I’m awesome! Occupational and self-awareness development game

The career guidance services offered by the Győr-Moson-Sopron County Educational Services include thematic group career guidance sessions. The time frame of these sessions is two classes, where the information part is always paired with practical exercises, as it is what you not only hear, but also see and try out, that becomes truly useful knowledge. According to classical career aptitude theories, success in one’s career and job satisfaction are determined by the extent to which career aptitude requirements match the individual’s aptitude traits. The Educational Services’ good practice, i.e. the “I’m Awesome!” occupational and self-awareness development game has been created to prove the above point. The game shows how the competences required by each profession relate to the personality traits of the people who choose that career. The basic idea of the game goes back to a priority questionnaire and a personality typology game known from the toolkit of individual psychology, which the developers adapted to their career guidance activities. During the game, different skills are mobilised: self-evaluation, teamwork – cooperation, vocabulary building, associative thinking, contextual thinking, literary and even biological knowledge. In the game, pupils identify themselves with one of four animals – lion, eagle, chameleon, tortoise – and pair them with characteristics; then they match the list of the characteristics of that animal with occupational groups and specific occupations. The game is designed to raise career choosers’ awareness on the importance of self-awareness and knowledge of an occupation and the relationship between them. They can be encouraged to think consciously about what competences are expected for the career of their choice, and then compare them with their list of their personal characteristics to see whether or not this idea suits them, and in what areas they need to improve to be able to perform well in the given profession.