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Self Mirror Activity

Work with your child in getting to know their reflective self and how they can use this in designing future career success.

One of the hardest things to do is to truly understand yourself. You can miss elements of your personality or not consider the skill sets that you possess (we all have imposter syndrome to some extent and can feel we’re weaker than we actually are in many of the things we do).

It’s also difficult to think about jobs we may be good at with a limited understanding of the opportunities available to us, as we only consider those that we know and understand.

To get a full understanding of who you are it’s important to get the views of others. In this activity, your child will need to find a family member, teacher or family friend to interview about who they are. Each interview should take 15-20 minutes and we advise speaking to as many different people as you can (the more feedback the more to explore).

  1. What are my top 5 personal skills? Your child might be surprised at these answers, try and get the individual to elaborate. This can also boost your child’s confidence and get them to think more deeply about their skill sets.
  2. What do you think makes me happy? This doesn’t have to relate to work, but just in general. It might be an activity or doing something specific.
  3. What 3 jobs can you imagine me doing? This question has the potential to introduce new jobs your child has not thought of or is even aware of. Ask for reasons why they think your child would be good at the particular job and how it relates to their skillset.
  4. What 3 jobs can’t you imagine me doing? Although we like to keep questioning positively, this question can highlight some skills that your child may need to develop for a particular role. It will also highlight value matches for particular roles and industries.

Once your child has completed this activity move on to the next section.

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Building Self-Awareness and Reflection with Your Family for Career Success

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FutureLearn - Learning For Life

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