The document outlines best practices for using a Career Guidance System in middle school, including exercises for different features of the system. It suggests having students take self-assessments and career cluster assessments to identify interests and potential careers, search for occupations based on criteria, maintain journals and write reports in the Planning Center, and research "cool jobs" that are unusual or trendy. Teachers are encouraged to facilitate class and group discussions about students' results and integrate career exploration into other subjects when possible. The document also points to additional curriculum documents available on the system's administration site.

1. Career Guidance System - Best Practices
For use in Middle School
Use the suggested exercises to maximize your school’s Career Guidance System usage:
• Self-Assessment
• Career Cluster Assessment
• Occupation Searching
• Planning Center
• Cool Jobs
Self-Assessment Exercises
The Self-Assessment contains 48 questions that students answer to identify things and activities that
they like or dislike. Using this information, Career Guidance System presents a list of occupations that
might appeal to them.
Suggested Exercises:
• Walk through the self-assessment as a class and have students answer questions aloud to
demonstrate how likes and dislikes can lead to a career choice.
• Put students into small groups to discuss their own answers to the assessment questions.
• Have students take the assessment at home as a home work assignment and discuss their
answers in class after.
Career Cluster Assessment Exercises
The Career Cluster Assessment contains 32 questions which help to identify the top three Career
Clusters that best match students’ interests. After taking the assessment, students can view a list of
occupations by career cluster.
When the Career Cluster Assessment is complete, students can review the list of occupations aligned
to each of their five Career Clusters.
Suggested Exercises:
• Have students take the Career Cluster Assessment, and then discuss the cluster groupings.
• Use Career Clusters to generate a discussion regarding students’ career interests.
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2. • Have students think about their hobbies and interests and how they may apply to a future
career.
Occupation Searching
Career Guidance System contains information about hundreds of occupations that cover every area of
the U.S. workforce. Students can browse through occupations or specify criteria and conduct a search
for occupations.
All occupations in Career Guidance System are assigned attributes according to the following
categories:
Interests Physical Strengths Employment & Outlook
Working Conditions Physical Abilities Not Required Licensure & Certification
Career Clusters Salary Range
Education Levels Employment Opportunities
Suggested Exercises:
• Have students use the Occupation Search feature to find a career that matches their interests or
matches specific fields, i.e. science, math, or history. Have students write a report on that
career.
• Assign a report in which students research a career of a family member.
• Have students use the A-Z occupation search to find a job of interest.
• Have students locate related jobs in the Job Profile for careers they previously selected.
Planning Center
The Personal Information section is where students enter their personal data – name, address,
telephone number, etc. This information is used to automatically populate certain sections in the
Planning Center. Career Guidance System does not allow students to use some options in the Planning
Center until Personal Information has been entered.
Suggested Exercise:
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3. • Encourage students to keep a Journal in the Planning Center. The Workplace Skills Topics
button on the Journal screen can be used to generate a topic students can write about.
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4. Cool Jobs Exercises
Cools Jobs are occupations that are trendy, seasonal, or out-of-the-ordinary. Cool jobs are not
contained in the standard occupation database. Students can display a list of all cool jobs contained in
Career Guidance System, or search for cool jobs by career cluster. Examples of cool jobs include: FBI
Agent, Underwater Welder, and Concert Promoter.
Career Guidance System provides detailed information about each cool job included in the database.
The information in a Cool Job Overview is written from a general perspective; that is, the details
provided are generally true for the occupation. However, it is important to note that the actual attributes
for specific jobs will vary.
Suggested Exercises:
• Have students use the “Cool Jobs” feature to browse through the list of all Cool Jobs and
choose a job.
• Research Links can be used for students’ chosen Cool Job to write a report about that job.
Students could include how they might apply their selected Cool Job to their everyday lives.
• Use what students have learned about their Cool Jobs to generate class discussion.
Career Management System - Curriculum Documents
Several documents are available from the Customization & Support tab in the Career Management
System administration tool. After clicking Customization & Support, click the Curriculum link in the
list of available activities.
The Curriculum section features several:
• COIN Lessons
• Learning Activities
• Lesson Plans
• Life Skills Lessons
• Unit Plans
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