Chapter 1. Develop Your Career Story: Overcoming a Challenge

Introduction

Develop Your Career Story: Overcoming a Challenge
Develop Your Career Story
Overcoming a Challenge
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You must read each slide, and complete any questions on the slide, in sequence.
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Activity Objective:

In this chapter, you learned that college and career success is not just about natural ability—it’s also about your motivation, attitude, and mindset, and showing resilience and grit when times get hard. Now, take your learning a step further to see how you have what it takes to be successful.

Let’s get started! Click the forward and backward arrows to navigate through the slides. You may also click the above outline button to skip to certain slides.

This activity may be saved and completed at a later time. Please note that you cannot change your answers after you submit them.

Research

We all face challenges each and every day, and we all use a wide variety of skills and actions to brainstorm solutions and persevere. Let’s practice describing specific steps you’ve taken to overcome challenges or solve problems at school, at work, or in your personal life.

Recall a time when you overcame a challenge. Maybe you were given a task, or maybe you encountered an obstacle. Think about how you felt, what was at stake, and why you were ultimately successful. Then complete the prompts below. An example is provided.

EXAMPLE: When I was a member of the debate team at City High, I had the challenge of raising $200 so that we could attend a regional tournament.

When you have filled in all of the blanks, the “Submit” button will appear. When you are satisfied with all of your responses, select the “Submit” button to send your responses to your instructor. (Note: You will not be able to change your responses after you select “Submit.”)

When I was [describe position] at [organization/school/employer] , I had the challenge of .

Your Answer

Question 1.1

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Story Builder

Now, to practice demonstrating your growth mindset, resilience, and grit when telling your career story (for example, in a cover letter, in an interview, or on a professional networking site), expand on what you wrote about on the previous slide. Complete the template provided below using specific examples from your own experiences. A sample response is provided.

EXAMPLE: To meet the challenge I described above, I exhibited resourcefulness by developing a campaign to ask local businesses for donations in order to successfully complete the task. This resulted in a successful fund-raising effort—we made our goal of $200, and we placed third in the tournament. Another benefit was that my effort helped strengthen our school’s relationship with the community. When one of my teammates had a birthday, her parents ordered a cake from a bakery that sponsored us.

When you have filled in all of the blanks, the “Submit” button will appear. When you are satisfied with all of your responses, select the “Submit” button to send your responses to your instructor. (Note: You will not be able to change your responses after you select “Submit.”)

To meet the challenge I just described, I exhibited [skill*] by [action**] in order to successfully complete the task. This resulted in [what were the positive benefits?] .

*Skill suggestions:
resourcefulness, resilience, flexibility, communication skills, problem-solving skills, optimism

**Action suggestions:
developing, creating, managing, persuading, collaborating, motivating, presenting, listening

Your Answer

Question 1.2

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Conclusion

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