applicants with similar grades. According to career readiness advice, this combination is most likely to set one candidate apart.
What are relevant work experience, extracurricular involvement (clubs or organizations), and networking?
A student applies for a marketing internship and changes their résumé to highlight social media experience, communication skills, and relevant projects. This practice is called this.
What is tailoring/changing up a resume to fit the job description?
A candidate receives a question they were not prepared for and says, “That’s a great question. Let me think for a moment.” They then organize a thoughtful response instead of rushing. This demonstrates control of this interview skill.
What is handling pressure/composure and making up a response on the spot?
An employee excels at using SQL and Excel but struggles to explain findings to nontechnical stakeholders. This highlights a gap in which category of skills?
What are soft skills?
Jordan wants to become a physical therapist. After researching the career in the handbook, Jordan learns the job requires a bachelor's degree followed by additional graduate education. What degree would Jordan need to earn after completing a bachelor's degree before pursuing a doctorate?
What is a master's degree?
A high school student has never had a formal job but lists volunteering at a hospital, serving as club president, job shadowing a professional, and completing a summer program on their résumé. These activities are valuable because they provide this type of preparation before entering the workforce.
What are career-related experiences?
An applicant uses a résumé template downloaded online. The content is impressive, but the employer’s software cannot read the graphics, text boxes, and icons, causing important information to be missed. The applicant should have considered making the résumé compatible with this.
What is ATS (Applicant Tracking System) compatible?
An interviewer asks, “Do you have any questions for me?” A candidate asks only about salary and vacation time during a first interview. A stronger candidate asks about training, team expectations, or future opportunities because they are demonstrating this.
What is genuine interest in this role?
During a merger, two departments disagree over priorities. A team lead facilitates a discussion, helps each side understand the other's concerns, and guides them to a solution. What soft skill is this?
What is conflict resolution?
Besides education requirements, the OOH provides projected job growth over a 10-year period, median annual pay, work environment, and this section explains the daily responsibilities of a career.
What is the section "What They Do"?
A student connects with a professional on LinkedIn, sends a thank-you message after a career fair, and continues asking for advice over time. With this person they build a professional relationship that can serve as this source of guidance.
What is a mentor?
A high school senior submits a résumé that includes every award they have received since elementary school, every club they have joined, and every volunteer activity—even those unrelated to the position. The résumé becomes less effective because the student failed to do this.
What is prioritize relevant information?
This method helps structure your responses during interviews.
Situation, Task, Action, Result (STAR)