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SL – Career focused reflection prompts

Service-Learning experiences can positively impact students’ career outlook, skill development, and professional networking, especially if students reflect on potential career connections.

Below are a series of career-related reflections to use in your class. These reflections could stand-alone, but they are most effective if used sequentially as they are associated with a specific time of the semester. Ideally these will help our students become career and community ready. 

(Thanks to Career Services for collaborating on these questions.)

WEEK 1-2

Research your context: Learn more about your organization or company. What’s their mission statement? How is the organization structured? Do they have a specific population that they focus on? What about their work relates to your interests? Write a brief overview.

WEEK 4-6

Identify specific skills: Now that you have a sense of your SL project, it’s time to think about the specific skills that are required. What skills are you bringing to this experience, and what skills do you want to develop? Make a list of specific skills and then identify opportunities for skill development. For example, if you want to develop your written communication skills, how will you go about doing that through your Service-Learning project?  Use this link to learn about career readiness competencies identified by employers: https://www.boisestate.edu/career/career-readiness-competencies/

WEEK 7-9

Build your networks: Now that you are half-way through the semester, pause and think about who you are meeting through your Service-Learning experience. Who do you want to keep in touch with, and who would you like to meet before the semester ends? Make a plan for connecting with and staying connected with people.

WEEK 10-12

Reflect on a problem or tension: Think about your experience so far and identify a problem or obstacle that you encountered. What did you do? How did it turn out? What did you observe about your strengths as well as potential areas for improvement? Think about what might you do differently in the future in a similar situation.

WEEK 13-14

Define your skills: Now that your experience is coming to an end, name three specific skills that you have developed or strengthened through your Service-Learning project. Identify the skill and then provide a detailed description. For example, if you enhanced your “critical thinking” skills be sure to provide a specific definition and then point to examples.  How could you add these skills to your resume? The best way is to give specific examples of how you used these skills and, if possible, any results that you achieved. Ex: Developed and managed social media sites for XYZ nonprofit, building followers to 330+ on Facebook and 200+ on Twitter in a span of 3 months

WEEK 15-16

Tell your story: It’s important to have stories that you can share about your experiences with potential employers or graduate schools. Take time to identify moments where you learned something new or grew in an area that is not comfortable to you. Reflect on your entire Service-Learning experience. Identify one specific moment that feels important and tell the story. For example, did you have a breakthrough moment where you could do or understand something in a new way? Did you make a connection with a person that was difficult to connect with? Did you recover from what felt like a failure? Write down the story of what happened–bring the moment to life, so you can recall it later during an interview. In addition to writing your story, share it with people and get their feedback.

WEEK 16

Plan for next steps: Look back at all of your reflections this semester and create a plan for next steps. What skills do you want to continue to develop and how will you go about developing them (e.g., enroll in a course or workshop; schedule an appointment with a Career Counselor for advice)? If you are interested in continuing community-based work, where will you look for opportunities and who will you talk to? How will you continue to expand your professional network? Remember to be specific when making your plans. Suggestion: Consider including a timeline with your plan.

Some common next steps might include:

The Career Center can help you with these next steps. You can schedule an appointment at https://www.boisestate.edu/career/appointments/.

If you want to continue making a difference, consider these next steps: