| FACILITATOR’S GUIDE

The Career Coach Copyright

© Sharjah Higher Colleges of Technology, 2007

Copyright for The Career Coach exists with the Sharjah HigherColleges of Technology. The Career Coach has beendeveloped for educational, personal and non-commercial use.Special dispensation is made for educational use of The CareerCoach as outlined in SHCT copyright policy guidelines.

The Career Coach Development Team

Content DevelopmentRafeef DahirNawal Majeed

Technical DevelopmentMohammad Hussein

Cover Design and LayoutMarie Abigail Acurantes

English EditingHilton Kolbe

Translation Coordinator and Arabic EditingManar AbdallaSawsan HamoJamal Sirhan

Special ThanksThe Career Coach development team gives special thanks tomany people who contributed to different aspects of theproject. Special thanks go to the following colleagues:

Shurouq Al SuweidiLayla Al KhudairyParween ArifDr. Kay BartoszPrashanth D’silvaGillian JohnstonFadwa LkorchyNajla Al QassimiBarbara RowellMary Zureik

ISBN978-9948-03-538-1

The Career Coach Disclaimer

The Career Coach has been developed for educational,personal and non-commercial use. To access The CareerCoach online, you will be provided with a password. You areresponsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your personalinformation and password. You are strongly advised not toshare your password with others. By choosing to use TheCareer Coach you expressly agree and understand that all theinformation, personal assessments and any related materialpresented in The Career Coach are for educational, self-awareness and career guidance purposes. The program is notintended for diagnostic functions and is not designed to be asubstitute for professional counseling. Sharjah Higher Collegesof Technology disclaim any liability in connection with theadvice, results and recommendations generated from TheCareer Coach. Sharjah Higher Colleges of Technology shallnot be liable for any direct, indirect or any kind of damageswhatsoever resulting from the use of any content presented inThe Career Coach package.

The activities included in The Career Coach are meant to beeducational exercises for self/career exploration and notdiagnostic testing.

THE CAREER COACH CONTENTS

The Career Coach: Project Overview

I. SELF-EXPLORATION

My Personal Information

Who Am I?

Who Am I?: Counselor’s Notes

Steps to conduct workshop

Personal Characteristics

Personal Characteristics: Counselor’s Notes

Steps to conduct workshop

Skills Inventory

Skills Inventory: Counselor’s Notes

Steps to conduct workshop

Skills Card Game

Confidence & Self-Esteem

Confidence & Self-Esteem: Counselor’s Notes

Steps to conduct workshop

Tips to highlight to students

What Are My Values?

What Are My Values?: Counselor’s Notes

Steps to conduct workshop

Learning Styles

Learning Styles: Counselor’s Notes

Steps to conduct workshop

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SELF

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LIFE

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Collage Workshop

Collage Workshop: Counselor’s Notes

Steps to conduct workshop

II. LIFE SKILLS

Goal Setting

Goal Setting: Counselor’s Notes

Steps to conduct workshop

Time Management

Time Management: Counselor’s Notes

Steps to conduct workshop

Communication Skills

Communication Skills: Counselor’s Notes

Steps to conduct workshop

Communication Style

Communication Style: Counselor’s Notes

Steps to conduct workshop

Leadership Skills

Leadership Skills: Counselor’s Notes

Steps to conduct workshop

Teamwork Skills

Teamwork Skills: Counselor’s Notes

Steps to conduct workshop

THE CAREER COACH CONTENTS

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Conflict Resolution

Conflict Resolution: Counselor’s Notes

Steps to conduct workshop

Presentation Skills

Presentation Skills: Counselor’s Notes

Steps to conduct workshop

Assessment Management

Assessment Management: Counselor’s Notes

Steps to conduct workshop

III. JOB SEARCH PROCESS

Overview of Job Search Process

Overview of Job Search Process: Counselor’s Notes

Steps to conduct workshop

My Strengths and Weaknesses

My Strengths and Weaknesses: Counselor’s Notes

Steps to conduct workshop

My Work Values

My Work Values: Counselor’s Notes

Steps to conduct workshop

Job Search Preparation

Interview Techniques

Steps to conduct workshop

THE CAREER COACH CONTENTS

LIFE

SK

ILLS

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THE CAREER COACH CONTENTS

Job Maintenance

Job Maintenance: Counselor’s Notes

Steps to conduct workshop

Career Action Plan

Career Action Plan: Counselor’s Notes

References

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IXSharjah Higher Colleges of Technology

Every academic year approximately 500 new students enroll at Sharjah Higher Colleges of Technology

to pursue their higher education at one of the top colleges in the Arabian Gulf region. The students are

drawn mainly from public schools within the Northern Emirates. Most of them have weak academic and

life skills. Within the first academic year these students are faced with challenges that include making

the transition from high school to college, studying in a foreign language, choosing their study major,

and functioning in a very different cultural and social environment. Under such circumstances, making

the right choices can be an overwhelming experience. To address student needs, the career and

academic advisors teamed up to develop a program that supports and ensures academic diligence and

success.

The Career Coach was developed to provide learning resources that are culturally suitable for the needs

of students in the UAE. Tools and assessments are readily available in the West that may not be

culturally relevant for UAE national students. Once the program was piloted, reviewed and further

adapted it was fully translated into Arabic. The translation of both the textbook and electronic portfolio

is to ensure that students fully understand the learning material and feedback in their native language.

The program was initially developed for students at Sharjah Women’s College. After implementing the

program at SWC, faculty staff at Sharjah Men’s College expressed interest in utilizing the program. To

cater for this need the program was reviewed and adapted for both men and women.

In an attempt to share good practice, the program was made available to other colleges. The following

is a breakdown of the number of students who are using or have used The Career Coach Program:

Overview of The Career Coach program

College Start Date Number of Students

Sharjah Women’s College February 2003 2680

Sharjah Men’s College October 2006 290

Dubai Women’s College September 2005 613

Fujairah Women’s College October 2006 460

Fujairah Men’s College October 2006 90

TOTAL 4133

X Sharjah Higher Colleges of Technology

The bilingual nature of The Career Coach has provided the opportunity to introduce sections of the

program to the community. The UNESCO Chair Program at Sharjah Higher Colleges of Technology, in

partnership with Sharjah Education Zone, has trained social workers to utilize The Career Coach

Program in 12 high schools in the Emirate of Sharjah. Sections of The Career Coach will be integrated

into years 10 and 11 curricula to support personal and academic development of high school students.

The school outreach program started in February 2007 . By introducing the program at a younger age,

students will be at a greater advantage to make educated decisions regarding their future higher

education institutions and career options.

The Career Coach comprises a series of personal and career developmental workshops supported by a

powerful, interactive e-profile tool. The workshops revolve around three main themes: Self-Exploration,

Life Skills and the Job Search Process.

The delivery of the workshops is conducted in a friendly and relaxed environment that encourages

students’ involvement and interaction. Scheduling the workshops for all new students provides

counselors with the opportunity to bond with students and to tackle issues that may be of concern to

them. As students develop each year, they are encouraged to revisit their electronic profile to re-

evaluate their skills and to update their profile as needed.

The Career Coach program’s key objectives:

• Support students in their transition from high school to college.

• Develop decision making skills with particular reference to program choice and work placement.

• Equip students with skills and positive attitude to enter the job market.

• Prepare students to have realistic expectations.

• Give students the confidence and skills to succeed.

• Develop the attributes and behavior of students to meet the challenges of life during and after

college.

• Ensure HCT graduate learning outcomes are met.

XISharjah Higher Colleges of Technology

The Career Coach program resources:

• Student notes.

• Student exercises (hard copies).

• Student activity cards (for some workshops).

• Counselor/facilitator notes (a guide to conduct the workshops).

• Access to the e-profile.

Electronic Profile:

As students advance through the workshops, they discover and reflect upon valuable personal

information that can be utilized at different stages of their academic lives and career choices. To help

students retain this information, an electronic profile was developed so that students can answer

questionnaires related to each subject and gain personalized feedback based on their answers. The

feedback highlights their strengths and encourages the development of action plans to overcome any

weakness they may have discovered. The interactive nature of the e-profile allows each student to gain

individual feedback that can help tailor decisions to their own personal needs and preferences.

Phases of the program:

Phase One – Self-Exploration

In Frank Parson’s 1909 book, Choosing a Vocation, it was proposed that to select an occupation, an

individual needed three sources of information:

1. A clear understanding of yourself, your attitudes, interests, skills, ambitions, wants, needs and

other intrapersonal factors.

2. Knowledge of the world of work: job availability, job skills needed, characteristics of successful

job performance, job descriptors, and the like.

3. The ability to put these two factors together and select a job that was both available and met with

your personal skills and interests.

XII Sharjah Higher Colleges of Technology

Since that time, most inventories have attempted to measure such factors as aptitudes, achievements,

personality, values, and interests, and matched them with various job descriptors. These five areas have

emerged as critical to career counseling and subsequent career choice. What people enjoy doing

(interests), how well they do it (aptitudes and achievement), what aspects of life are important to the

person (values), and their individual traits and characteristics (personality) have become the backbone of

the first element of career choice, that of “knowing yourself”. Included in Phase 1 of The Career Coach

program are questions to help students understand their values, personal style, learning style,

characteristics, and level of self-esteem.

The section on self-exploration in The Career Coach program was designed to provide students with the

opportunity to discover in-depth information about who they truly are. Students will identify their

personal style, characteristics, values, learning style and build their self-esteem. This information is

valuable for the students, especially in first year. It helps them to know themselves and to appreciate the

different styles of others. It is important for students to be capable of working and respecting one

another. Once they identify their own styles, values, etc, they discover their strengths and explore ways

of overcoming weaknesses. The e-profile will help students retain personal information, gain

personalized feedback, and to develop plans to tackle weaknesses. This information is useful to the

counsellors/facilitators as they coach students. It is also important information that students will reflect

upon as they make program choices and career decisions. The information can be used in essays and

interviews and should be updated at different intervals during the students’ academic life.

Phase Two – Life Skills

Phase Two of The Career Coach begins to look at important developmental issues as raised in Donald

Super’s “Life Span” approach to career development, enumerated in his research and writings from

1955 to the 1990s. Late adolescence and young adulthood is the time seen by Super, Ginzberg,

Erikson, and other developmental researchers as the time when an educational commitment to career

choice is made. By the end of secondary schooling, students enter into a realistic phase of decision-

making.

“Career maturity” and its related concepts of identity formation and vocational identity assist students

and career counselors in recognizing the emergence of those earlier interests and values into an

XIIISharjah Higher Colleges of Technology

accurate assessment of the person’s work-related skills and abilities. Academic choices and successes,

work-related skills, leadership skills, organizational ability, and other life experience skills are now seen

as realistic areas of strengths and weaknesses. Career choices can be more finely honed to make the

most of these life skills.

The section on life skills in The Career Coach program was designed to help students bridge the

deficiency of skills between the school system and higher education. This information is crucial to

students when they begin their higher education journey in order to equip them with the tools needed

to succeed academically and personally. Life skills begin with transforming dreams into goals and

working towards achieving them. Students will receive the opportunity to self assess their

communication, time management, leadership and presentation skills. As with the self-exploration

phase, students will be utilizing their e-profile to retain information that highlights strengths and

identifies weaknesses. This information is of direct relevance to the students’ personal and academic

performance.

Phase Three – Job Search Process

The job search process is based on the theories introduced in the self-exploration and life skill phases.

This final phase of the program is designed to reflect upon personal information collated in the first two

phases of The Career Coach Program. The information is utilized to support students in their final year

of studies as they begin to prepare for their future career. Students attend a final series of workshops to

help them develop a course of action to achieve their career goals. Areas have been created for students

to upload CVs, enter their achievements and indicate their readiness to enter the job market.

Students learn how to creatively look for job opportunities, prepare for interviews and establish a career

action plan.

Conclusion

Students who complete The Career Coach Program have come full circle in the career exploration

cycle. By completing the program, they are well aware of their personal styles and are well equipped

XIV Sharjah Higher Colleges of Technology

with life skills and the techniques needed to rigorously enter the job market upon graduation.

Not only does the e-profile benefit students, it is also an excellent tool that can be utilized by the

counsellors when students come for individual guidance sessions. The e-profile allows counsellors to

have in-depth information about every student in the program.

Although it is difficult to separate all the factors that contribute to student success, those students who

have completed the program have reported in focus groups that the program helped them settle into

college life, build effective personal skills and set a course of action for future careers.

Rafeef Dahir

Nawal Majid