I’m doing pretty well financially these days. My bank just said my debt is outstanding!

I’ve been hearing my friends in the regular stream of school talk to me about their Careers classes since grade 8. This last unit is what I imagine those classes to be like. 

I’ve been wanting to learn about making resumes, cover letters, budgeting, universities, etc. for a while. Up to the start of the unit I had no idea about where I could go to school in the future, how much it would cost and how much I’d have to save. So these past few months have been a big help.

The first thing we did with this unit was think about what we want to do as a career once we leave highschool. I’ve already had a strong idea of what I want to do post secondary, but I had no idea what kind of programs I’d have to take in university to get there. This brings us into the first assignment, Craft Opportunities. To complete this we had to make a list of the highschool classes we’d have to take to get into university, a realistic path, and an ideal path. This assignment showed me how tough it would be to get into a good school like Western which I’ve been talking about for a while now. It also made me think about how there’s so many options for job paths after I leave university.

After that we stated making resumes, which was something that I was really looking forward to. It was also much more fun than I thought it would be. For this assignment we had to submit two resumes, one with a headshot, and one without. Up until that point I had never seen a resume with a picture on it, unless it was for an actor/actress. But taking the headshots turned out to be very fun. Making the resumes forced me to think about myself in a positive light. Thinking about what I’m good at, thinking about my past achievements and thinking about influential extra curricular that I’ve done helped me think about myself in a ‘good’ way. But I knew the next assignment would be even more fun.

I’ve loved the movie “American Phycho” ever since I watched it for the first time. One scene that stood out to me in the movie was when they were showing eachother their business cards. Since then I’ve been wanting to make my own professional business card, but I didn’t have a reason to. Until now. For this assignment we were to make some different business cards for ourselves. We were also allowed to make some funny ones, so I made one from the perspective of Peter Griffin from Family Guy advertising his DJ business. I did also make some serious ones for myself, but where my occupation would be written, I just put “unemployed, or student”.

Then lastly, the most fun part of this unit, job interview preparations. Ordinarily this would seem pretty boring, but you’re forgetting that this is PLP, so of course we filmed them. Me and my friends had so much fun doing this part of the unit. Especially since we were allowed to make a ‘funny version’ along side our serious one. So me, Max and Declan made a few versions of a job interview if we were in the TV show “The Office”. Making those were by far the most fun part of the project because it helped me bring out my more comedic side with some weird jokes. But we still worse appropriate attire in the videos so it wasn’t all jokes. 

In conclusion, this Careers unit has been a transformative experience for me. From learning about crafting resumes and cover letters to exploring universities and budgeting, I’ve gained valuable skills and knowledge for my future. The assignments, such as creating resumes and business cards, allowed me to reflect on my strengths and aspirations in a positive light. The job interview preparations, with the added fun incorporating humor, brought out my creative side. Overall, these classes have equipped me with the tools and confidence to pursue my future career goals.