The classrooms where students spend five days a week now shouldn’t be disconnected from the workplaces they’ll frequent later.
Numerous studies demonstrate that when students understand the relevancy of everyday curriculum, they engage. Students invest in their learning and work to excel academically when they understand why doing so matters to them personally.
But how can educators make it personal? At Pathway2Careers, we believe the answer lies within career-connected learning — an education model that introduces students to jobs and career paths through interactive programs and partnerships with local communities, industries, and professionals.
It might sound intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be.
Meet Wendy Mercer. As a Career Advising Post-Secondary Access Coordinator for Hardeman County Schools (a rural district in Western Tennessee), Wendy makes career-connected learning an everyday reality.
Here, she reveals how. Read on for actionable tips and insights that teachers, career counselors, CTE administrators, and other educational partners can start leveraging today.
Five Ways to Make Career-Connected Learning a Reality
1. Bring careers to life with guest speakers.
Many students have a broad sense of what certain careers involve, but they don’t understand the everyday challenges, expected skills, or academic requirements. TV shows, movies, and other media often give students a glamorized view of popular jobs, which ultimately don’t match students’ interests, ambitions, or talents.
“That’s when having a guest speaker really helps,” Wendy says. “They give students a behind-the-scenes look at the jobshare what it’s truly like and touch on skills you need to succeed in that role. Because students might know some highlights, but they don’t understand what it’s actually like in the role day to day.”
Although video interviews or career stories can have a huge impact in showcasing career possibilities, Wendy believes inviting professionals to speak live (in person or virtually) has an added benefit. “Live speakers allow students to ask questions,” she says. “They can have a conversation, ask about the things that matter to them most. Having a speaker right in front of them prompts students to reflect and look deeply into what they want to do.”
Wendy also asks speakers to share what qualities they look for in employees, which can help students better appreciate the skills or lessons they learn in class.
2. Play matchmaker and leverage your network.
Rather than make assumptions about students’ career aspirations, Wendy asks them what roles and industries they’d like to learn more about. She also reviews results from interest surveys and assessments, then matches students up with career clusters.
Recently, she discovered that many of her students are interested in entrepreneurship. That led Wendy to consider entrepreneurs in her network. One such person is her hair stylist, who’s also a realtor and personal fitness trainer.
“She told them that because she owns a hair salon, she can set her own hours, which allows her to have multiple careers. The flexibility of being an entrepreneur allows you to do other things,” Wendy says. “Students are very interested in that; they want to do more than one thing. And she showed them how that’s possible.”
Wendy isn’t shy about pulling from her personal and professional contacts to find guest speakers. Networking within her local Chamber of Commerce, leadership organizations, and community volunteer groups has proven invaluable for expanding her contact list and building relationships with professionals in industries that she might not meet otherwise. Most people are happy to participate; they’re delighted to illuminate their career experiences, perspectives, and pathways for the next generation.
3. Encourage transparency.
Speakers don’t need to be flawless, nor do their journeys need to be trouble-free. Hearing about a speaker’s weaknesses and setbacks can help students better relate to and learn from them.
“All of the speakers I’ve invited have been very transparent about the challenges they faced in building their careers or businesses,” Wendy says. “This is so important for students to hear. They need to be prepared to persevere through tough times to accomplish their goals.”
She’s had speakers talk about initially aiming for a specific career solely because of family expectations. Others shared that they didn’t care about math or science classes, or that they rejected a career idea due to a misconception.
One speaker revealed that she had poor grades throughout most of high school. Without a career path in mind, she felt unmotivated. That changed during her senior year, when a career counselor helped her discover a path that excited her. Finally, she saw the relevance of her classes; she understood that increasing her GPA would allow her to access the post-secondary training she’d need to become an entrepreneur.
Wendy says that this story compelled several students to seek guidance from career counselors and participate in other career exploration activities. The speaker’s story illustrated that what students learn and do now can directly influence their lives — including their financial prospects, lifestyles, and emotional well-being — later.
Many guests also emphasized that it’s perfectly ok to change course. Although focusing on a specific career goal can provide valuable motivation, students should also stay open to exploring new paths as they gain insights about themselves and the world around them.
“I invited a successful bakery owner to speak to our culinary students,” says Wendy. “He shared that he originally wanted to be a trauma surgeon. However, he ended up leaning into his natural gift for baking and decorating and changed his career path. He told students to pay attention to their natural talents and encouraged them to take advantage of every opportunity to learn something new, especially in high school.”
4. Follow up with students.
After a speaker leaves the classroom, Wendy and the class’s teacher engage students in reflective discussions. She invites students to share their gut reactions, favorite insights, or stories that surprised them.
She also passes out blank thank-you cards. But before students fill them out, they discuss the importance of such cards.
“We talk about how, when you start to apply for jobs, writing a thank-you note can help you stand out,” Wendy says. “Our speakers have been so moved by what students have written.”
Plus, the notes don’t just benefit the speakers. What students reveal provides Wendy with key insights.
“It becomes an assessment piece,” she says. “I’ll learn what part of a speaker’s story stood out to them, what’s sticking. Many times, I’ll discover that a story deeply resonated with a student whom I didn’t expect to care, maybe it didn’t seem like they were paying attention. With one young man, the teacher told me that she’d never seen him write that much. It was really exciting to see how much it energized him. For us to have something tangible — a note — that tells us it really resonated. It gives us things we can follow up on with the student.”
5. Get creative when engaging students in career conversations.
“A lot of students don’t know what they want to do,” Wendy says. “They don’t have an answer for ‘what career do you see yourself having?’.”
One question Wendy likes asking instead is, “What annoys you?” It can help her eliminate roles and pathways while showcasing the societal, technical, or logistical problems a student may enjoy solving. A student who despises traffic may enjoy learning about urban planning techniques. A picky eater may love hearing about culinary arts pathways, with an eye toward becoming a specialty baker or restaurant owner.
Another go-to question for Wendy is “What do people often ask you to do?” A student known for fixing their friends’ cell phones may have a future in information technology. Someone with a keen eye for reviewing their classmates’ essays or book reviews might be a budding author, teacher, or journalist.
————————
Dr. Christy Smith, the superintendent of Hardeman County Schools, has a philosophy that guides Wendy’s everyday work: Children cannot be what they cannot see. By inviting guest speakers to share their career paths and perspectives, students can discern a vision for their own futures.
It’s one powerful, actionable way for educators to bring career-connected to life, thereby increasing classroom engagement and driving student success.
For additional challenges, strategies, and results related to career-connected learning, download our free infographic:
