Overview:

In this activity, students are introduced to the Career Finder -- Choices Explorer's Advanced Career Exploration Tool.

The Career Finder can help students explore careers that match their interests and skills. Career research leads are listed in groups of at least 15 career titles, and can be adjusted to match a balance of interests and skills, or to match a student's interests only or skills only.

This activity helps students see how the selective weighting capability can change the career research leads generated for them by the Career Finder.

Materials:

1. A Career Finder Research Leads worksheet for each student
2. Access to Choices Explorer and a printer

Suggested Strategy:

1. Provide a copy of the Career Finder Research Leads worksheet to each student. Students follow the instructions to locate and use the Career Finder in Choices Explorer.
   
   Career Finder Research Leads Worksheet
   HTML version

1. Once they have used the Career Finder to generate a list of career research leads, students should write down on their worksheet the first three careers on the Career Finder list. (Write them in the Balance Both space.)
2. Now that students have seen career research leads based on a balance of their interests and skills, have them try fine-tuning their lists.

   At the top of the Career Finder is an interest and skills fine-tune menu offering options: favor Interests, Balance Both and favor Skills. Balance Both is selected by default.

3. Have students choose Interests. The Career Finder will automatically generate a new list of career research leads that consider only the student's information from the Interests questions. Students should write down the first three career research titles on the list.
4. Have students choose Skills. Students should write down the first three career research titles on this updated list.
5. Once all three sections (Balance Both, Interests and Skills) of the worksheet are complete, students will have lists of career research leads based on their interests, their skills, and an equal mix of interests and skills. They can use these written lists to explore careers -- either by returning to Choices Explorer later, or using other career information resources.