Have the students assume that they are planning to start their own businesses. Each student needs ten employees. Have them list ten people from the community whom they would want to employ. Assemble the students in small groups to read their lists and tell why each was chosen.

Tell the class that job success and the personal well-being of the worker depend upon how the worker and his/her work environment match. In other words, all we have been talking about up to this point (personal attributes, values, job characteristics, etc.) must blend harmoniously for an end result of employer/employee satisfaction.

Review with students the ways we examine personalities (John Holland's six personality types: realistic, investigative, social, conventional, enterprising, and artistic) and the ways we examine levels of worker involvement with data, people, and things (Dictionary of Occupational Titles [DOT]).

Distribute copies of the “Personality Descriptions” activity sheet. Explain that this combines Holland’s Personality Types with the DOT descriptions of level of involvement. Provide enough time for the students to look over the handout and ask any questions or make any comments they might have. Be sure and mention that charts, especially this one, that offer personality descriptions are arbitrary and do not provide for the thousands of exceptions to the rule. However, it is useful and fun as well to deliberate about how we do or do not appear somewhere in the chart’s outline.

5. Post the information on “Characteristics” activity sheet in a place where everyone can see it. Read over the eleven points. These points are some of the basic factors that go into determining how compatible a worker’s individual characteristics are with his/her work environment.

Distribute copies of the “Questionnaire” activity sheets. Tell the students to look over the questions. Notice they are grouped in the eleven categories discussed in the previous step. Review the questionnaire carefully when choosing a worker to invite as a guest to be interviewed. Don’t forget to inform both guest and students that answers will be simply “yes” or “no.” Since the students will begin by asking only those questions on the questionnaire, your guest’s occupational role should be one that will enable him/her to answer with more than “no” to the majority of questions. If the guest has to answer “no” all the time, it will be an uncomfortable situation for everyone involved.

7. Explain that during your next class meeting you plan to have two workers from the community come for an interview. This interview will be conducted by the class as a whole, but there will be one stipulation: The only questions that anyone can ask are those included on the Questionnaire you have just distributed. Therefore, the students should spend some time reading over and thinking about the questions they will be allowed to ask.

At your next class meeting, introduce your (first) guest worker by name only. (Spend some time with your guest before class, explaining to him/her the interview process that will be used. You might want to have on hand a copy of the questionnaire for the guest to look over and think about.)

Remind the group that anyone may address questions to the guest but that they must be from the questionnaire. Suggest that as individuals ask something they first indicate the page and category of their inquiry so that everyone can jot down the “yes” or “no” answers.

When the guest’s occupation is discovered (or the prescribed interview time has elapsed), allow the students to ask any additional questions they might have.

Tell the students to save their Questionnaire. They can use it as a guide when collecting information for making their own occupational decisions. The questions can also be used in learning about jobs held by family members or friends.

Both the chart on the activity page and the questionnaire are to be put in the personal portfolios.