1. Web Search Exercise :

• List 10 gerontology organizations you are interested in or would like to work at (10 points)
• Of the 10 organizations you listed, select 5 and answer the following 5 questions for each organization (10 points, 5 organizations max)

1. What are the organization’s vision and mission statements? List both
2. What are their main services and programs offered? List 3-5
3. Who are their top staff members or management? List 3-5.
4. What are the key qualities or aspirations of this org? These will be terms that they use frequently to highlight how they are different from their competitors (e.g., client-centered, purposeful, redefined/reimagine). List 5-10 key words or phrases.
5. Do they have a job board or list available positions? If so what is the URL link? If not and you wanted to apply for a job there, who might you contact? Provide URL or contact name and position.

2. Reference List Exercise

• Gather the contact information of 10 individuals you would like to use as references – these ideally would be previous supervisors who can comment on your working ability and your strengths and weaknesses in a professional setting, but they can also be professors who can comment on your academic performance and work ethic, or community connections who can comment on the quality of your character and your ability to work with others.
• Share the positions and organizations of these 10 references you would use when you apply for your first position (10 points)
• Draft and share the message you are sending to your references to request that they serve as your reference (10 points)
• Confirm that you sent out the messages (10 points)
• Share 2 lessons you learned when creating or contacting your references in 50+ words (10 points)

3.Gerontology Job Boards Exercise: Below are different job boards and resource centers specifically for those seeking a position in aging services:

• American Society on Aging (ASA) Career Advantage (careers.asaging.org) – There is a job search option and a company directory. There is also a Job Search Resource Center: “Everything you need to make your resume stand out, ace the interview, advance your career, and navigate the digital world through social media and digital communication.” Layout appears similar to CALA.
• Gerontological Society of America (GSA) AgeWork (agework.geron.org/jobs) – There is a job search option and a company directory. Layout appears similar to ASA and CALA but without the Resource Center.
• National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a.org/jobs_search.asp) – “This employment resource is an invaluable tool for members seeking professional development opportunities.” Contains jobs “that would be of interest to professionals in the fields of aging, disability, long-term services and supports, social services and/or health care.”
• LeadingAge (careers.leadingage.org) – “Aging Services offers wide range of job opportunities that fit a variety of backgrounds, such as culinary, dining, retail hospitality, maintenance, transportation, IT services/support, and more.” LeadingAge can support finding temporary or long-term jobs throughout the Aging Services field. “Non-members and guests may still access the benefits of the Career Center. Although you do not have all the benefits that members get, you can still view jobs, post a resume, create job alerts, and more from inside your job seeker account.”
• California Assisted Living Association (CALA, careers.caassistedliving.org) – “The California Assisted Living Association (CALA) is the only association solely representing the state’s Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly, which encompass Assisted Living, Memory Care, and Continuing Care Retirement Communities.” There is a job search option and a company directory. There is also a Job Search Resource Center: “Everything you need to make your resume stand out, ace the interview, advance your career, and navigate the digital world through social media and digital communication.” Layout appears similar to ASA.
• State of California, Department of Aging (aging.ca.gov/Careers_with_CDA) – “The California Department of Aging is dedicated to promoting the independence and well-being of older adults, adults with disabilities, and families through access to information and services to improve the quality of their lives; opportunities for community involvement; and support for family members providing care. The Department has approximately 160 employees and offers a number of career choices at its headquarters in Sacramento. CDA is committed to recruiting, developing, and retaining a diverse, qualified staff committed to the Department’s mission. This website can assist you in learning more about becoming a member of our team.”
• Argentum Senior Living (seniorlivingcareers.argentum.org) – “Argentum is the leading national trade association serving companies that own, operate, and support professionally managed senior living communities in the United States.” There is a job search option. The Career Center has a career learning center and paid services including reference checking, resume writing, and career coaching.

For this exercise, explore the job boards above and start to look for positions you might apply to in the future. If these job boards don’t seem to have positions that suit you, take some time to see if you can find job boards that are more aligned with your interests.

• In 50+ words, describe your process of looking for positions of interest (e.g., keywords used, sections looked for in a position description, inclusion/exclusion criteria)(10 points)
• In 50+ words, share which of these job boards you found easy to navigate, any preferences you developed, or features you appreciated (10 points)
• In 50+ words, share if there were resources or services you came across that you would use in the future. If you were unable to find any, describe a resource or service that you would want to see (10 points)
• Provide a link to a job board specifically for gerontology or aging services and provide a 50-100 word description of the types of positions they focus on or what resources we can expect to find. These job boards must include positions from more than one organization. (10 points for each link and description, maximum of 3 URLs = 30 points)

4. Elevator Speech Exercise:

• Write out and share your 100-word elevator speech (10 points)
• Practice to share it under 1 minute, then share with 1 friend and 1 stranger from memory. Share a 50+ word reflection on those 2 interactions (10 points)
• Determine if you might need more than 1 elevator pitch and share the different situations when you would use each, in 50+ words (10 points)

5. Business Card Exercise:

• Order business cards from Linda or through an online service; take a picture and post OR reflect on business cards and why you haven’t ordered business cards yet (10 points)
• Share your business cards with 3 people whom you do not know. Share the organization and title of the individuals and reflect on the interaction in 50+ words (10 points each x 3 interactions max = 30 points)
• Share 2+ pieces of advice or strategies that you used during your introduction or to help make the interaction a positive one (10 points)

6. Following Up Exercise:

• Share your process for following up with individuals you just met at a networking event (10 points)
• Describe any concerns you have with following up, especially if it has been months since the networking event took place (10 points)
• Provide 2+ suggestions or tips to classmates for how to effectively follow up after a networking event (10 points)

7.Maintaining Your Network Exercise:

• Identify 5 people you’ve met during your Gerontology program that you no longer interact with consistently.
• Find different articles, opportunities, job posting or things of interest related to Gerontology or older adults and send them it to them. (In the future, you could send the same article to multiple people, but practice finding different items to share, for the purposes of this exercise.)
• Send a short email to each person sharing that you found this article, thought of them, and would love to hear the latest from them.
• For each article, share the URL (or citation) and why you wanted to share what you found (could be an aspect of the article or the connection you see with the person) in 50+ words (10 points per article/reason x 5 people max = 50 points)

8.STAR Stories Exercise:

• Using key parts of your resume, create a STAR story (Situation, Task, Action, Results/Lessons; clearly label each letter) that is no more than 250 words (10 points per STAR story x 5 stories max = 50 points)
• Think about what interview questions this STAR story could answer and which of your strengths or qualities are highlighted.
• Y our post should look like this:
  • Interview Question(s) Asked:
  • S:
  • T:
  • A:
  • R:
  • Strengths/Qualities Highlighted:

  9.Interviewing Basics Exercise:

• In 50+ words, share the most helpful part(s) of the Interviewing Basics video (10 points)
• In 50+ words, share what part(s) of the Interviewing Basics video you disagree with or that you have received conflicting guidance on in the past (10 points)
• In 50+ words, share additional information that you’ve found helpful that was NOT mentiined in the Interviewing Basics video (10 points)

10.Mock Interview A Exercise:

• Look at the list of questions below and select 2-3 questions:
• • Why did you choose to go into gerontology?
  • List 5 adjectives that describe your character.
  • Tell me about a person in your life or career who has really made a difference for you.
  • What are your strengths, and in what ways to do you utilize them?
  • What are your weaknesses, and in what ways have you addressed them?
  • What do you think it takes to be successful in gerontology?
  • What is your greatest failure, and what did you learn from it?
  • Tell me about your proudest achievement.
  • What are you looking for in terms of career development?
  • What do you see yourself doing in 5 years?
• Share your selected questions with your interviewer. Record and post a 3-5 minute mock interview (20 points)
• List which 2-3 questions you selected (10 points)
• Identify 3 changes you would like to make to your body language, facial expressions, or responses to enhance your interviewing skills (10 points)