Career Development Workshop
1) Strength Building
Helping participants identify their strengths and achievements and own them. This leads to increased self-worth, self-confidence and ability to project themselves.
2) Stress and coping
Input on people’s reactions to the stress of change and helpful and unhelpful ways of coping with this. Emphasis on the value of expressing and sharing the feelings experienced with others.
3) Ideal job advert
People write and share their ideal job advert. This helps to clarify their view of what they want to be doing in future.
4) Job search methods
Participants hear about and brainstorm all the methods for obtaining a job. They can include applying to ads, cold calling, self-employment, and networking through friends….. They decide whether to extend their approach.
5) CV development
Participants develop criteria for evaluating a CV based on careful thought about its purpose. They then evaluate their own and others CV’s against the criteria and help each other improve them.
6) Interview practice using CCTV
Participants are interviewed by myself for jobs based on the advertisements they have written and their CVs. They get feedback on how they present from the playback, colleagues and myself. They also get hints on improved self-presentation and how to answer difficult questions.
7) Psychological tests
These give feedback and encourage people to know themselves and their preferences better.
8) Career counselling
This helps people consider their match to a wide range of possibilities and to decide on a course of action.
9) Core process
This helps people discover what they are really good at, interested in and how they prefer to handle their lives. It is energising and thought-provoking.
Participation
The above activities were carried out with the maximum possible participation of the trainees. This often took the form of taking turns listening to each other as a form of mutual counselling. This approach was well received and led to participants developing good thinking and feeling good about their ability to help each other.
Improvements
People were pleased with the approach taken. The only significant improvement requested was help handling money, getting the most from the lump sum etc. We should be careful to help people think about this and avoid giving advice.