Topic 3 - Future Work / Career Directions

 

Activity and Task Shortcut Bar 

(please read the material below before attempting the task / activity)

Task 9

Activity I

Activity J

Task 10

Task 11

Task 12

Task 13

Task 14

In the Introduction to Business Services on CD, you briefly looked at employment in this area. This topic will give you a clearer idea of what might suit you.

Firstly, you need to examine yourself!

Personal work goals : some ideas.

1. Establish some goals.

 

This may not mean climbing Mt Everest but it does mean goals should be:

AMOR

Achievable

Measurable

Obtainable

Realistic

To establish goals you need to know where you might want to go. So identifying career opportunities is very important.

A regular browse through a newspaper is a good idea, however, the Internet is more accessible and offers a broad range of career opportunities.

Here are 3 useful sites (there are many more):

www.careerone.com.au

www.mycareer.com.au

www.seek.com.au

These sites provide information about jobs that are available in the Administration (Business Services) field. It is possible to apply for a job using the site. Here is an example from www.careerone.com.au

Team Administrator

  • Busy, professional Industrial Relations office

  • Must love working in a team environment

  • High level of professionalism required

A busy professional Industrial Relations Office requires a Team Administrator to provide support to 3 busy executives.

You will need to demonstrate prior high level administrative support experience in a similar environment, as well as excellent computer skills and Dictaphone experience. Strong organisational, interpersonal, attention to detail and you must also display initiative and take a proactive approach to you work.

Experience in the legal industry and usage of CMS is desirable but not essential.

Please apply immediately!


Applications should be directed to:

Andrew Rickard

Professional Careers Australia (PCA)

Please Quote Reference ID: 5937

Phone: 02 6257 1010 Fax: 02 6247 0028

Now tryTask 9

Career Planning

 

How you plan your career will depend on your needs and the needs of the labour market. The end result is that there is a wide range of career paths available to you. Your browse through the job websites would have shown you the range of jobs in administration alone.

Here are a few different types of career paths:-

(i) Vertical - the seniority-based career path was always a minority white-collar phenomenon, overwhelmingly male. It has been modified through -

(ii) Horizontal - This may be voluntary or involuntary. It refers to sideways moves into different jobs at the same level, or from one workplace to another. It can be justified in terms of a need for variety and interest, and may broaden a person’s skills. It does not mean a person is paid more.

For example: an IT specialist may move from programming to support to marketing and back to programming in order to gain variety or a complete knowledge of the industry.

(iii) Spiral career paths involve a combination of the horizontal and vertical models. A period of job rotation at the same level within an organisation or across from one organisation to another may be followed by a promotion, either internal or in the external labour market. Another period of job rotation may follow, before another upward move. This model may be becoming more common as a result of downsizing ( the process of reducing staff and encouraging them to be multi-skilled).

Now tryActivity I

Training for the Office

 

This can be internal (eg. on-the-job-training) and external (eg. TAFE courses). Most office staff will experience both forms of training. It can be informal (eg. reading manuals) and formal (eg. accredited courses). You are studying an accredited course now! - Certificate II in Business.

A useful website is http://boyzarwork.det.nsw.det.au/html/office. This is a TAFE site that outlines many of their office-related courses.

Now tryActivity J

When considering future career options, students should consider:

How do you rate yourself?

Rate yourself in the following attributes. You will not send this to your teacher. However you will be asked to draw some conclusions about yourself.

I… Always Sometimes Usually Never
Am well organised
Can concentrate on a task
Pay attention to detail
A good communicator
Can work as part of a team
Can work unsupervised
Have competent computer skills
Have good writing skills
Have a positive attitude
Use time management skills effectively

   

How did you go??

 

By looking at yourself closely can see your strengths and weaknesses. Businesses regularly look at themselves to see where they are successful and where they need to improve. They conduct a planning tool called a SWOT analysis:-

 

Strengths  What I can do well
Weaknesses What things I don’t do well
Opportunities What opportunities are out there for me?
Threats What things will make it difficult for me to achieve my goals?

Now tryTask 10

Ultimately, the career you choose will depend on a range of factors:

These will need to be considered when planning a career path.

 

To help you make suitable choices, advice is available. It may include:

To find out more about yourself and the most suitable jobs, go to www.assessment.com

 

 

This is an overseas site that takes you through a free career analysis. Here's how it can help you ........

 

  •  Register with your name and email to begin

  • Answer 71 questions (approximately 20-minutes).

  • View your sample report immediately upon completion.

  • Your personal report will tell you job tasks you prefer and the top 11-20 jobs that fit you.

  • Click on MAPP Match to use your 5 Free job matches. This allows you to research jobs and learn more about where you fit in the world of work.

  • You will have the option to purchase a full report with personal, detailed career information.

  • Each additional report includes job matching so you can continue to research your best job fit.

  • To participate you will need to register and have a password

  • There is no cost

  • It is run by Google

 

HINT: each question has 3 options. You must choose the option you like the most and least. The other option is left blank.

Discover your strengths, your styles for communications, learning and leadership. See what career is best for you.

 

Now tryTask 11

Other Sources of Advice

Click here for a few ideas

 

Writing Job Application Letters

 

The importance of THE letter and THE resume!

The Cover Letter:

An individually typed cover letter typically accompanies each resume you send out. Your cover letter may make the difference between obtaining a job interview and having your resume ignored. It makes sense to devote the necessary time and effort to write effective cover letters.

A cover letter should complement, not duplicate your resume. Its purpose is to interpret the data-oriented, factual resume and add a personal touch. A cover letter is often your earliest written contact with a potential employer, creating a critical first impression.

To get help on How to Write a Cover Letter click the Help icon

 

Click here to view sample cover letter 1 Click here to view sample cover letter 2

 

Now tryTask 12

The Resume

A resume is your chance to present all of the information that proves that you have the required skills and experience for the job. Writing an effective resume takes time - you need to ensure that you have included all the desired information clearly and succinctly.

 

Click here to view sample resume

Now tryTask 13

An alternative is to use a template when writing your resume.

Investigate how to access a template in the version of Word that you are working with. As a general rule the steps below should help you but it is always very beneficial to be able to use the online help in software programs.

This is a quick and easy way to write a simple resume.

Now tryTask 14

Click on the Help icon to find out more about any of the following:

This is the end of Topic 3.  Now try Topic 4