Of course, you want to support the girls you work with in achieving positive outcomes. Among the many benefits of your program might be boosting school performance, promoting healthy habits, and building a solid foundation for future success. Outside-of-school programs can be an important resource when it comes to helping students imagine and plan for their futures. But with endless careers out there, how can you help the girls you work with find their path?

Career Girls is a high-quality, no-cost resource that does exactly that.  Plus, Career Girls is ad-free — keeping the focus on the girls you serve. There is lots to explore, and no one right way to use Career Girls. But a great place to begin is with the Empowerment Lessons.

Using the Empowerment Lessons

Clear and easy-to-use, the Empowerment Lessons are a high-quality, no-cost career guidance and development tool designed by experienced educators. Career-Based Empowerment Lessons are centered around career exploration, and Skill-Based Empowerment Lessons focus on social and emotional learning (SEL) with key topics such as teamwork, confidence, communication, leadership, financial literacy, and the importance of integrity. Each has been designed to help the girls in your group develop the tools for lifelong success while they are still in middle or high school.

Each lesson centers around a short video clip that features real-world role models who share straight-to-the-point career insights and advice. These videos are paired with ready-to-use educational resources that build on the most important concepts.

To get started, just follow a few simple steps:

  1. Choose an Empowerment Lesson. Each Career Girls Empowerment Lesson video is about two minutes and focuses on a different topic. You can use the Empowerment Lessons in any order that best meets the needs and interests of your group. For example, to help girls build the confidence they need to participate and excel in any endeavor, share Be Confident.
  2. Download the Corresponding Resources. Each Empowerment Lesson has a corresponding set of resources accessible on each video page (see example) and can also be accessed individually through the Resources module at the bottom of this page. Download and print the PDFs you'd like to use.
  3. View the Video with Your Group.  It may be helpful to preview the video first, noting information that is particularly relevant or vocabulary you might want to review. For example, with “Be Confident,” discuss what confidence means: Is confidence something you get all at once or something that builds? What are some things you feel confident about? How did you develop confidence in this area? What would you like to feel more confident about?

Use the corresponding resources to take the learning further:

  • Independent Learning Guide: (see example) This guide is designed to engage girls in digging deeper into concepts introduced in the videos. The girls in your group could complete this guide on their own, but you'll find that it's also a great tool for sparking meaningful conversations that can have a lasting impact.
  • Classroom Lesson Plan: (see example) While designed for school settings, you may find this resource helpful for taking an in-depth look at topics of particular interest.
  • Fun Page Activity: (see example) Guide the girls in your group in completing this fun activity to further connect what they learned in the video to their own lives.

Use the "Positively Empowered!" Certificate. Goal-setting is important in school and beyond. The Positively Empowered! Certificate provides an easy and concrete way to help girls set personal goals for developing the skills and knowledge they need to go after their dreams — and track their progress.

Using the Career Exploration Tools

Along with ready-to-use Empowerment Lessons, Career Girls offers built-in career exploration tools to engage girls in expanding career awareness, imagining what's possible, and taking important steps to plan for their futures.

The free Career Quiz is a fun place to start. This quick and easy quiz helps girls discover careers that may be a match for their skills and interests, with links to role models who can help them learn more. Girls who are natural problem-solvers, for example, can meet Makeda Keegan, an IT Systems Manager. Makeda encourages girls not to be afraid of software and coding. More important than being good at math, she explains, is being "curious, enthusiastic, and thorough."

You can also guide your group exploring by Career Clusters, such as STEM, Health Sciences, and Finance. Or, let them jump right into an A to Z tour of Careers and the Role Models who work in them — from an Accountant to a Zoologist.

College Majors are a great place to explore which courses might be required for degrees like Forensic Science, Film and Media, or Electrical Engineering. Each major is linked to related careers and each career is also linked back to related college majors.

Make sure your group is aware of our Student Resources. The printable resources promote independence, providing tools girls can use to track careers they explore and connect those careers to their own interests and goals. Be sure to check out the free motivational posters (see example). These colorful posters share powerful advice from real-life role models to help girls develop the stick-to-itiveness they need to go after their dreams.

Use Our Group Leader Resources

Use the Resources module below to find these additional group leader resources:

Resources

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Looking for meaningful activities to share with the girls in your group? Whether you run an after-school program, a Girl Scouts troop, or another youth organization, you can count on Career Girls to provide engaging and educational experiences that will inspire girls to dream big —  and help equip them with the tools they need to succeed.