Career Guidance for Youth

Greeting readers! 

For youth, the common question is, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” There may be an easy answer for some, but for others, this can be a difficult question. Since the options are endless, how does one know what career may best fit them? This is why it is never too early to explore career options and plan for the future! 

Career guidance is any guidance given to individuals to help them acquire the knowledge, skills, information, and experience necessary to identify appropriate career options.  So why is career guidance important for youth specifically? It can ensure they are doing things that they are good at and, more importantly, something that they like! These are a few other reasons why career guidance is important for youth: 

  • It increases personal responsibility and self-control over future career choices

  • Promotes self-awareness of their values, interests, abilities, and personal characteristics

  • Provides an understanding of the connection between investing in one’s own education and career goals

  • Gives awareness of offers, work, and internship opportunities

  • Opportunity to gain a plan/strategy for achieving career goals

  • Gain confidence in one’s competencies for career development

Youth should reflect on a few questions as they start to consider potential career options:

  • Who am I?

  • Who do I want to be?

  • What do I need to do to get there?

Doing research and gaining experience is vital for learning about these different options. Youth can gain experience through internships, volunteering, job shadowing, vocational schools, and school and community activities. 

  • Internships are temporary, supervised assignments designed to give students and recent graduates job training, practical work experiences, and may even satisfy qualifications. These experiences can be paid or unpaid and may be in a student’s field or career interest.

  • Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual freely giving time and labor for community service. Volunteering can help someone build connections, develop work skills, and get experience in things you are interested in. 

  • Job Shadowing is an educational experience that allows someone to learn more about a particular career path, company, or role. It’s the idea of taking a “test drive” for a specific career and learning the daily duties of a job that interests you. 

  • Vocational Schools, which ca be referred to as trade or technical schools, give hands-on training for a specific field or occupation. Examples include cosmetology school, culinary arts, and medical assisting. 

  • School and Community Activities can help youth spark a career interest. Examples include student government, yearbook committee, robotics club, joining organizations like Health Occupation Student of America, Future Business Leaders of America, or Future Farmers of America, and more. 

So, now that you have gained some experiences, let’s review how to make a resume! 

High School Resume: How To Write Your First Resume (Plus Template) – https://youtu.be/wT40Au0RFa8

If you are an adult, here’s how YOU can be a Prevention Partner:

  • Motivate teens to seek opportunities for part time jobs, shadowing, volunteering, etc. Share this information with them! Start the conversations early. 

  • Ask them questions about what they are interested in, who they want to work with, and their overall goals for the future. 

  • Encourage them to talk with a guidance counselor about their interests. 

  • Do not make career decisions for a teen or push them into deciding too early. It’s important to remember that a career is a lifelong adventure.

  • Avoid stereotyping based on gender roles.