As mentors work with the mentees to explore career interests and available career opportunities, here are some career-related words and definitions to guide in their research courtesy of HCM Strategists, LLC:

Career identity: Individual characteristics (such as attributed, beliefs, values, motives, and experiences) that represent the way individuals define themselves in the context of a career.

Career exploration: Research of educational paths, training and/or a job based on individual self-assessment of interests, skills, and abilities. 

Career development: The process that helps individuals establish career and life goals and then to develop the skills needed to pursue personalized career paths. 

Career readiness: The educational subject area that preps students with the information they need to succeed when they're entering the job market; the process of preparing students with the essential skills they need to find, acquire, maintain, and grow within a job. 

Career choice: A process of individual aspirations and preferences formed early in life and could be the product of genetics, socioeconomic status, gender, personality, and learning history.