Career Exploration Activities

In addition to reading books or exploring careers online, there are other programs and activities to consider for learning more about career exploration. This section of the Web site connects you to programs that expand your knowledge of a career area by providing you with a closer look at specific areas you’re interested in. Job shadowing or career fairs where you talk one-on-one with professionals to get answers to your questions about a particular area of work are also great ways to explore careers.

(Note: Documents noted as "PDF" format require the free Adobe Acrobat Reader. Documents noted as "PowerPoint" format require Microsoft PowerPoint software. Documents noted as "Word" require Microsoft Word or other software compatible with Word files.)

Career Fairs
Career Fairs provide you with an opportunity to meet professionals from job fields you’re considering. You are the interviewer, asking the questions that are important for you to find out if a job or career area is a good match for you. Take advantage of any opportunity you get to talk to professionals in a variety of career pathways.

• If your school or community doesn’t offer a career fair, learn how you can create your own career fair opportunity using the Touch the Future Career Fair (TFCF) Activity. You can download the complete Touch the Future Career Fair Activity including handouts in PDF format at http://web1.msue.msu.edu/cyf/youth/careers/TFCF-Activity-Complete.pdf. To download several of the handouts as Microsoft Word files that you can modify for your own needs, go to the Resources for Educators and Volunteers page. If you are planning the expanded version of the TFCF Activity, you will also need to download the Career Fair Interviewing and More PowerPoint presentation (Microsoft PowerPoint format).
• Read the Fall 2006 Michigan 4-H Today article, “Youth ‘Touch the Future’ During 4-H Exploration Days" to find out what happened when 4-H youth participated in a career fair during Exploration Days.

Job Shadowing
Job Shadowing is a great way to learn more about a career area. Typically you spend a couple of hours or even a day with a professional, observing or participating with them at work. You get a chance to ask them your questions about that line of work. Not sure what to ask? The Career Fair Informational Interviewing Questions form (Microsoft Word format) can be used as a guide. Once you get started you’ll find you’re thinking of questions on your own. If you don’t know who to job shadow, just get started by asking family, friends and teachers to point you in the right direction or make a contact for you. Don’t be intimidated. There are many adults out there who are eager to help youth find a career path that is right for them.

Volunteer Work
Consider learning more about the world of work through volunteer or community service opportunities. Volunteer work helps you build many of the work skills you need for any job, such as:

• dependability
• accuracy
• ability to follow instructions
• ability to work with a variety of types of people

The skills you learn as a volunteer look just as valuable on a resume as those you learned at a paid position. Service-Learning, From Classroom to Community to Career by Linda Braun and Marie Watkins is a really good book that helps move the service-learning experience beyond “helping out.” It is available from JIST Publishing at http://www.jist.com.

Contact Information

For more information on how to get involved as a youth or volunteer, contact your county MSU Extension office or:

Laura Allen, 4-H Career Education Coordinator
4-H Youth Development
160 Agriculture Hall
East Lansing, MI 48824

Phone: 517-432-7632
Fax: 517-355-6748
Email: lacourse@anr.msu.edu

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Last Updated: October 13, 2006
Last Reviewed: October 13, 2006