Socially-Distanced Professional Development Workshop for Goshen Middle and High School Educators
November 3, 2020- A much needed respite from the demands of the pandemic, educators were able to relax into a creative outlet at a professional development 90 minute on-site workshop. Socially-distanced in the school cafeteria, participants were able to take the EPICS assessment, interpret their results and create a vision board on “Why I do, What I do”. Educators were able to express what they love about being an educator as well as their roles outside of the classroom. Art materials were supplied and those that wanted to share their collages were able to.
Look toward the future of career development
October 14, 2020/ in Features
Once upon a time, it was fairly easy to make a career choice. Anyone could get a job and maybe stay for 20–30 years. Then, retire with benefits and a pension.
Unfortunately, things changed. Much of our 21st century workforce maintains two or three jobs to make ends meet. Benefits are not always guaranteed. But the upsides do exist: remote work, flexible schedules, fortitude to make employment choices that align with personal needs or philanthropy. Access to options like these matter a lot when many workers face challenges related to child care, elder care and physical disabilities.
Read more https://www.acteonline.org/publications/techniques/features/page/4/
March 12, 2020- Come join Karen at ACTE 1 Conference
When you were choosing a career path for yourself, did you consider your six Holland Interest Themes? Did you discover your ideal environment, values, and personality type before choosing your career? Do we afford students the opportunity to do When you were choosing a career path for yourself, did you consider your six Holland Interest Themes? Did you discover your ideal environment, values, and personality type before choosing your career? Do we afford students the opportunity to do those things during their WBL curriculum? During this session, you’ll experience research-based career exploration based on personal intuition, visual processing, and brain science. Through 1-2 hands-on exploration activities, participants will walk away with a deeper insight into their own ideal careers, plus be ready to use the EPICS method for career exploration and WBL in their own schools & districts.
November 10, 2019 Using the EPICS Assessment to Help Clients Find Meaningful Careers: Sorting for Success.
October 11-13, 2019 TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors of the Military)
Young Adult Career Development Program had 8 young adults take the assessment and explore possible career paths and future goals. One topic discussed was the importance of personal and professional values being met in the workplace as being one of the most important aspects when weighing different options in a job offering.
June 24, 2019 EPICS: A New Kind of Career Exploration Professional Development
Professional Development Workshop for DC Public Schools. 27 CTE teachers and administrators were trained on EPICS. Each participant took the assessment, interpreted their results and created a personal vision board on what they would like to accomplish in the next 5 years and where they wanted to be in their career. Everyone received 50 assessments to use with their students along with several activities that were a mix of art-based experiential and worksheets.
April 24-26, 2019 ACTE 1 Region Conference Beaver County Community College Pittsburg, PA
Presentation of Finding Your Career “Happy” Place: EPICS. CTE teachers and administrators attended this 50 minute workshop on EPICS and were able to do the activity “I am One” to discover what their strengths were and what environment they feel most comfortable in.
March 2019, EPICS professional development workshop for 25 Level Up counselors from Connecticut’s Department of Rehabilitation Services (DORS).
½ day Professional Workshop for Level Up counselors. Presentation includes a lecture and an experiential activity yo be used with their consumers in the field.
January 2019 pilot study grade 7 & 8 at Westside Middle School Academy in Danbury, CT
Project Summary
A six-week trial period of the EPICS career development program to use with the WMSA students. This would include the online assessment, the Skill Set web form, and activities such as fillable pdf’s, word searches, mediations and vision board. Included is the Spanish version of the assessment and most activities. If needed, a physical card deck of EPICS will be loaned to WMSA.
Project Vision
EPICS can provide an effortless way to explore career interests for students with limited reading ability or special needs. By eliminating the language barrier, students can directly identify occupational environments and interests without struggling with text-based, traditional assessments.
Activities are right brained and intuitively based which uses visual literacy as a way to engage the consumer. Individuals who grapple text-based assessments, are given the opportunity to watch videos, listen to YouTube videos and create a vision board which can spark the desire to explore career development farther.
3rd Annual Secondary Transition Symposium 2017
Karen Anderson, founder of EPICS: Career Finder, is presenting June 21st at the 3rd Annual Secondary Transition Symposium in Gateway Community College, New Haven, CT. Registration is free!
DOWNLOAD FLYER: 3rd Annual Secondary Transition Symposium.pdf
Participants at the EPICS Workshop can take EPICS for free, keep their results and take part in a right brain activity.
Presenting @ CSCA Conference UNH, CT Mar.16 @8:30am
CSCA @ UNH 3/16/17 Sign up for “Engage Your Students with EPICS: Career Finder” Engaging your students in career development can be challenging. Keeping them engrossed is another story.
Sign up for “Engage Your Students with EPICS: Career Finder”
Engaging your students in career development can be challenging. Keeping them engrossed is another story. Many assessments can lose a student’s interest with too many questions. EPICS is a visual assessment with right-brained strategies. EPICS meets and engages the student at their interest level using an innovative and trend setting approach.
You will have the opportunity to take the assessment, learn how to interpret results, participate in a right-brain activity and more
Use Your Past
Some many of us are fearful of repeating the past. Take time to know yourself, acknowledge your desires, accept your needs and find your passion! What ever you decide to do next, whet your appetite, fire up your enthusiasm and create a meaningful life!
Do You Need a New Vocation or Have You Forgotten What Your Passion Is?
Often I receive inquires about career coaching from individuals that don’t know exactly what to change in their life.
They aren’t unhappy in their current position but can’t help feeling there has to be more to life than what they are receiving.
Usually, it means that there is an aspect of their personality that isn’t being fulfilled. It’s kind of like that itch that you never can quite scratch. So what can one do about it? You can explore different personality and career assessments that might bring up forgotten interests and activities. You might have forgotten about an experience or hobby you had when you were younger that really excited and interested you.
There are numerous strength and interest finder assessments that use the cognitive functions of your brain that help analyze and set goals. Using non-verbal activities that engage and utilize the creative parts of your brain can unlock and bring to the forefront different ideas you might not of thought about.
So what can you do with this new information about yourself? Perhaps you’d like to explore more an interest or idea, possibly take a class, volunteer or earn a certificate. It may be you need to take more time out to distress by finding a new creative and inspiring hobby. Maybe you are bored in your current position and would like to become more specialized by taking classes or a certificate program. You might want to increase your salary and need to complete additional training. Maybe you feel the need to give back and want to find the best possible place to be in service and useful.
One client I worked with was a very successful banker in the New York area. He was extremely good at his specialty and earned a high six figure salary. He couldn’t afford to quit his position but felt his career provided no personal meaning in his life. After several sessions using vision boards, career assessments and guided visualization, he realized he had a passion for dancing. In his youth he had danced in school in several productions. He had forgotten the joy it brought him and those around him. He recognized he was in a unique position due to his salary where he could sponsor a dance group in a local high school. By sponsoring a group, he could fulfill his need for meaning while providing a service to others. Once he organized the group, he realized that he actually did like his work and he had been lacking the personal piece to make it meaningful as well as successful.
Whether you are considering a career change, a second job or transitioning into retirement, working with a career coach can help you find your next perfect vocation.
What Does the Holland Themes Have to do With Career Coaching and Development?
Choosing a career, changing jobs or wanting to advance in your field can be overwhelming.
We question what we are good at, how much do we need to invest of ourselves and if we’ll I like it, fit in and ultimately, will it make us happier.
Many of us know intuitively what interests us, what our likes and dislikes are and what we are attracted to.
The Holland Occupational Themes identify what type of person you are and where you would fit best in. These themes are a cornerstone in career development and exploration. Developed in the 50’s by John Holland, these themes have been validated and used in many different career and personality assessments.
It is believed that these six themes exist in both one’s personality as well as one’s environment and to find meaning in one’s work, and the themes must be congruent. So what does that exactly mean? It means that one needs to be able to express one’s self in a particular way in a determined environment in order to feel good and thrive. If one feels good, one will thrive and the environment will thrive.
Many assessments and institutions use the Holland themes, also known as the RIASEC codes. RIASEC is the acronym for Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising and Conventional. These themes or codes are in describing different occupations and jobs. There are websites, videos and books that talk about each code.
Here are helpful links.