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Guided Self Assessment – For students struggling to identify potential careers and majors
Who should do the Guided Self Assessment?
At The Core can assist any student needing help determining their strengths, a possible major, or a potential career. The process was built to serve high school students transitioning to college, but any student who needs direction can benefit. The timeframe for maximum usefulness for a high school student is during the sophomore or early in the junior year. This will allow the information to be used in scheduling classes and summer plans.
How much does Guided Self Assessment cost?
Good question! The pricing is best shared once you can see a sample of the final report. There is no one else that does this kind of work, and because it’s so unique, we prefer to have a chance to explain the process and show you what you’d receive so that the price makes sense. (It’s less than most people think, and families have said it’s a fantastic investment in their child.) If you’d really like to know pricing prior to scheduling an informational first family meeting, just call us at 614-404-0646.
Where do the interviews take place?
For Columbus, OH (local) students, meetings typically take place in a public location, like a Panera restaurant. The setting should reasonably accommodate the kind of conversation you would have with a friend over coffee. For our remote students, we use online video meeting technology for the interviews and final family meeting.
How long does it take to go through the process?
Five one-hour interviews (see Guided Self Assessment for more information) ideally take place over a two-week period. Interviews are scheduled based on the availability of the student and the interviewer. Given students’ dynamic schedules, there is flexibility in the two-week guideline. The final family meeting is scheduled when the report is complete, approximately two weeks after the final interview.
What does the final report look like?
Sample reports are available for you to look at during the first family evaluation meeting.
Do parents participate in the interviews? Isn’t parent input needed?
The interviews are conducted with the child only. The entire focus of this process is the child’s perception of their own traits. Occasionally, parents are asked to answer a few questions during the process, but parent input is minimal.
Guided Career Connections – For students with a few specific careers in mind who need to dig deeper
Who should do Guided Career Connections?
Guided Career Connections was created for students who have 2 or 3 careers in mind but need to learn more. The process was built to serve high school students in grades 10 and up.
How much does Guided Career Connections cost?
Good question! The pricing is best shared at our free family meeting. Families can only understand the value after hearing about the service face-to-face. There is no one else that does this kind of work, and because it’s so unique, we prefer to have a chance to explain the process so that the price makes sense. (It’s less than most people think, and families have said it’s a fantastic investment in their child.) If you’d really like to know pricing prior to scheduling an first family meeting, just call us at 614-404-0646.
How long does it take to go through the process?
Students initially gather in a small group workshop to practice informational interviewing and to create a professional LinkedIn profile. Over the following weeks, students conduct three informational interviews with professionals (connections made by At The Core). Students return to their small group workshop to share their new knowledge and action plan. The time from the first workshop to the final workshop is typically five weeks.
Do parents participate?
Not in the first workshop or the informational interviews. The entire focus of this process enables the student to gain knowledge about the careers they are interested and develop their informational interviewing skills on their own. Parents are asked to join us for the closing workshop.
I’m thinking that my student’s career ideas are not as solid as we thought. Now what?
For Guided Career Connections, the student needs to have 2 or 3 careers in mind. If your student doesn’t have that clarity, they may be a better candidate for Guided Self Assessment. The Guided Self Assessment process helps student dig deeper into their skills, values, interests, personality and work preferences with the added insight of trained facilitators who develop career ideas for students after analyzing the information the student provides. Learn more about Guided Self Assessment here.
Is this really a new service for At The Core? I thought that there were "career connections" already.
Good catch! Every student who completes Guided Self Assessment is offered a first “career connection” – we’ve done this for years, and that won’t change. Guided Career Connections takes that idea and magnifies it tremendously. Students get connected to three individuals for informational interviews plus the preparation and post-interview support they need to really consider what they have learned.
Who teaches the Guided Career Connections workshops?
Two seasoned career consultants will lead both workshops and experienced At The Core facilitators will coach students through the informational interviewing process.
My student is able to attend both workshops; however, we will be taking a family vacation in the middle of the two workshops. Is this an issue?
No, that is fine. We build in an extra week for this reason. However, we will want each student to complete the process in the same small group they joined at the beginning.
My student can only attend one of the workshops. Should he/she still register?
No, students will be required to attend both the kick off and closing workshops. We will offer additional programs throughout the year. Please keep checking back for more information. Sign up for our newsletter to stay in touch.
What is the time requirement for my student?
Each workshop is about 2 hours long. Prep and time to conduct the informational interviews is estimated at 3-8 hours, and completing the action plan would take around 1-2 hours. In general, the time commitment is about 10-12 hours spread over a month’s time.
We do not live in or near Columbus, Ohio. Can my student participate?
At this time, it is best for students to be able to attend the workshops in person. We will explore offering a virtual option in the future. For now, we will continue to add more workshops throughout the year. Students who do not live in the Columbus area should expect to engage in phone interviews with career professionals.
Are all informational interviews conducted in person?
Students should plan for a mix of in person, phone, and online meetings. Phone and online meetings can benefit the student by providing experience with the challenges and benefits of these forms of communication. As parents, we all know the trouble our kids have talking on the phone today! 😉
Does my student need to find his/her own transportation to their informational interviews?
Yes, students will be expected to meet with the career professional at the professional’s workplace. In some instances where a career professional is not local, students should expect to conduct the informational interview over the phone or via SKYPE, Facetime, etc.
Is a family meeting required?
Yes. Even if you are confident that Guided Career Connections is a good fit for your student, we ask every family to spend 30 minutes with our expert to understand the process and how it will work. Click here to book your meeting.
How do I get started?
We’re so excited you see the value in Guided Career Connections and want to provide this lifelong gift to your student. To get started, please book a family meeting. Even if you are sure you want your student to participate, we ask for every family to spend 30 minutes with our expert to understand the process and how it will work. Click here to reserve your free meeting.
614-404-0646