Career Mapping for Community College Educators

1. Parking Lot - Poll Everywhere
 Participate in the Poll Everywhere poll.
 See handout for polling instructions.
 Choose a word or phrase that best
describes your career.
 Send your career word to the poll.

3. Alissa Sells
Program Administrator, eLearning & Open Education
asells@sbctc.edu | @WAeLearning | 425.239.0456
Jennifer Whetham
Program Administrator, Faculty Professional Development
jwhetham@sbctc.edu |@jwhethamsbctc | 425.704.4354
Mapping the Full Span of Your Career
Opportunity, Reflection,
and Tactical Foresight

4. Ice Breaker – Pair & Share
 Line up in order of years of service or years of
teaching.
 “Snake” the line front to back to find a partner.
 Mindfully speak and listen for 2 minutes each
about the word or phrase you chose and why?
 Is there a difference between the word “job” and
the word “career”?

5. Session Overview
 Norm Setting
 Context
 Case Study
 Concepts
 Career Mapping
 Formative Assessment

6. Norm Setting
The Importance of Clarifying Expectations

7. Norms & Norming
 Mutually established rules governing
how a group will work together.
 Co-creation of a safe space for sharing
and learning together.

8. Norm Setting – Collective Activity
Objective: Establish group norms.
 5 minute silent read – “Touchstones for
Creating Safe Spaces” handout from
Parker Palmer.
 Select a norm you’d most like our group
to adhere to during this session.
 Share your selection with the group.

9. Context
The Importance of Cross-Generational Conversation

10. Recent Research Suggests
 Career planning and faculty development are largely
absent in all fields once a faculty member reaches
tenure. (Austin and Scorinelli, 2013)
 Few, if any, cross-generational conversations between
generations where faculty at all career stages help each
other. (DeJanasz and Sullivan, 2004)
 Professional careers include many non traditional options.
(i.e. faculty positions outside the tenure system) that
existing mentoring options do not address. (Goodburn,
LeCourt, Leverenz, 2013)

11. Two Periods, Two Decision Points
 Where do we typically focus our attention?
 Two Periods: Graduate school and the first
two years of academic life.
 Two Decision Points: Finding the first job and
getting tenure.

12. Case Study
The Importance of Self-Reflection through Storytelling

13. Case Study – The Story of Jane
 Jane is a tenured professor at Western CC, an institution she has worked
at for nearly two decades. Having served as writing program
administrator and as a department chair, Jane has now been asked to
apply for the Dean of the Division of the Humanities, a post that
promises professional and financial advancement. Although she is
quite interested in and qualified for the position, Jane is hesitant. As the
divorced mother of an adult son, she is also an only child responsible for
taking care of her 82-year-old mother. Although Jane is used to long
days at the office teaching and performing administrative tasks, she is
looking for more balance to spend more time with her mother, who is
showing signs of early onset dementia. If she applies, will she have
enough time to see that her mother's needs are met? If she does not,
will she have enough financial resources to help cover her mother's
medical expenses only minimally covered by insurance?

14. Collective Discussion
Objective: Evaluate Jane’s choices, risks and potential consequences.
 What advice would you give to Jane
and why?

15. What’s your story? – 5 Minute Fast Write
Objective: Identify present career opportunities and choices.
 Write 4-5 sentences to help you discover
your career story.
 Create a written snapshot of your current
career opportunities and choices.
 Use Jane’s story as an example.

16. Concepts
The Importance of Intentionality

17. Concepts
Kairos – opportunity
Metanioa – reflection
Pronoia – tactical foresight

18. Career Mapping
The Importance of your Past, Present & Future

19. Career Mapping – Part 1
Objective: Identify past and present decision points.
 Map your past career and decision points.
 Mark 3 to 4 major turning points in your career
where you might have taken different directions.
 Where have you seized or lost opportunities?
 Where have you chosen among alternatives?
 Where have you faced conflicts?
 Where have you had to make difficult decisions?

20. Example 1
Turning
Point
Choice 1
Potential Gains,
Losses & Impacts
Actual
Outcome A
Actual
Outcome B
Choice 2
Potential Gains,
Losses & Impacts
Potential
Outcome A

21. Example 2
Turning Point
Choice 1
Potential Gains,
Losses & Impacts
Actual
Outcome A
Actual
Outcome B
Choice 2
Potential Gains,
Losses & Impacts
Potential
Outcome A

22. Example 3
OutcomesChoicesTurning Point
Turning Point
Choice 1
Potential Gains,
Losses & Impacts
Actual
Outcome A
Actual
Outcome B
Choice 2
Potential Gains,
Losses & Impacts
Potential
Outcome A

23. Example 4
Turning Point 1
Turning Point 2
Turning Point 3

24. Decision Point – Pair & Share
Objective: Share a notable decision point in your career.
 Select one decision point to share.
 Mindfully speak and listen for 2 minutes each.
 What were the factors/people/competing values you had
to take into account when making this choice?
 How would you compare the path you chose to the ones
you did not?
 What were the gains and the losses of the choice?
 What were the positive and negative impacts of this choice
on your career?

25. Collective Discussion
Objective: Identify how sharing can influence reflection.
 What did you hear your partner say about
his/her key decision point?
 What similarities, if any, emerged?
 How did listening to your partner help you
reflect on your own decision points?

26. Tactical Foresight
 Kairos – opportunities will present themselves.
 Metanioa – reflection will help you leverage
your past to create your future.
 Pronoia – with awareness comes choice.

27. Career Mapping – Part 2
Objective: Use tactical foresight to begin intentionally guiding your career.
 Spend some time imagining your future
career.
 Be intentional in your thought.
 What do you want to make space for in
regards to future career activities, projects,
experiences, learning…?

28. Formative Assessment
Objective: Reflect on your learning.
 Please take a few moments to reflect on
your learning by answering the questions
on the half-sheet of paper provided.

29. Thank you!
Unless otherwise specified, the content in this presentation is
licensed under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license.