Career Conversations

• Do you plan on going to college? If so, what goals do you need to accomplish in order to get there?

• What type of lifestyle do you want to live when you are older? 

• Where do you want to live when you are older? Can you imagine living in another state/country? Do you want to live close to family or friends?

• Do you want to work set hours or flexible hours? Do you want to be in an office or prefer something more active?

• What is an accomplishment or accomplishments you would like to achieve in the next few years?

• What is something about yourself that you hope will NOT change in the future?

• What do you want to do when you’re not at work (e.g. be near a beach, go out to restaurants, play basketball, etc.)?

Skills are an important part of achieving success in your chosen career path. Everybody has unique skills and there are things you can do better than others. Some skills we practice and improve, and others come more naturally. By working together as a match to discuss and discover new skills, you are creating a two-way street of questions and information! For protégés and mentors alike, knowing what skills are important in a career field of interest and what skills you have, or want to develop, can help you in reaching your career goals.

Conversation Starters: 

These conversation starters aim to encourage self-reflection, exploration, and a deeper understanding of personal strengths and interests. Feel free to adapt these prompts to suit the protégé-mentor dynamic and to encourage a comfortable and engaging conversation.

What is one thing you are really good at?

Where did you learn how to do this?

What skills do you think would be important for the workplace?

What skills would you need to do your dream job?

What is one thing you want to learn how to do?

How do you think you can learn this skill? 

Videos: 

Hard and Soft Skills - 1:52

What's a Skill? - 2:17

Tools and Resources: 

120 Essential Skills to List on a Resume | Indeed.com: Use this resource to gain a better understanding of the types of skills employers are looking for. Make note of skills you want to learn more about. 

Career Exploration Quiz: Take this assessment to find what professions you are suited towards. Use the results of this quiz to discuss types of skills to focus on to help achieve future career goals.

Mind Tools: Explore this website to find a variety of different personal development, business, and leadership skills. The site has a variety of articles helpful for developing and refining skills in a variety of interpersonal areas. 

Activity Ideas: 

These activities aim to promote the development of understanding skills. By working with your match to complete one or all of the activities, you are exploring personal strengths and weaknesses and gaining a better understanding of the skills you have to bring to the table in different situations.

ABC's of Skills Worksheet - Public: Use this worksheet to put your knowledge of different skills to the test. Are you ready to Analyze what possible skills are? We promise it will leave you feeling more Zen about taking on school and your future career!

My Skills Worksheet - Public: Now that you have an idea of some different skills, which ones do you think you have? Use this worksheet to brainstorm ideas of how to put them to use! 

Job Interview Simulation: Run through a job interview with your match using your new knowledge of skills! Pick a specific career to tailor the questions and answers around. At the end of the interview, have a check-in to answer any questions about skills needed for specific careers. 

Potential Interview Questions: 

• Tell me about yourself?

• What are your top three skills in the workplace?

• How do you handle teamwork?

• How do you keep organized?

• What is one thing you think would be important to know how to do well for the position of _____________? 

Museum Scavenger Hunt: Work with your match to choose a museum relevant to career aspirations. For example, if the match is interested in STEM, check out the National Air and Space Smithsonian Museum. At the museum, walk around different exhibits to learn more about historical figures, inventions, and skills related to different fields. After the visit, hold a conversation about how what was learned at the museum can be applied to career exploration. 

When considering potential career paths, it is important to understand personal interests, abilities, and skills. Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses. Having a strong understanding of them makes it easier to think about potential careers and highlight areas of growth. For protégés and mentors alike, it is important to recognize the things you are good at so you can move confidently in school or the workplace. In the future, knowing your strengths will allow you to share them with employers during an interview or with a team at work.

Conversation Starters: 

Remember, strengths are not fixed! Even if there is something you are not good at now, there are plenty of ways to grow and develop that strength. These conversation starters aim to encourage self-reflection, exploration, and a deeper understanding of personal strengths and interests. Feel free to adapt these prompts to suit the protégé-mentor dynamic and to encourage a comfortable and engaging conversation.

Think about a time you did something that made you feel proud. 

What strengths did you use to accomplish that success? 

Are there any subjects or tasks you are particularly good at? 

How can you incorporate these into everyday life?

Name two or three skills or talents that you think you have but have not explored yet. 

How would trying these skills add to your toolkit of personal strengths? 

Videos: 

Identifying Your Strengths - 1:08

How To Find Your Passion - 11 Abilities - 9:11

Tools and Resources: 

MBTI - 16 Personalities Test: A popular way to explore personal strengths is by taking the Myers- Briggs Type Indicator assessment. After taking the linked test, you will get one of 16 personality types that can give you insight into your personality, how you interact with others, and potential career options. 

Myers & Briggs Personality Typing, Explained: Use this resource to understand the results of your MBTI assessment. You can go through different categories that explain your personality type in terms of careers, relationships, and emotional wellness.

Career Exploration and Conversations - Mentoring Road Map: Use our Mentoring Road Map for additional information and support about assessing personal strengths!

Activity Ideas: 

These activities aim to promote the development of understanding personal strengths and how they translate into career opportunities and personal successes. By working with your match to complete one or all of these activities, you are giving power to your strengths by identifying them and harnessing them in a way that pushes you toward goal-setting within your professional and personal comfort zones. 

Getting to Know Myself - Public: Use this worksheet to brainstorm what some of your personal strengths are. By celebrating wins and targeting areas of growth, you can set better goals for future career and personal aspirations. 

Real World Trait Matching: Work with your match to identify strengths from the worksheet into the context of specific real-world scenarios or examples. For example, if someone identified “thankful” as a strength, ask them to recall a time where they displayed thankfulness. This exercise helps build an understanding of how traits translate into actions and behaviors.

Strength for the Community: Identify one or two community service opportunities that align with the protégé’s strengths. Whether making or attending a community service event, this is a great opportunity to give back and have real world application of newly discovered strengths. At the end of the activity, have a discussion with your match about how strengths played a role in ensuring the success of the event. Check out our Events page and monthly email for volunteer opportunities to do with your match! 

Strengths Visual Representation: Work as a match to create visual representations (drawing, collage, etc.) of identified strengths. In your pieces, use images, words, and symbols that represent the qualities. After you have each created a visual representation, come together to discuss your creation! Explain why and how each element represents a specific trait and share if there was anything surprising in each other’s works.