Free Printable for Teens
Guide your middle school or high school career exploration with this 2-page printable worksheet. It’s a free gift from TruSpark!
Print as many copies as you want for your research about jobs and career clusters.
While this career exploration worksheet was created especially for research on O*NET OnLine, it can be used with any career resource whether it’s a reference book, an interview, or the website of a professional organization.
Get Your Free Career Worksheet
After signing up*, you’ll get an email from info@truspark.me with the link to the free PDF.
*The career printable is a free gift for subscribers. Subscribers will receive offers for TruSpark products and may unsubscribe at any time.
Your Career Exploration PDF in Three Parts
Using a printable notebooking page helps middle and high schoolers direct their career research with more purposeful inquiry than merely skimming job information. The simple act of recording what they find onto a worksheet aids in retention. Here’s what you’ll find on TruSpark’s career exploration freebie:
1. JOB ZONE
Record key facts about the job: tasks and skills, the work context, education needed, earnings, and projected growth.
2. DOES THIS JOB SUIT ME?
Here's where your teen reflects on the job from a personal perspective, ranking the job on a 5-star scale and listing pros & cons.
3. GET READY
This section spurs your teen to start planning: what can be done now to prepare for this career?
O*NET OnLine & My Next Move
The best starting points for career exploration are The Occupational Information Network (O*NET)and My Next Move, both free online resources sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor. After you request your free printable worksheet, the first email you receive will have links to these valuable online guides.
Suggestions for Using the Career Research Worksheet
Since there are so many possible career fields and jobs open to your teens, encourage them to use the worksheet several times as they explore different jobs.
- Plan a 5-day unit study, and research one career each day.
- Give your teen 12 copies and a due date to have them all filled out.
- Print 36 copies, hole punch them, and add them to a Career Exploration Notebook. Then have your teen fill out one per week for a full school year.
Once your teen has a collection of completed career notebooking pages, take time to review them:
- sort them into career clusters or industries
- rank them from most interesting to least appealing
- ask your teen questions about what was most surprising
- rank them by their projected rate of growth and discuss the implications with your teen
FUN CAREER EXPLORATION ACTIVITIES
MORE IDEAS FOR TWEENS & TEENS
While this free O*NET worksheet is a great starting point, it’s not the end! Let your online and written research inspire you to deeper inquiry with these ideas:
- Many factories, industries, and businesses offer community tours. These field trips are ideal ways to peel back the curtain and see firsthand the working environment of various career fields.
- If your teen’s area of interest doesn’t have a formal avenue for tours, try to arrange one for your private group. If you know someone in this field, you’ve already got a leg up on this process.
- Look for online tours on company websites, on YouTube, and on sites of professional organizations.
- Interview adults who work in fields of interest.
- Arrange a career expo for your homeschool co-op by inviting adults from different fields to present short talks and field question and answer sessions.
- Scour local opportunities for internships, summer volunteering, and shadowing. Don’t be afraid to ask even where a formal program is not already in place!
Get Your Free Career Worksheet
After signing up*, you’ll get an email from info@truspark.me with the link to the free PDF.
*The career printable is a free gift for subscribers. Subscribers will receive offers for TruSpark products and may unsubscribe at any time.