Fun Career Guidance Activities For High School Students

There are several fun activities you can consider for your high school students in career guidance.

For example, you can conduct interest and preference questionnaires. You can also ask them to interview a family member or a friend to find out about their career path.

They can also conduct a job shadowing activity to learn about the opportunities available in a particular field.

Interest and preference questionnaires

Interest and preference questionnaires can help students explore career options. They can present apprenticeship programs or non-degree post-secondary pathways.

They can also find out about five hidden occupations that they may not have heard of. These include content marketing strategist, forensic science technician, and computer network architect.

Conduct A Career Guidance Day / Fair

A career guidance day can also be a time for students to reflect on their interests, skills, and passions. Using posters and questionnaires to create these posters will help students identify what they are interested in and how they can apply that knowledge to a career.

A career fair can also include field trips to interesting workplaces where students can meet real-life professionals and get valuable insights about their professions.

While career exploration activities are widely popular around the world, many students still struggle to choose the right career and a job that is fulfilling.

Regardless of background or interests, everyone wants to have a rewarding career. Unfortunately, formal education often does not prepare students for a meaningful future in a meaningful field.

Career Exploration Inventory (CEI-EZ)

The Career Exploration Inventory (CEI-EZ)  is a career planning tool that helps students identify their interests. It matches their interests to sixteen career clusters developed by the U.S. Department of Education.  

The Career Exploration Inventory measures a student’s past, present, and future interests. These scores are then compared to 16 career clusters developed by the U.S Department of Education to determine career options.

Interest And Preference Questionnaires

Interest and preference questionnaires for high school students can help students determine their career path. The O*NET Interest Profiler  is a self-assessment career exploration tool that allows students to discover their broad interests and use them to explore the world of work.

These questionnaires are designed to be used in high school and college courses to guide students in their choices.

Interest and preference questionnaires can help students understand the qualities of jobs they like and dislike. These questionnaires can also help students identify the qualities they need to excel in their chosen career. These questionnaires can also help students develop realistic plans based on their interests.

Job Shadowing

Job shadowing is a good way for high school students to gain insight into different career fields. It is especially useful for students who are not yet college bound and are interested in working in a particular industry.

Many high schools have connections with organizations that offer this opportunity. Ask your career office or academic adviser for suggestions on where to shadow.

Job shadowing allows students to observe and interview real professionals in their field. It can be conducted in various industries or types of jobs and can include volunteer opportunities. Teenagers can learn about different job descriptions and find out which one would be the best fit for them.

Pros and Cons of Job Shadowing

While job shadowing can lead to valuable lessons and experiences, it can also be detrimental. A negative experience may deter students from pursuing a career in that industry.

However, it is important to remember that a negative experience is not indicative of a whole career. Everyone has bad days and people with the same job title may have very different work experiences.

Job shadowing is a fun activity for high school students that allows them to get a feel for different jobs and majors. They can also get valuable insight into how the job is performed and what educational and professional preparation students need to be successful in that career.

It can also help students form a realistic view of what they want to do after high school.

Job shadowing can be done during school hours or on school holidays, depending on student availability. Students may even get permission to miss school. The best time to schedule job shadows is the summer. If scheduling conflicts arise, the school will follow up with the students to make sure that all is well.

Interviewing People About their Jobs

Another fun career exploration activity is to interview someone in their chosen field. Try asking them questions about their jobs and what they earn, how they spend their time, and how they save their money.

In addition, interviewing a current employee of that profession will help students identify skills they may possess and those they might want to work on.

VR Career Exploration Activities

Immersive Virtual Reality (VR) career exploration activities give students a hands-on way to experience different career options. They can try out jobs they might never have considered otherwise.

This type of career exploration is also great for students who are unsure about what they want to do with their life. Students can even use VR career exploration to choose a new career path if their first choice doesn’t fit their interests or skills.

During VR career exploration activities, students don a virtual reality headset and use hand controllers to interact with various tools and equipment in a simulated manufacturing environment.

In the VR environment, students can use measuring instruments, micrometers, and even cranes. These simulations can be used by middle schools and high schools and even by business leaders to explore career paths.

How VR Career Exploration Works

After a student is evaluated, the VR counselor will determine if he or she is a good candidate for these VR services. If so, they will schedule a meeting with the student, parents, and school.

At this meeting, they will discuss the post-school outcomes that the student would like to achieve and the types of VR services they can provide to achieve those outcomes.

The VR counselor will also help students with disabilities complete an application for their state’s programs and services. The counselor will also help students discuss their interests and goals and help them develop a plan for their future. The counselor will also be able to identify what services and supports are needed to help students achieve their career goals.

To make VR career exploration activities for high school students successful, teachers should ensure that they create an environment that fosters meaningful, relevant, and interactive activities.

They should also make sure to involve students’ voice and let them make decisions for themselves. These activities will help students determine what interests them and make choices based on their personal preferences. Lastly, these activities must be accessible and scalable.

Additional Fun Career Guidance Activities for High School Students

Create an Online Portfolio

If you’re interested in a particular field, start building your portfolio by creating a website with examples of work you’ve done. You can use sites like Behance, Dribbble, and Vimeo to showcase your work. These sites allow you to upload images, videos, and other media files.

Write An Essay About What You Would Do If You Won $10 Million.

What would you do with the money? Would you travel the world? Buy a house? Start a business? Invest in stocks? Pay off debt? Save up for retirement? Or maybe you’d donate some of the money to charity.

Whatever you decide, write down your ideas and share them with others. While this activity is not exhaustive or conclusive, it will give you sufficient pointers to which career lines you need to explore further using other activities, tools and assessments.

Create A Resume Using Microsoft Word

If you have been dabbling your feet in the job market with your growing skills and capabilities, than creating a resume may be useful in helping you get a clearer picture of your qualifications, skillset, interests and experience.  You might also consider creating a resume using Microsoft Word or another word processing program.

This will help you organize your thoughts and make sure everything is written clearly. While you cannot finalise any career focus area at this point, this activity helps you get mind on the frame. It lays a foundation to explore career options thoroughly and start building yourself up as a budding professional.

Describe Your Ideal Job

What do you love doing? Do you enjoy helping people? Are you creative? Maybe you’d like to work with animals? Or maybe you just want to travel the world. Whatever your dream job is, describe that in details.

The next step is to them explore careers that match your interests, dreams and capabilities. This is where career assessment tools and web portals can be super useful. These can help you discover careers that are suited for your personality, skill set, interests and dreams.

Final Thoughts

If you’re interested in learning more about careers, try out the career exploration activities listed above. The activities make up fun job exploration activities for high school students.

These activities will give you an idea of what kind of jobs are available and how much money you could earn. If you can afford, better still consider going for thorough career counselling. All the best in your journey.