Jamie Lee Jackson, age 24, is graduating with her business administration degree in the next year. She has been attending college full time while working part time in the bakery department of a local grocery store. She has a strong interest in starting her own cupcake café in the next three or four years and has been saving toward that goal.

Many of Jamie’s fellow students are obtaining internships at this point in their education. She has been hearing a lot from others about out-of-state positions that they are considering.

“Would this be something I would like to consider?” wonders Jamie.

She knows that when weighing job offers, there is much to consider beyond the position title and the salary.

Because Jamie still has some time to consider whether to be selfemployed or to work for a company, she offers help to her friend and roommate Kayla, who will be interviewing with several out-of-state companies. Kayla had been contacted by the companies to interview after attending the recent campus career fair.

Kayla is taking a personal inventory of her skills in order to learn about careers and to help her find career opportunities that would fit her skills. She knows that her educational background is strong because she is expected to graduate in the top 10 percent of her class. She asks for Jamie’s help with discussing skills that may be attractive to Kayla’s potential employers. She would like to create a career action plan to help her decide for which position she may be best suited.

Questions 

1. Technical skills are a very important selling point for potential employees in the workforce.

1. Prepare a comprehensive list of technical skills that you possess.

2. Conduct online research to determine the technical skills that are most sought after by companies today, and compare them to your personal list.

3. In which areas are you most competent?

4. In which areas could you use training to increase your employability?

2. Thinking back on past work experiences:

1. Prepare a list of traits that contribute to your level of social intelligence.

2. Reflect on the traits that you might emphasize in an interview, and develop a plan to increase your skills in areas that need improvement.

3. Kayla and Jamie discuss the importance of choosing a career that is balanced between being rewarding and also in demand by companies.

1. Based on online research, identify the most sought-after career positions in the area of your degree pathway.

2. Are those career opportunities located locally, in specific regions of the United States, or international?

3. What are the salary ranges for the career pathway you have chosen?

4. Based on your research, what are the predicted future trends for the career area?