Tap into your WIFI

Explain to students that the acronym “WIFI” stands for the following:

W – Watch Your Interests First, students reflect on their primary interests, activities they enjoy, and traits that may inform their career direction.

I – Investigate Your Options Here, students consider the next major step in their life plan, whether traveling the world, pursuing further education, or jumping into a new career straightaway.

F – Follow Your Dreams Next, the student imagines the next five years and considers setting ambitious goals.

I – “I’m interested in _____ and I’ll see where it leads me.” Rather than committing to a single career path, students are asked to explore their interests and remain open-minded about future pathways by setting a broad direction based on their interests.

Ask students to consider the questions on the worksheet and jot down their initial thoughts. Students don’t need to answer every question fully right now, but encourage them to write down the ideas that immediately come to mind—no matter how wild or far-fetched they might seem:

• What interests you? List 5 ways you enjoy spending your time. 
• What are your skills? List 5 things you’re good at. 
• How would your friends describe you? List 5 ways they’d explain what you’re like. 
• If there was no chance you’d fail, what would you do? Anything at all!

Bring the class back together, and invite students to share their thoughts, with the aim of establishing a supportive network. Understanding their classmates’ aspirations will allow students to help each other as they continue exploring career options. 

For example, one student might find a resource that isn’t useful to them, but if they recognize that it would be particularly helpful to another student, they can pass it along.

Optional extensions:

• Direct students to Amba Brown’s longer Finding Your Path worksheet, which dives deeper into “investigating your options”.
• Encourage students to take more time to expand on and refine their initial ideas, and set some SMART goals.

Self-assessment: Give students the opportunity to reflect on this activity and set goals.