This is one of my favorite quick and easy job activities to introduce and get students thinking about job-related skills. I think students can learn a lot from knowing where adults they look up to got their start, especially if they’re able to talk with an adult who has a profession they admire.
The students love this activity too. I’m not sure why, but for some reason they find it hilarious to learn their math teacher first started working as a table busser at a restaurant and as a cashier at Ace Hardware.
I recently posted about how I teach students interview skills. This activity would be a great intro to that lesson.
Here’s How It Works
Students choose a few adults in their lives that they can ask about their first jobs. I allow students to interview teachers, but to get some career variety in their answers, I tell them they can only interview a maximum of one teacher. The other interviews need to come from adults with other careers.
They’ll ask four interview questions, including ‘What were their job responsibilities?’ or ‘Did they attend college or another training program? If so, did they attend before, during, or after their first job?’
I’ve found that a lot of students are surprised to learn that many people have first jobs that are completely unrelated to the careers they have later in life. I think it helps them to see that it’s okay to switch jobs and find what most interests them.
If you’d like to try this activity with your students, I have this activity in my freebie library. Let me know your email below, and I’ll send you the link!
