Professional Identity Vs. Career Goals

A lot of my values align very well with my career goals. Further down the line I would like to be in a counseling position. Here is how the following values match my ideal career:

Relationships- Since I will be working on the improvement of intervention methods, I will need to be able to talk and communicate with others about things that may be hard to talk about. To be able to have people open up to me about different topics they may struggle with, they have to be comfortable with me first. Building some sort of personal, yet professional relationship with clients will help me learn how to better help them.

Recognition and Achievement- Everyone wants to receive recognition. Being known about my work is important so that I can help other people make improvements in their lives. This will help build my credibility in the workforce.

Support- Having the support of others in my career is important. Whenever I have questions, or need help making a decision as to what methods to use I can confide in someone to get their input on the situation.

Independence- In my profession, I will be working one-on-one with people during therapy sessions. The ability to hold conversations by myself is something I will need to be able to do.

Working Conditions- Work conditions can include having the support of  my managers, a healthy client load, and  working in a safe area of town. Having a stable working environment is important, so that I feel comfortable in my workspace to be able to efficiently help my clients.If I don't feel comfortable in my workspace I wont be able to do this.

How has what I have learned about your professional identity informed my future career? 

Through my work at Hawthorne I have learned more about the type of work conditions that would be ideal for myself. I have found that working in a classroom with children of various age groups does not work well for me. They can be a lot to handle at times, and I find that the older children are easier to direct. If I were to work with children in an academic setting I would only work with 1 older age group at a time in a quiet reading setting. This way I can better focus my attention on one person at a time without frequent interruptions.

• How do the values discovered through the professional identity assessment align with what I desire to do as a career?

My values align well with my professional identity I would like to develop more. I want to work as a therapist, or in intervention work in general. Characteristics such as relationships , achievement, and support all play a big role in determining my success as in my career.

• How has my professional identity impacted my next steps?

In growing my professional identity I have been testing out what works and doesn't work for me. I have done this by testing out different networking events on campus to try to gain experience in positions that beneift me. For example, I attended the career fairs throughout the semester and was able to find health centers have opportunites for grad students. I could start working in one of the offices, and work my way up gradually as I continue schooling.

My Values Vs. My Internship

My top ranked value was relationships. This is important to me because relationships play a big part in my role at Hawthorne. I have developed relationships with the children by talking them about things such as their school life, family, or fun things they like to do. I have to be able to connect with the children to be able to facilitate conversations. Without developing  these relationships I wouldn't be able to conduct different activities with them.

Challenges

Maintaining professionalism and assertiveness can be hard sometimes because I feel like I am being mean when in reality I am just acting as the authority figure in the classroom. I want the kids to like me without being seen as the "mean" teacher. I am still trying to find that happy medium where I can have fun with them without them feeling as if they don't have to listen to me or follow rules, because I am the friendly teacher. 

Connecting Academics to Work

Relevant courses I have taken include :

• Ethics and Diversity- Highlighted dos and donts in regard to professional conduct and self regulation.

  • This can be applied to my internship when I am working with the kids and refrain from using terminology I might use with my friends.

• Africana studies- has helped me learn about poverty within the black community and how it has affected Indy. 

  • I provide emotional support to children who may be experiencing hardship, by having an ideal of what they are going through

My main course I am currently taking is Lifespan development

This class has helped me learn about the different thought processes of developing adolescents

• • Taking Lifespan development has helped me learn about the different thought processes and age appropriate behaviors of adolescents. With this knowledge I have been able to adjust some of the language I use in activities to better suit the children so that they understand what I am asking of them. 

  • While working with the children, I continuously remind myself that we have different logic levels and problem solving skills. I have found that things that may be easy for me to do, (like tying knots) may not be easy for them. Some of their fine motor skills simply aren't as developed, and I have to walk them through step-by-step how to do things. Having to give extra explanations about things has tremendously increased my patience levels when talking to them. Having this skill will help me in the future when I am working through difficult situations people may try to explain to them. I will have the ability to actively listen.

How has the connection between my coursework and internship impacted my future endeavors ?

My internship has helped me reinforce my knowledge I have about children and their thought processes to help me get a better Idea of what kind of age group I would like to work with in my professional career.  The connection also showed me just how important it is to be exposed to different careers to be able to determine whether or not it is something you would like to consider.