Career Planning Assignment Kristen Wilson Wilmington University

Career Planning Assignment
Kristen Wilson
Wilmington University
Personal and Professional Experiences

Throughout my life, I have had many different experiences that have led me to human
services I just didnt always know that this is where my path was taking me. I changed my
major seven times during my Associates degree that took my six years to obtain. Fresh out of
high school, I had no idea what I wanted to do. From Communications to Business to Music to
Education and even applying to Cosmetology School, I could not find my path. During this
time, I was working customer services jobs. I was very stressed and knew that this was not the
path for me. When I was 19, I started working in a chain restaurant. This started a long 8 years
of various bars and restaurants making more money than I knew what to do with and not truly
thinking about my future plans.
Three years later I began working at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility. My mother
had always talked about going back to school for this kind of work after losing my first
stepfather to alcoholism. I took it upon myself to follow her dream. Unfortunately, it was a very
unhealthy work environment and I was only there for four months. It was just enough to spark
my passion for working in trauma. Most of the residents that came in had experienced some sort
of trauma (car accidents, death of a child, sexual abuse) and were not having these issues
addressed due to the program model being followed. I began researching programs at the
community college I had been attending on and off, finally settling on Liberal Arts with a
concentration in Social Sciences. It was the closest I could get to psychology and I registered for
that fall. I only needed a few classes and I was able to graduate in spring 2012 before going to
Temple University as a Psychology major.
While an ungraduated student, I had the opportunity to complete internships. My first
one was within a middle school providing mental health and academic counseling. The second
internship I held was with my current employer, The Center for Family Services Services
Empowering Rights of Victims (SERV) program. We are the New Jersey state-designated rape
crisis center for Camden, Gloucester, and Cumberland Counties and the state-designated
domestic violence service provider for Gloucester and Cumberland Counties. Much of my
internship was my certification training to be a Domestic Violence Response Team member and
Confidential Sexual Violence Advocate. I also observed workshops, individual sessions, and
hotlines. At the end of my internship, I was offered a job and I enthusiastically took it!
My first three months were as a Residential Advocate. I answered hotlines, scheduling
appointments, and providing crisis intervention over the phone. During this time, I was also still
serving and bartending while going to class. Needless to say, I was busy. After my first three
months, I was offered a position as a Sexual Violence Prevention Specialist. This allowed me to
go into the community and present on our services and implement a Media Literacy curriculum
designed to teach proactive media consumerism in an effort to prevent gender-based violence. I
loved it and knew this was where I was supposed to be. Upon graduation in 2014, I thought I
was going to graduate school to be a Psychologist. After establishing a connection in my
community and a place within my agency, I felt myself pulling away from clinical work and
towards administration and community partnership.
I took that fall semester off and during that time, a coworker mentioned Wilmington
University to me. I researched this program and knew it was the right one! I applied and was
accepted and have been loving every step of this graduate experience. My current internship is
with the government agency that oversees human services for the entire county. I am learning
about how legislation and policy affects county residents and am looking forward to moving my
career in this direction.
Strengthsfinder 2.0 Report

My top 5 themes are Relator, Strategic, Input, Achiever, and Responsibility. I was
surprised about some of the descriptions, as I had never really thought about my strengths in this
way. In regards to Regulator, the first thing it states is about being a trainer or coach. This is
absolutely true in every job I have ever been in, I have been designated a trainer. I have always
looked at the big picture and found value in helping people improve themselves. Another
statement describes how I seek opportunities to make things easier to comprehend. The further I
get into my education and career, I have found this to be true. Policies and procedures tend to be
verbose and unclear and I pride myself in consolidating ideas and data for those I work with
and/or train.
Under Strategic, the first thing it states is that I occasionally opt to work alone and this is
completely accurate. I never viewed this as a strength before always a burden of being a
perfectionist. As the description goes on, I do need time alone to think and work. This often
comes off as being unsocial, even in my personal life. More insights detail how I have a knack
for identifying problems and generating alternatives for solving them. Again, this is true. When
faced with conflict, I am not one to jump right in and work. I am the person who takes a step
back to assess the situation and devise a plan before taking action.
I found Input interesting. The description is accurate in detailing how I can soothe others.
I can remember this skill all the way back in elementary school as a peer mediator! I have
always been fascinated with the world and love to read mostly non-fiction, but I am also
notorious for reading research articles and journals. I love to learn and expand my worldview.
This ties into my Relator theme as I enjoy to share my knowledge with my family, peers, and
coworkers as well as tying into the next theme, Achiever.
I have to admit that I was flattered with ranking as an Achiever. I have always had a
strong work ethic and determination to get the job done. I am strict with deadlines and
research and pride myself on doing the best job I can. This also comes off as being a
perfectionist and I can sometimes get in my own way. As the description states, I always like to
know what I am getting myself into and I take the time to gather information to quell my own
anxiety and fear of the unknown. Being well-informed also helps performance in getting the job
done.
The last theme is Responsibility and is the one that stood out to me the most. Even in my
personal life, I have always been the mature friend or the mom. This is something that has
evolved in my professional life as well. When I am given a task or project, I do what it takes to
get the job done. My word is very valuable and I strive to be ethical in all situations not
because it is what I am supposed to do, but because I truly believe in ethics. Also stated in the
description, I am always taking on new tasks and projects at work. I find great satisfaction in
working hard.
MAPP Assessment
Under Interest in Job Content, it mentions is that my perception is holistic. This is a very
accurate statement I like to think about the big picture. Temperament for the Job describes me
as someone who voluntarily gives myself to help others, sometimes in spite of myself. I find this
to be true, as I often go above and beyond to take care of my family, friends, and work before
myself. I have to consciously think about and practice self-care.
Aptitude for the Job describes me as someone seeking a deeper understanding of ideas so
that I can effectively communicate them. I am always researching something, even when it is
only to ensure accuracy in a comment on social media! People goes on to discuss how I relate to
others. Importance in communication seems to be a theme in my assessments and it is
mentioned here too. Whatever things I have researched and learned, I take pride in sharing it.
Not because I am a narcissist, but because I genuinely like to share information to help people.
This trait is definitely a strength in my current job as much of my time is spent working with
clients providing referrals and resources that are beneficial. I was surprised with what Things
said about how I relate to them. It says that I am moderately interested in participating in manual
or basic labor activities, such as crafting or outdoor exposure. I have zero interest in these
actually!
I found the Data section quite accurate. It makes an anecdote about using a copy
machine, describing that it is much more than just laying a paper down and pressing a button.
The traits listed are: 1) awareness of spatial measure and layout: size, shape, dimension,
perspective; 2) artistic ability for factual image reproduction; 3) attention to detail; 4) awareness
of machine function and use; and 5) tolerance of or preference for routine. The Reasoning
section goes on to mention again my big picture thinking and suggests that I prefer being an
executive over a manager and a manager rather than a supervisor. I find this accurate.
Mathematical Capacity describes being motivated to apply math at management levels. I
suppose if it is regards to data and statistics, sure, but I typically avoid math at all costs. The
final section is Language Capacity. It fittingly ties in other parts of the assessment, detailing my
motivation to explain and inform other people.
United States Bureau of Labor Statistics

The field that I chose to look at is Health Educator under Community and Social Service
Occupations. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics describes Health Educators as
individuals who provide and manage health programs to help individuals, families and
communities. They will identify community needs and collect data while implementing
programs. Health Educators may also serve as a resource to individuals, other professionals, or
the community.
I chose this career because so much of both assessments emphasized my strength in
seeking knowledge and sharing it for the greater good of others. I have some experience in this
field already from having worked as a Sexual Violence Prevention Specialist and I absolutely
loved being in the community and imparting my knowledge and sharing research. When the
MAPP assessment described my relationship with Data, I immediately thought of how
meticulous I am with collecting data and analyzing it for program use. I create spreadsheets for
everything and keep detailed notes of what I have collected. Another strength that was
highlighted is my holistic view in my work. This is absolutely necessary as a Health Educator.
While it may seem counterproductive to collect and analyze data all day instead of doing more
community outreach, understanding and evaluating the program and community needs is
imperative to an effective program.
The mean hourly wage for Health Educators is $26.57 an hour, with a mean annual wage
of $55,260. Most of these jobs are found in hospitals with the second most found in local
government. The lowest hourly mean wage is found in Individual and Family Services at
$19.82. I was surprised that it was actually that high, considering what my salary was when I
was an educator. The highest hourly mean wage was found in the Federal Government at
$46.22, which did not surprise me. California has the most Health Educators while New Jersey
has the fewest in the country. This is disappointing to me, considering that I have no plans on
relocating out of state, but New Jersey is in the highest ranking for salaries.
References
United States Bureau of Labor (2014). Occupational Employment Statistics. Retrieved from
http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes211091.htm#ind

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Career Planning Assignment

Personal and Professional Experiences

Strengthsfinder 2.0 Report

United States Bureau of Labor Statistics

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