Career Choices
Douglas W. Bush, M.A. http://www.douglaswbush.com
2007 © All Rights Reserved

Purpose
To:
 help you manage yourself and your career in
a world of work that is constantly changing.
 provide you with the necessary knowledge
and skills needed to define and distinguish
yourself.
 increase the likelihood of you reaching your personal and
professional goals in a competitive marketplace.
Douglas W. Bush, M.A. http://www.douglaswbush.com
2007 © All Rights Reserved

Objectives
You will learn how to:
 find where jobs are, or will be.
 assess and identify your strengths and areas for development.
 brand and distinguish yourself from your competition.
 explore options.
 set specific goals.
 describe your knowledge, skills, interests, personality and
values in writing and in person.
Douglas W. Bush, M.A. http://www.douglaswbush.com
2007 © All Rights Reserved

Question
How do you build a stable career
in today’s fast-changing world?
Douglas W. Bush, M.A. http://www.douglaswbush.com
2007 © All Rights Reserved

Answer
There are no easy answers to this question,
but a better understanding of yourself and the
world of work can help.
Douglas W. Bush, M.A. http://www.douglaswbush.com
2007 © All Rights Reserved

Introductions
 Name
 Years of Service
 Current Job Title
 Major Responsibilities
 Why I’m Here
Douglas W. Bush, M.A. http://www.douglaswbush.com
2007 © All Rights Reserved

The Changing Marketplace
The Changing Workplace
 The National Labor Market
 Industry Labor Markets
 Local Labor Market
Douglas W. Bush, M.A. http://www.douglaswbush.com
2007 © All Rights Reserved

Career Resiliency
 Careers come and go. Jobs change. This is nothing new –
it’s just happening faster than ever before.
 The Department of Labor estimates by the year 2016 at least
44% of all workers will be in data services – for example,
gathering, processing, retrieving, or analyzing information.
 The issue is employability - What matters now is having the
competitive skills required to find work when we need it,
wherever we can find it.
Douglas W. Bush, M.A. http://www.douglaswbush.com
2007 © All Rights Reserved

ME, INC.
 You’re not defined by your job title.
 You’re not confined by your job description.
 Be loyal to your colleagues, your team, your project,
your customers - and yourself.
 Imagine and develop yourself as a Brand.
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/10/brandyou.html?page=0%2C1
Douglas W. Bush, M.A. http://www.douglaswbush.com
2007 © All Rights Reserved

What To Do?
Personal Plan
Organization • What Do I Want? Making A
Needs Contribution
• How Will I Get It?
 Where are the • What Do I Need To  Are Personal interests,
my values,
Plan
Work On?
opportunities? skills, abilities and
personal characteristics
• Who/What Is Holding
 What are the values
in alignment with what
Me Back?
of the organization?
the organization needs?
• Taking the 1st Step!
 What does the
 Am I confident,
organization need?
motivated?
Douglas W. Bush, M.A. http://www.douglaswbush.com
2007 © All Rights Reserved

Self-Assessment
Identifying your:
 Strengths
 Weaknesses
Douglas W. Bush, M.A. http://www.douglaswbush.com
2007 © All Rights Reserved

Self-Assessment
 Interests
 Skills
 Personality
 Values
Douglas W. Bush, M.A. http://www.douglaswbush.com
2007 © All Rights Reserved

Skills
 A demonstration of a knowledge, talent or ability of a
person in a goal directed activity.
 Skills needed to remain competitive are changing at a
dizzying pace. Creativity/Innovation are important
today.
 Skill assessment can be accomplished through:
 in-depth discussion, skill inventories, skill narrative
exercises or 360o assessment/feedback
instruments.
Douglas W. Bush, M.A. http://www.douglaswbush.com
2007 © All Rights Reserved

Values
 Broad life values and specific job values determine
your feelings of satisfaction ( or dissatisfaction) about
a job or career.
 Values drive/motivate our decisions.
 We are not always consciously aware of them.
 Change over time.
 Prioritizing your values is important.
Douglas W. Bush, M.A. http://www.douglaswbush.com
2007 © All Rights Reserved

Interests
 John Holland’s Career Type Theory concludes that people
can be described as having elements of six basic types.
The types are: REALISTIC - INVESTIGATIVE – ARTISTIC
- SOCIAL – ENTERPRISING - CONVENTIONAL
 Work environments can be classified as having elements of
the six basic types.
 Individuals in careers and work environments that are
compatible will more likely be satisfied and productive.
Douglas W. Bush, M.A. http://www.douglaswbush.com
2007 © All Rights Reserved

Personality
 The most significant aspect of self-assessment.
 Type theory, developed by Carl Jung and Katherine
Myers, has been most often applied in Career
Development settings.
 Type theory states that we are all born with type
preferences.
 The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is used to assess
our preferences.
Douglas W. Bush, M.A. http://www.douglaswbush.com
2007 © All Rights Reserved

Creating a Career Plan
 Integrated Approach
 Strengths
 Goals
 Planning Development
 Action!
Douglas W. Bush, M.A. http://www.douglaswbush.com
2007 © All Rights Reserved

What I need to do
 Network continuously.
 Prepare qualifications in writing.
 Improve interviewing skills.
 Increase skills through training, education, new
experiences, etc.
 Create a strategy with goals and actions.
 Create a proven track record of results.
 Find new ways to add value.
Douglas W. Bush, M.A. http://www.douglaswbush.com
2007 © All Rights Reserved

Networking
 What is networking?
 Why do I need to network?
 Who do I network with?
 How do I network?
 Where do I network?
 When do I network?
Douglas W. Bush, M.A. http://www.douglaswbush.com
2007 © All Rights Reserved

Networking
 Process that links people
 Used for information, support, job leads,
and advice
 Opens channels of communication
Douglas W. Bush, M.A. http://www.douglaswbush.com
2007 © All Rights Reserved

Qualifications in Writing
 Review the job qualifications (i.e., requirements).
 Reflect on all of your background experiences, both on
and off-the-job (i.e., education/training, work
assignments, special projects, etc.).
 Assess your strengths and areas for development.
 Write statements that reflect the knowledge, skills,
abilities and personal qualities that you have used to
accomplish significant results. These statements need
to clearly describe how your qualifications meet the
requirements of the job you are applying for.
Douglas W. Bush, M.A. http://www.douglaswbush.com
2007 © All Rights Reserved

The Interview
 A strategic conversation
 Opportunity to shine!
 Interviewing tips
 Sample questions
Douglas W. Bush, M.A. http://www.douglaswbush.com
2007 © All Rights Reserved

Getting Ahead
 Distinguish yourself
 Do what works, do what
matters
 Project a positive mental
attitude
Douglas W. Bush, M.A. http://www.douglaswbush.com
2007 © All Rights Reserved

SUCCEED!
 Develop expertise
 Show strong leadership;
interact and relate well with
others.
 Create a strong track record
of good performance results!
Douglas W. Bush, M.A. http://www.douglaswbush.com
2007 © All Rights Reserved