Bootcamp
Worksheets

• See the capstone — your 1:30 elevator pitch on the Black Box stage, and your trade show station in the BFAC Lobby. This is where the semester ends. Today we reverse-engineer it.
• Review the syllabus, course contract, and what 60 hours of field experience actually looks like
• Walk through this website together: your dashboard, weekly log, reflection form, and bootcamp phases
• Discussion: what's the difference between showing up as a student versus showing up as an employee?
• Overview of the 7 career clusters and what placements are available
• Preview the 10 Illinois Essential Employability Skills you'll be assessed on

Circle one number for each skill. Be honest rather than generous — the whole point is to have a real starting line to measure against in December.

Short answer questions are on the back of this sheet.

Career Interests

Your Professional Goal for the Semester

• Google yourself — right now, in class. What comes up? What would an employer see?
• Social media audit discussion: what's public, what's professional, what needs to change before you start interviewing
• Build your professional email signature — your name, title (Field Experience Student), school, and contact info
• Real examples: how a digital footprint has cost people jobs and opportunities
• Phone communication roleplay: cold-calling a potential employer

• My profile photo is something an employer would think is professional
• I checked my most recent public posts — nothing I wouldn't want my placement supervisor to see
• I removed or made private anything tagged, shared, or public that needed it
• My bio describes me the way I want to be described professionally

• I created or cleaned up my LinkedIn profile — professional photo, current city, high school listed
• I wrote a headline that says more than my school (e.g., "Field Experience Student | Interested in Healthcare + Business")
• I left space on my profile to add my resume in Activity 4

• Resume structure walkthrough — what goes where and why different resumes look different for different people
• Translating school experiences into workforce language: "I was on the team" → "Led a 12-person team through…"
• Action verb practice — the difference between listing a job and owning one
• References: how to ask professionally, who to ask, what they need to say
• In-class build time + peer review with a partner
• Use AI to get a first-round review before your peer: paste your resume into Claude or ChatGPT and ask "What's weak on this resume and what would make it stronger?" — fix those first, then swap with a partner
• Teacher or partner conference on your draft before final
• Once your resume is final, upload it to your LinkedIn profile — it becomes a portfolio artifact employers can see before they even open an application

• Browse the placement list on this site — explore what's available across all 7 career clusters
• Employer scavenger hunt: research your top 2–3 choices. Find out what they do, who works there, what they value
• Match your skills from your resume to the placements you're interested in
• Meet with your teacher to talk through your choices and confirm your application plan
• Submit your application(s) — this starts the clock on employer paperwork, so the sooner the better

• Before applying: look up their website, LinkedIn, and Google reviews. What do they do? Who works there? Did they recently expand or hire?
• Goal: walk into your interview able to say "I noticed you just opened a second location" or "I saw your team focuses heavily on youth programs" — not "so what do you guys do again?"

• Send a follow-up email 5–7 business days after applying if you haven't heard back — brief, professional, confirms your interest
• Send a thank-you email within 24 hours of any interview — one paragraph, reference something specific from the conversation, confirm you want the role
• Both emails go in your portfolio — they're evidence of professional communication, not just formalities

• Structure: hook → background → value → ask. Thirty seconds to tell someone exactly why they should hire you
• Write your pitch in class — first draft, no judgment
• Deliver it to three different partners. Get real feedback: was it clear? Did you sound confident? Did it sound rehearsed?
• Refine and record your final video pitch — this becomes a portfolio piece and your capstone warmup

• Situational practice: "Tell me about a time when…" — you'll work through real scenarios from actual workplaces. The goal is having your own stories ready, not memorizing scripts.
• Common interview questions + how to prep honest answers without sounding rehearsed
• What to wear: professional appearance varies by placement type — a hospital, a restaurant, and a law firm all look different
• Body language: what nervous looks like from the outside and how to correct for it — eye contact, posture, what to do with your hands
• Communication: how to handle a question you don't know, how to ask for clarification, what to do when the answer honestly is "I'm not sure yet"

• Class splits in half: one side interviews, the other answers. Each pair gets 2–3 questions from the interview question bank, then rotate down the line.
• After 30 minutes, switch sides — the interviewers become interviewees. Everyone practices both roles.
• Interviewees don't know which questions are coming. That's the point — you get comfortable answering live, unrehearsed, for a rotating set of people.

• 1-on-1 with a business partner, chamber member, or administrator — ideally someone you don't know well
• Your interviewer uses a structured feedback form. You receive written feedback immediately after — specific, honest, actionable.
• Goal is two interviews each during this block. When you're not in the chair, review the feedback from your last one.
• No one gets a perfect mock interview. That's the point. You find out what to fix before the real one.

• Review the feedback from your mock interview — what did you do well, what needs work?
• Identify 2–3 specific areas to improve before your real interview
• Write concrete action steps: not "be more confident" — "practice answering the 'tell me about yourself' question out loud three times before my interview"
• Use AI as a practice partner between now and your real interview: open a chat and say "Act as the hiring manager at [company name]. Interview me for [role] and give me real questions. Rate my answers and tell me what to improve." — repeat until you feel ready.

• Carousel activity: 15 dilemma stations set up around the room. Small groups rotate every few minutes, read the scenario, and discuss what they'd do.
• Scenarios span all 7 career clusters — a healthcare confidentiality situation, a manufacturing safety shortcut, a supervisor asking something that feels wrong in an education setting, a customer conflict in retail, and more
• After rotating, the class picks 2–3 scenarios to debrief together — groups share what they decided and why
• You'll disagree with each other. That's the activity. There's often no single right answer — what matters is how you think it through.
• If you were absent: all 15 dilemma scenarios are linked here so you can review them and mark complete

• This is your quick shot — a fast walkthrough of all 10 Illinois Essential Employability Skills before you rate yourself again in the post-assessment. We're going for breadth, not depth.
• For each skill, you'll write one sentence in your own words: what does it actually mean, and where did you see it show up in Phase 1 or 2?
• We'll clarify the ones that get confused with each other — critical thinking vs. problem-solving vs. decision-making are not the same thing, and the difference matters when you're in the field
• By the end, you should be able to name all 10 and describe each one without looking at the list. You'll go deeper into each one throughout the semester — this is the foundation.

Circle one number for each skill. Do not look at your pre-assessment until you have finished rating yourself here.

Short answer questions are on the back of this sheet.

Your Growth

• You've accepted an offer from a placement employer — congratulations
• Confirm your employer here so your teacher can start the hiring paperwork process
• The earlier this is confirmed, the more time your employer has to complete all required documents before your start date
• Your employer may also have their own onboarding paperwork — especially if you're getting paid. This can include tax forms, direct deposit info, and ID verification. Sit down with a parent or guardian to complete these. Don't guess on legal documents.
• Don't have a confirmed placement yet? Keep at it. Talk to your teacher about next steps.

• Before your conference, draft your 2–3 goals. Your teacher shouldn't be the one prompting you to come up with them — arrive with answers ready.
• Think through: What do you want to get out of this placement? What skill do you most want to improve? What would make this semester feel worth it?
• Come with any questions or concerns too. What are you nervous about? What's still unclear? This is the place to name it — not Day 1 at your placement.

• 5–10 minute one-on-one with your teacher — not a check-in, a real conversation about your placement and what you want from it
• Set 2–3 goals for your semester: specific, achievable, and tied to what you actually care about
• Review the time log and reflection process one more time — everyone does a test submission so there are no surprises

• Conferences run 1–2 full class days. When you're not in the chair, you'll get started on the first in-depth employability skill lesson or continue refining your elevator pitch for the capstone.

• Write your internship plan of success — your schedule, your goals, how you'll handle challenges, and how you'll track your 60 hours
• Draft a professional introduction or thank you email to your placement supervisor — your first real professional communication with them
• Review: what does logging hours look like on the site? What does a good weekly reflection look like? We'll do a live test submission together so everyone knows the process before it counts.

• You've done the work. Resume built. Pitch practiced. Interview survived. Placement confirmed. Goals set.
• Write your single most important goal for this semester — one sentence, honest and specific
• Hit Submit & Launch. Your Launch Card generates and lives on your dashboard permanently
• You are no longer a student preparing for a job. You're a student employee. Go make it count.