Employability skills are difficult to measure but are essential in the workplace. Introduce high schoolers to employability skills with the Human Knot activity. Groups of six grab hands to form a human knot and untangle themselves. The...

Prepare high school seniors for the job search process with a lesson that teaches them how to craft four different types of business letters: the cover letter, the informational interview request, a reference request, and a thank you...

High school seniors use the CareerOneStop website to research professional associations related to careers that interest them. They then develop interview questions and arrange an informational interview with someone in the field.

Let their futures take flight! The sixth and final installment in a series of career and college readiness lesson plans pulls it all together for graduation-bound seniors. Individuals comb through their action plans and describe the...

Interviews can be so stressful. How does someone stay calm and confident in the interview hot seat? Senior job seekers get acquainted with common interview questions during the fifth of six career and college readiness lessons....

Does your class have the write stuff? Young career seekers try their hand at composing business letters in the second of six career and college readiness lesson plans for seniors. Pupils practice writing cover letters, thank you notes,...

Safety first! Safety first! A short video and a PowerPoint presentation introduce job seekers to child labor law awareness, safety standards, and ways to reduce workplace injuries. Class members first take a short workplace...

For employers and recruiters, the first step in their quest to find good candidates is the paper screening process. They look at a candidate's application and resume and push forward the files of those who meet their requirements. Thus...

Is CTE the right choice for me? Introduce the class to career and technical education through an exploratory lesson plan, fourth in a series of six career readiness activities. After an introductory video, scholars determine possible...

Community service is a win-win! Scholars discover how to gain valuable career skills through helping others using a lesson about volunteer work. Second in a six-part career and college readiness series, the activities focus on...

Get your class started down the path to a great career! The first of a six-part series of career and college lessons inspires learners to use their interests to explore career options. The activity also provides resources where...

Why do some people achieve their goals and persevere despite the setbacks they face? This question is the focus of this life skills instructional activity, which includes worksheets, discussion, and collaborative activities on developing...

As pupils consider possible career paths for the future, give them the chance to reflect on their greatest skills, lifelong interests, favorite subject areas and activities, values, deeply rooted beliefs, etc. 

Looking to teach your high schoolers how to write a resume? A strong plan for doing so is detailed here. Class members examine a poorly written example and then create their own original resumes using an organizer and Word template. Once...

The way this information is presented, it could get kids really thinking about the realities of college. First, college is compared to high school in terms of time, homework, rules, and opportunities. Then, the nitty-gritty of how one...

A great way to determine if a career is right for you is to try it out. Learners explore the marketing career cluster by interviewing a person working in the marketing field and by developing a marketing-related service learning project....

One of the most difficult parts of getting a job, is the interview. Learners are each given a card with personal experience and information on it. They respond to an advertisement for a chef position at a Korean restaurant. Each person...

To better understand what it takes to work in the field of training or educating, learners first explore the education career cluster. After they research the cluster, pupils write questions for a guest speaker. This speaker can be from...

Provide future managers with the skills they need to conduct a succesful interview with a potential employee. Establishing an interview schedule, preparing interview questions, tips for conducting an interview, and do's and don'ts are...

Students identify between appropriate and inappropriate behaviors at work. In this work behaviors lesson, students use a dictionary to define the related terms and visit various links to complete activities that define work place...

Give reluctant learners a push down the road to career success using a lesson that includes a powerpoint, booklets, and worksheets. They view the presentation, follow along in the booklet, and discuss why people work. By the end of...

Having a good self-image can be very important to how well a person does later in life. Learners create anagram poems with their names. Each word must describe one's personality, emotions, or attitudes. The class discusses how they see...

I used to hate filling out job applications when I was younger. Make a tedious task painless for your job-minded upper graders. They practice their written communication skills and get ready to search for employment by filling out...

Use psychodynamic theory as a part of analyzing a career cluster.The class defines vocabulary words, brainstorms a list of career traits, and completes an online career analysis inventory. They analyze 5 concepts of psychodynamic...