THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISE FOR CAREER PLANNING AND EFFECTIVE JOB SEARCH PERFORMANCE Developments In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 19, 1992 214 THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISE FOR CAREER PLANNING AND EFFECTIVE JOB SEARCH PERFORMANCE Daryl L. Kerr, University of North Carolina at charlotte ABSTRACT This article presents a unique experiential assignment designed to assist students in career planning and preparation for an effective job search campaign. The assignment is the development of a “Job Strategy Notebook.” Once the notebook has been developed as a course assignment it can be revised and modified by the individual during their entire professional life. This experiential assignment has been used in previous business courses at several universities in the southeast. It has received a significant amount of recognition from placement directors, faculty, recruiters, and career counselors. BACKGROUND Career counselors, placement officers, and recruiters all agree that in order to obtain a desirable position, students should research, plan, and organize themselves and the search process. This includes such steps as assessment of the student and their qualifications, exploring different career opportunities, researching potential employers, developing an effective resume and cover letter, creating a personal marketing plan to develop sources of job leads, and preparing for job interviews. This is the primary purpose of the “Job Strategy Notebook.” It is designed to integrate most of the steps necessary for an effective job search. THE EXPERIENTIAL ASSIGNMENT The “Job Strategy Notebook” is an actual three-ring binder notebook that consists of five major sections: (1) Skills/Interests, (2) Working Resume, (3) Career Information, (4) Company Research, and (5) Interviews/Company Visits. Section 1: Skills/Interests The first section of the notebook, "Skills/Interests,” is similar to a self-assessment unit. Each student is asked to conduct a detailed appraisal or their background and experiences. This appraisal will enable them to identify what assets they have to offer to an employer. A strong personal inventory of a job seeker’s interests, abilities, and skills will make it easier for them to target possible careers and potential employers. Section 2: Working Resume The second section of the “Job Strategy Notebook” is a collection of working papers to be used to design and develop an effective resume. It consists of details of the student’s background and activities. It will be a time consuming process for the students to gather this information. Once they have, the idea is to periodically add to and update this section as the student goes through their professional life. After researching a particular career and company, a student could then selectively pick the most significant highlights of their background to advertise on their resume. Section 3: Career Information The purpose of this section of the notebook is for students to gather Information about careers that interest them. During the career exploration component of the job search process, a student should research and gather Information on several careers. The purpose of this information is to assist the student in making a career decision. There are a variety of articles and books written on certain occupations and this is certainly valuable information for a student to have. Section 14: Company Research Knowledge of the company is of crucial importance in the job Interview. Students who have this information prior to the interview can spend time developing a presentation that will interweave their background and Interests into what the employer has to offer. This section of the notebook is for organizing the company information. Students are suggested to research companies using the following framework: industry, competition, company, position, and recruiter. The more information the student has on each of these areas, the better job they can do on adapting their qualifications and background to the recruiter and to the needs of the company in an actual job interview. Section 5: Interviews/Company Visits This final section of the Job Strategy Notebook consists of notes and other information obtained from actual job interviews and company visits. Most students and other job seekers will go on many interviews and company visits. If the person does not keep records of these interviews and visits, important information could be forgotten. Such information could include the recruiter’s name, the company address and telephone number, details of the job, salary, company benefits, names of other individuals the job seeker met during the company visit, and notes about any follow up action that has been requested. CONCLUSION The “Job Strategy Notebook” has proven to be a valuable resource tool for students and other job seekers. It helps organize the job seeking process by having the student collect Information about their background and qualifications, their skills and abilities, research on alternative careers, and information about a company or agency. It also serves as a recordkeeping device for job interviews and company visits. Table of Contents Volume 19, 1992 The Pedagogical Utility of a Management Simulation Game in a Business Policy Course Modeling Economic Environments in Business Simulations: Some Comparisons and Recommendations Experiential Learning and TQM Principles: Teaching Behavioral Science in a Business School The Use of Poster Presentations as a Final Project in the Business Policy Course The Device Business: A Management Simulation for Strategy Formulation The Advantages of Experiential learning in the Auditing curriculum A Framework for the Identification of Moderated and Mediated Performance consequences of Pedagogical Alternatives Simulating Qualitative Research Relating to Values and Lifestyle Segmentation A New Market Demand Model for Business Simulators Interactive Optimization Using the Method of Relative Improvement Preferences: Methodology and Empirical Evaluation The Service Trainer Simulation Benefits of Internet Computer Networks for ABSEL Members How Should We Measure Experiential Learning? An Assessment of Simulation Usage in Management Accounting Courses The Influence of Myers-Briggs Type and Group Dynamics on Simulation Performance Effective Leadership Behavior in the Desert Storm Arena: An Application of the Vroom-Yetton-Jago Model Installing and Consolidating Work-Team Values: The Effects of a Multicultural Outdoors Experiential Program Key Determinants and Decision performance in a Business Simulations and Experiential Learning environment Multi-Cultural Experiential Learning: A Computer Simulation in Indonesia Attitudes Toward and Emotions Related to Women as Managers: A Replication and Beyond Scenario Approach to Simulating Consumer Expenditures: A Cross-Cultural Analysis Insights into Ethical Decision making Activities and Organizational Performance: A Management Simulation Analysis of College Students and Managers Evaluating a Business Simulation Program for Joint Venture Negotiation and Management Teaching Business Interviewing Strategies with an Experiential Approach Cooperative Learning Across the Business Curriculum Modeling Total Quality Elements into a Strategy-Oriented Simulation Teaching Business Decision making using a Simulator Extending the Educational Utility of a Simulated Competition within the Confines of an Established Undergraduate Marketing Curriculum Expert Systems Versus Traditional Methods for Teaching Accounting Issues Confidence Extremes Diminish Quality Performance in a Total Enterprise Simulation Can Ethics Be Taught? A Simulation Tests a Traditional Ethics Pedagogy Through The Looking Glass, Inc.: Organizational Climate Research as Experiential Pedagogy The use of Cluster Analysis for Business Game Performance Analysis Power and Ethnicity: An Experiential Learning Exercise (How to Sensitize Students to Diversity) Directed Development of Critical and Creative Thinking Skills for Case Analysis Implementing Total Quality Management in a Computerized Business Simulation Product Quality in Business Simulations Use of Simulation for Ethics Education in Management Satisfying the University's Customers through Total Quality Management Instruction: A Case Study Personality Characteristics and Group Performance in Total Enterprise Simulations Concepts of Interval Estimation and Quality Control Charts via Computer Simulated Sampling An Examination of the Effect of Team Cohesion, Player Attitude, and Performance Expectations on Simulation Performance Results The Effectiveness of Inventory Management and Production Scheduling Training in a Total Quality Management Environment Peer Group Indicators of the External Validity of Business Games: A five-year Longitudinal Study Political Strategies and Personal Actions Does Practice make Perfect? Observations on Simulation Trial The Use of A Non-Business Computer Simulation to Teach Marketing Management BankPro Commercial Bank Simulation The Production Game Pursuing Excellence: Work Strengths, Assets and relevant Values (An Exercise) Test of a Short Outward Bound Experience for College Students What is it that we want Student To Learn? Using Two TQM Philosophies when Playing Blackjack The Lagged Effects of Decision Variables on Financial Performance Measures Used in Two business Simulations The Development of an Experiential Exercise for Career Planning and Effective Job search Performance Measuring Quality in Management of Business Pedagogy Exploring Quality and Productivity Improvement: Using and Experiential Process Toward a Generalized Architecture for Intelligent Reactive Management Systems The Quality Game TQX: Using Expert Systems to Improve Training in Total Quality Management A Simulation of the Effect of the Medicaid Payment Lag on the Financial Position of Community Pharmacies The Use of a Board of Directors to Evaluate and Validate Decisions in a Competitive Graduate Management Simulation Course The Impact of Academic Dishonesty on Business Simulations and Experiential Learning Activities Picture Project: An Experience of Icebreaking and/or Decision-Making An Effective Role-playing Exercise for Teaching Requisite TQM Supervisory Attitudes/Behavior Computerized Management Simulations and Some Correlates of Students' Satisfaction The Timing and Stability of Reactions to Market Structure in a Single Player Simulation Environment A Graphics Application Extension for a Simulated Decision Support System Environment Aspects of a Group Project Utilizing Actual Business data and a Computerized Accounting System The Role of Universities' Extended Learning Department in Assisting Organizations Implement Total Quality Management A three-dimensional Learning Experience to Develop Total Quality Management Skills Estimating Quality Costs by Computer Simulation Applications and Examples of Quality Control Software Assessing Business Pedagogy A Demonstration of an Experiential Process for Exploring Quality and Productivity Improvement Processes An Action-Ethics Dilemma: A Demonstration Org Sim Jr.: A 2-3 Hour Version of the 2-Day Blanchard/Murrell Organization Simulation Building Buildings: An Experiential Exercise in Organizational Structure, Communication, Leadership and Group Dynamics Expert Systems for Organization Design: A Demonstration A Demonstration of Product Quality in a Business Simulation: Version 2 of CEO Two Revolutions, Total Quality Leadership, and the Baldy: The Story of Milliken Total Quality after the Award - The Xerox Story Building a Competitive Advantage through Customer Satisfaction and Reengineering Human Resource Planning: Managing the Only Renewable Resource for a Competitive Advantage Using Simulations to Teach International Issues: An analysis of the Multinational Management Game's Learning Environment Quality Function Deployment: A Tutorial Care and Nurturing of Teams Making a Good Thing Better: Adding TQM to Participative management Empowering Organizations to Redesign and Transform Themselves - Eastman Chemical Using Simulations in Field Management Development of an International Life Insurance Company Reinforcing the TQ Environment via Simulation Transforming a Business College into a Total Quality College