Career Compass
Εκπαιδευτικό Υλικό και Εργαλειοθήκη
Το εκπαιδευτικό υλικό και η εργαλειοθήκη του Career Compass θα σας καθοδηγήσουν στο επαγγελματικό σας μονοπάτι, βοηθώντας σας να αναγνωρίσετε τις δεξιότητες σας και τις επαγγελματικές ευκαιρίες. Θα σας βοηθήσουν να σχεδιάσετε μια επαγγελματική πορεία προσαρμοσμένη ειδικά σε εσάς.
Το εκπαιδευτικό πακέτο και η εργαλειοθήκη Career Compass θα σας καθοδηγήσουν στην εξερεύνηση της κατάλληλης επαγγελματικής πορείας, βοηθώντας σας να αναγνωρίσετε τις δεξιότητές σας και να εξερευνήσετε πιθανές ευκαιρίες. Με μια ποικιλία εργαλείων στη διάθεσή σας, θα αποκτήσετε τις γνώσεις που χρειάζεστε για να λάβετε τεκμηριωμένες αποφάσεις και να κάνετε ουσιαστικά βήματα προς τους επαγγελματικούς σας στόχους.
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Εκπαιδευτικό Πρόγραμμα
Introduction to the Career Compass Training
The Career Compass training and toolkit help individuals to identify their career interests, pathways, options, strengths, and skills for work. It is for anyone at a career crossroads, especially those facing challenges, whether they are looking for a new job, considering a career change, entering a new field, or returning to work or education. It is also suitable for students planning their future career options.
What will you learn
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What career flexibility is and how to use it to your advantage.
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Who you are, what your skills and strengths are, and how these can be applied to the labour market and your career goals.
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How to navigate changing labour markets and adapt your career goals and strengths to them and customise them for different potential employers and in different environments.
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How to use the Career Compass toolkit for your career.
How will you get there
Career Compass helps users to understand their skills, strengths, interests and options by encouraging self-reflection and providing practical exercises. This allows them to make clearer and better-informed decisions about their careers
The training materials consist of
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Providing insight into career flexibility.
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Building resilience, mentality, and empowerment during career development.
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Guiding the development process with the Career Compass toolkit, including practical exercises and reflection points.
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Useful links to employment, education, support and mentoring.
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Open educational resources to help with CV development, for example.
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Two user guides to help with using the Career Compass training.
The Career Compass toolkit
The Career Compass toolkit consists of five phases:
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Self-dimension: Discovery and reflection on who you are, where you are, and your experiences.
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Skills and competencies: Recognising and reflecting on own skills, strengths, capacities and competencies.
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Environment: Where am I, and how is the environment changing? This includes labour markets, labour market needs and trends, emerging professions, new sectors and roles, and lifelong learning opportunities.
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Identifying career path opportunities: Which jobs, industries or areas of study match my skills, interests and capacities, and align with my desired career path?
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Planning and implementation: Developing an implementation and action plan, and aligning the previous findings with my own interests and strengths.
The toolkit offers a flexible learning path that users can follow step by step or explore according to their individual needs. Users can start from any section and return to others as their situation changes. They can either start with the 'Self' dimension and work through all the steps towards implementation in order or start from another part of the toolkit based on their situation. For example, if you wish to relocate or keep up to date with labour market trends, you can start from the 'Environment' phase. Similarly, if you realise during the process that you need more information from an earlier phase, such as the 'Skills and Competences', you can return to it and continue as normal.
Clear instructions are provided for each phase to support users. After each phase, there is an opportunity to reflect on the information obtained and consider whether it is sufficient.
The customisable structure of the training makes it suitable for different types of learners. With the help of online materials and a user guide for people at a career crossroads, the training can be used independently or with the support of a supervisor or a mentor.
The user guide for trainers provides information on trainer-led delivery.
Enjoy your journey!
Εκπαιδευτικό Πρόγραμμα
Career flexibility is the ability to adapt and adjust one's career and skills in response to changes in the labour market, jobs and the needs of employers. For example, a nurse could progress into healthcare administration, pursue further studies to become a doctor, or establish their own business in healthcare, personal training or nutrition consultancy. Career flexibility enables individuals to respond realistically to labour market uncertainty and adapt their careers accordingly.
Career flexibility emphasises an individual's ability to respond to change, overcome obstacles and take an active role in shaping their own career path. It helps individuals to move away from feelings of insecurity, helplessness and passivity, for example during periods of unemployment or when transition. It encourages individuals to view change as manageable and to explore their skills, recognise opportunities and realise their potential. In this way, career flexibility can be empowering.
Career flexibility often involves reassessing one's skills, acquiring new ones, and returning to education. It is not a one-time event. It is an ongoing process that allows for changes over time. Therefore, it is important to keep your options open rather than pushing for fixed solutions.
EXAMPLES
Example 1
Enough Is Enough!
Example 2
Picking Up Where She Was Left Off
Example 3
“Where Do I Start?
Example 4
NEET Meets NEED
Example 5
Career Development and Adaptability:
“My disability is useful in my work.”
Example 6
Career Transition and Labour Market Adaptation:
“Job Change After 50 Successfully!”
Example 7
Labour Market Reintegration After 50:
“How I Overcame Ageism”
Example 8
Career Transition with Supported Employment: "It's never easy at first"
Example 9
Career Redirection Following Occupational Injury:
Broken Back and Broken Dreams
Example 10
Career Adaptation in the Age of Technological Change: Turning Layoff into a new career
Example 11
Personal Transformation Through Education: From Prison to Education
Example 12
Skilled Migration and Workplace Integration: From cleaner to contributor
Example 13
Rebuilding in Small Steps
Example 14
Second Act, Not Last Act
Example 15
Fast Brain, Better System
Example 16
Detail Detective
Εκπαιδευτικό Πρόγραμμα
Career development and unemployment can be challenging and exhausting. Therefore, it is important to take care of your own well-being, build, resilience and empowerment, and an open your mind to new opportunities.
Here, you will learn about career anxiety and stress, self-esteem and self-image, and resilience. You will also learn how to change your mentality to identify possibilities and opportunities in career development. Relaxation exercises help you to unwind when you are feeling stressed and anxious, while also providing gentle support for your career development.
Career Anxiety and Stress
Career anxiety and stress related to work and future plans are common experiences. They manifest as ongoing worry, fear or pressure concerning jobs, income or career decisions. These feelings are also considered to be persistent stress related to professional life and future goals. Many people recognise these feelings, even if they do not label them as anxiety. Job seekers may feel stressed before an interview or while waiting for responses. Those already employed may worry about their performance, job security or lack of progress. Managers and supervisors may feel under pressure when making difficult decisions that affect others.
Financial responsibilities and job market uncertainty can intensify career anxiety. Seeing others progress faster can intensify these feelings through social comparisons. Personal ambition can also create pressure to constantly improve and succeed. Although it is an uncomfortable feeling, career anxiety is a normal reaction to uncertainty. It can indicate the need for change, support or reflection. When recognised and addressed, it can help you to make better career decisions.
It is important to recognise that you are experiencing career anxiety, identify the cause, and then tackle it. These actions can be simple exercises to calm the nervous system, such as going for a walk or doing relaxation exercises. Alternatively, if you can do something about it, you should take action; otherwise, you should accept the situation and find other avenues.
Look at the Examples and Exercises
Example 1
Interview Anxiety and Self-Regulation Strategies
Career anxiety versus opportunity
Example 2
Leadership Stress and Ethical Decision-Making
Who will break the news?
Exercise 1
Productive Worrying
A Structured Career Reflection Activity
Exercise 2
Cognitive Reframing of Career Anxieties
Open educational resources of career anxiety and stress
Bright Network - How To Deal with Career Anxiety While Job Searching
https://www.brightnetwork.co.uk/graduate-career-advice/tips-resources/career-anxiety-job-searching/
University of Edinburgh - IAD4Researchers - Dealing With Career Anxiety
https://blogs.ed.ac.uk/iad4researchers/2024/09/25/dealing-with-career-anxiety/
Resolvve - Normalising Career Anxiety
https://resolvve.ca/blog/is-it-normal-to-have-career-anxiety
References
Fitzmaurice, Patrick (2025) “Career Anxiety and Opportunity Cost: Navigating the Crossroads of Ambition and Uncertainty” Independent Research Solutions. https://independentsearchsolutions.com/career-anxiety-and-opportunity-cost-navigating-the-crossroads-of-ambition-and-uncertainty/
Self-Image and Self-Esteem
Self-image and self-esteem are shaped by our traits, experiences and beliefs about ourselves, and they influence how we perceive ourselves. They are central to emotional balance and wellbeing. Self-image is the idea we hold of who we are, while self-esteem is the belief that we are worthy and capable regardless of our achievements. Healthy self-esteem grows from accepting ourselves as a whole person. A healthy self-image and self-esteem strengthen our ability to handle challenges, make decisions, stay motivated and maintain emotional well-being. This makes essential also for developing career paths and seeking employment or education.
Maintaining healthy levels of self-image and self-esteem enables reflection and resilience throughout the career development process. Realism is key. Having a realistic idea of one’s skills, knowledge, capabilities, experiences and professional self-image helps when applying for the right jobs and when receiving rejection letters. It helps analyse the outcome, identify areas for professional development, improve job applications and direct the job search. Self-esteem helps us cope with rejection and hardship. A person is still valuable regardless a rejection letter. However, there are many challenges. For instance, long-term unemployment can result in low self-esteem, and consequently to anxiety, avoidance behaviour, stunted personal growth and achievement, and health problems. Similarly, having overly high self-esteem can lead to frustration and anxiety due to having unrealistic career expectations.
Developing a positive self-image and self-esteem requires self-awareness and acceptance, as well as pursuing our passions and taking care of ourselves, both physically and emotionally. This process is influenced by:
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Self-awareness: recognising own likes, resources, strengths and limitations, and acknowledging own achievements.
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Acceptance: recognising own limitations and learning from mistakes.
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Developing passion: engaging in activities that bring pleasure and develop talents.
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A positive attitude: practicing gratitude, appreciating small successes and positive life events.
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Self-care: physical activity, healthy eating, and relaxation improve well-being and self-confidence.
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Reducing pressure: having an open attitude towards yourself and others, not being influenced by image or values imposed from outside, e.g. by the media.
Look at the Examples and Exercises
Example 1
Fear of Failure
Example 2
People Pleaser Syndrome
Exercise 1
Strategies for Building Self-Esteem
Exercise 2
Past-Present-Future
Open educational resources of self-image and self-esteem
BetterUp article
Perry, E. (2024). 33 self‑esteem journal prompts for confidence & self‑compassion. BetterUp. https://www.betterup.com/blog/self-esteem-journal-prompts
Mayo Clinic article
Mayo Clinic Staff. (2025). Self‑esteem: Take steps to feel better about yourself. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/self-esteem/art-20045374
Online Learning College – Carl Rogers overview
Online Learning College. (n.d.). Carl Rogers. https://online-learning-college.com/knowledge-hub/gcses/gcse-psychology-help/carl-rogers/ (online-learning-college.com in Bing)
CMFRI training manual section
Nair, R. J. (2016). Self-image and self-esteem for a positive outlook. In Training manual on Theeranaipunya – Equipping fisherwomen youth for future (pp. 75–78). ICAR–Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute. https://eprints.cmfri.org.in/10815/
Resilience
Resilience is the ability to cope with difficulties and recover from hardship, exhaustion, and stressful experiences. It is a process whereby individuals draw on their own strengths and the support available to them to adapt. Resilience is both innate and personal. Depending on their resources, physical and mental state, and circumstances, a person may cope well in one situation and struggle in another. Resilience is also linked to duration. While exposure to stress builds resilience, too much stress can be detrimental.
Resilience is essential for people at a career crossroads, whether they are planning their career path or looking for a job. It strengthens their ability to handle uncertainty and adapt to change, enabling them to keep moving forward when plans change or setbacks occur. Resilience supports the emotional and practical aspects of career decision-making, such as exploring options, learning new skills and finding employment. It also helps people navigate unfamiliar situations and environments and cope with the emotional stress caused by insecurity or unemployment, for instance.
Resilience can be developed by fostering the right mindset through optimism, supportive environments, emotional self-regulation, safe exposure and positive reinforcement in successful situations.
Look at the Examples and Exercises
Example 1
Resilience in Combating Burnout
Example 2
Resilience in Career Change
Exercise 1
Seek the Source Within Yourself!
Exercise 2
Change Your Mindset!
Open educational resources of resilience and life changes
Auger-Domínguez, D. (2025, March 25). How to build career resilience in uncertain times. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2025/03/how-to-build-career-resilience-in-uncertain-times
Joubert, S. (2024, August 13). Career resilience: What it is and how to build it. Northeastern University Graduate Programs. https://graduate.northeastern.edu/knowledge-hub/how-to-build-career-resilience/
Pentabell. (2026, February 17). Career resilience: What it is and why it matters. https://www.pentabell.com/blog/what-is-career-resilience-and-why-it-matters/
Al‑Mithaq Institute. (2025, August 11). Developing resilience: Key strategies for career longevity. https://almithaqinstitute.com/en/blog/developing-resilience-key-strategies-for-career-longevity/
Possibilities and Opportunities
This section explores the distinction between possibilities and opportunities in career development, with emphasis on the role of mindset in professional decision-making.
Possibilities are options available in one’s environment, such as jobs, training programmes, networks, or educational pathways. However, opportunities are the possibilities that can be realistically accessed through intentional and strategic action.
People at a career crossroads often focus on external barriers. However, it is often internal factors, particularly mindset, that shape outcomes. Waiting for the perfect opportunity or feeling fully prepared can hinder progress.
A more helpful approach is to take small, intentional steps, such as, exploring available options, recognising your transferable skills, tackling specific skill gaps, and trying out short learning experiences. Instead of trying to remove every barrier, this way of working broadens your perspective and helps you build momentum towards realistic professional and educational goals.
Example 1
The 60% match rule
Example 2
Only sky is the limit
Exercise 1
Job Opportunity Radar
Exercise 2
Opportunities and Tea Time
Relaxation Exercise
The ability to relax is essential when searching for employment and developing a career. Relaxation helps clear the mind, enabling us to make wiser decisions and come up with smarter ideas. It also protects our well-being by shielding us from career-related insecurities, stress and anxiety. Relaxation also helps us to prepare for and cope with job interviews and ensures that we are able to work.
Relaxation is a state in which the mind and body release tension, stress and worry, leaving a person feeling calmer and more relaxed. It lowers the heart rate, clears brain fog caused by mental strain, and improves mood, resilience, and sleep quality.
The relaxation exercises in the Career Compass training programme help you relax, prepare for a job interview and recognise your skills and strengths.
Look at the Examples and Exercise
Example 1
Skills and Expertise
Example 2
Getting Ready for a Job Interview.
Exercise 1
A relaxation to Calm Stressed Mind.
Reference
North Carolina State University Counseling Center (n.d.) “Relaxation Techniques.” NC State University. https://counseling.dasa.ncsu.edu/support-and-resources/self-help-resources/relaxation/
National Cancer Institute (n.d.) “Relaxation Technique.” NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms. https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/relaxation-technique
Εκπαιδευτικό Πρόγραμμα
The Career Compass toolkit provides practical tools to observe and identify different areas of yourself and the environment that affect your employability potential. You can adapt the toolkit to and select the tools according to your individual situation and needs. You can start from the beginning, from the 'Self' dimension, or from another part. You can also return to previous phases if you need more information on a particular area.
Each tool has step-by-step instructions to follow. You can also find additional support in the user guide and in the examples of using the Career Compass training and toolkit.
A self‑reflection template will help you record your key findings and insights at the end of each phase.
Click the boxes below to access the phases of the Career Compass toolkit.
Phase 1
Self-dimension
Phase 2
Skills and competencies
Phase 3
Environment
Phase 4
Career path opportunity identification
Phase 5
Planning and implementation
Εκπαιδευτικό Πρόγραμμα
Find out how people from a variety of backgrounds, life situations and stages of their careers use the Career Compass training and toolkit to plan and navigate their career paths. These examples provide career navigators of all types with materials to help them learn how to use the training and toolkit.
Rebuilding Step by Step
Second Act With Dignity
Precision Needs A Calm System
Returning To Work After Years At Home: A Single Parent’s Journey
Hospitality Worker After Industry Closure
Small Business Owner After Business Failure
Get Daddy A New Job!
Finding My First Job
Finding You Own Path
First Steps Into The Unknown
Technology Instead of Routine
Returning With Renewed Energy
Εκπαιδευτικό Πρόγραμμα
This exercise will help you get started on your journey. It provides a guided introduction to using the Career Compass toolkit to work on your own case and situation independently.
Guided exercise for using the Career Compass training
This exercise will help you get started on your journey. It will guide you through the Career Compass toolkit, teaching you how to use the tools independently to work on your own career-related challenge.
Time required: Not specified, depends on your career path challenge.
Materials: Based on the selected tools.
1. The starting point description and the point of reflection and summary at the end of the phase (selection of the case and employment challenge)
The starting point
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Choose your career path challenge. What is your main challenge? What do you want to achieve? Why is this your challenge? Write this down as the main objective in one sentence. Use a whiteboard, large sheet of paper, notebook or any other writing tool you prefer, except an electronic one.
For instance, you could use a heading such as 'After 15 years in retail, looking for stable work that fits family needs.'
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Write 2–3 sub-objectives under it, as well as 2–3 hindering and supporting elements.
2. Phase 1: Self-dimension and the point of reflection and summary at the end of the phase (guidance through Self-dimension)
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Look at the different tools in Phase 1. Self-dimension. Think about what kind of information you need to obtain for your challenge, and which tools would be best suited to this. Start with two or three tools that seem the most essential.
When planning and working on the tools and activities, consider the following:
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Who are the right people to involve and why? How would you involve them?
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Which tools give you the direct information the best and which ones can reveal hidden elements and aspects of yourself? For example, the 5 Whys tool for questioning your self-beliefs could benefit from the Experience mapping tool to compare your self-perception with that of others. Experience mapping can often provide a point of comparison with your other findings.
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It is useful to use at least one tool that helps you to understand yourself, such as Persona or Storyboard, because these can provide a point of reference for other findings in this phase.
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Work on your case using the tools. There is no one perfect or right outcome for any of the tools. Each case is different and the most important thing is that you obtain the necessary information. Visualise the outcomes and keep them in view. Looking at outcomes from different tools simultaneously helps you to see the bigger picture and determine whether you have gathered enough information in this phase. As you work, you can highlight important information with colours, marks or sticky notes.
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Look at the outcomes regularly to see if you would need more information for your career challenge from this phase. Use as many tools as necessary. Remember that this may only be a few. Continue working until you have obtained all the necessary information.
Point of main findings and reflection of Phase 1
Summarise your key findings from this phase and explain their meaning.
3. Phase 2: Skills and competencies and the point of reflection and summary at the end of the phase (guidance through Skills and competencies)
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Select the tools from Phase 2. Skills and competencies that are suitable for your career challenge. If you have already used tools from another phase, for example Phase 1, you can also use information obtained from those tools to guide your selection.
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Work on your tools in a similar way to Phase 1: select more tools, if necessary, visualise the findings and do not look for the right answer.
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When planning and working on the tools and activities, consider the following:
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You can use earlier ‘proofs’ of your skills and competencies to help you with the process. These could include school records, for example.
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Ask a friend or family member to assess your skills and competencies in using different tools. They may notice things that you do not and can often provide a more objective viewpoint. They could even make observations on your behalf, for example during a 'Skills and Competence Safari'.
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Your skills and competencies are often so obvious that you do not notice them. You may use your strong points automatically every day without realising it.
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Use a variety of tools until you have obtained sufficient information. Then, move to the next or previous phase according to your needs/situation.
Point of main findings and reflection of Phase 2
Summarise your key findings from this phase and explain their meaning.
4. Phase 3: Environment and the point of reflection and summary at the end of the phase (guidance through Environment)
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Think about the information you need to find, then select the appropriate tools. If possible, also take into account the findings from the other Phases.
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When planning and working on the tools and activities, consider the following:
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At this phase there are many different external sources from which to obtain information. However, it is important to be careful with these sources and only use reliable ones. While AI can be helpful for finding information about labour market trends, for example, its findings should always be verified. It can, however, be a source of ideas.
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Watching and reading the news can be beneficial at this stage.
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The findings of Phases 1 (Self-dimension) and 2 (Skills and Competencies) are particularly relevant to this phase. This phase may precede or follow them.
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For every source of information that you look for, make sure you use enough diverse sources.
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Use a variety of tools until you have obtained sufficient information. Then, move to the next or previous phase according to your needs/situation.
Point of main findings and reflection of Phase 3
Summarise your key findings from this phase and explain their meaning.
5. Phase 4: Career path opportunity identification and the point of reflection and summary at the end of the phase (guidance Career path opportunity identification)
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You can start directly from this phase if you already have enough information to match yourself with potential employers. This phase involves 'testing' the suitability of your skills and experience for different sectors and jobs.
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Select the most suitable tools from this phase to work on your career challenge.
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When planning and working on the tools and activities, consider the following:
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In this phase, the findings from Phases 1 (Self-dimension) and 2 (Skills and Competencies) are especially compared with those from Phase 3. Environment. These represent two different perspectives. It is useful to keep the findings from all these phases easily accessible.
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Some of the tools in this phase focus more generally on identifying career paths, while others can be used to investigate specific positions or employers in more detail. These tools can be used consecutively.
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Some of the tools in this phase can be used to test your suitability for different jobs and tasks. For example, Career Mock-ups can be useful if you are worried about limitations in job tasks in advance.
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You can focus on a specific sector or employer to which you are planning to apply. This is an opportunity to test your suitability for that position.
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Use a variety of tools until you have obtained sufficient information. Then, move to the next or previous phase according to your needs/situation.
Point of main findings and reflection of Phase 4
Summarise your key findings from this phase and explain their meaning.
6. Phase 5: Planning and implementation and the point of reflection and summary at the end of the phase (guidance Planning and implementation)
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This last phase focuses on Planning and implementation, which takes place before and during the application process for a job or when planning your education. It also applies when reviewing feedback from job applications and planning your next career steps. This phase may even take you back to Phase 1. Self-dimension. Choose the tools according to your situation and career challenge.
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When planning and working on the tools and activities, consider the following:
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This phase focuses strongly on putting things into action. Useful links and open educational resources can support this phase, such as links to CV and portfolio sites, or mentoring groups.
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The stakeholder map can help you identify the people and organisations that can support you, such as employment offices.
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This phase places a strong focus on learning and improvement. For instance, the Feedback map tool gathers and analyses feedback from job applications. This information can then be used to make improvements.
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Use a variety of tools until you have obtained sufficient information. Then, move to the next or previous phase according to your needs/situation.
Point of main findings and reflection of Phase 5
Summarise your key findings from this phase and explain their meaning.
7. Reflection of the learning process (add e.g. reflection of the learning, what was easy, what was difficult, where support is needed, etc.)
Reflection:
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What was easy? What was difficult?
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Which step provided the most clarity regarding your career path?
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What support do you need next (such as, tools, mentor, peer, or service)?
You can use the supporting questions for this task to help you with your case.
Remember that career planning is iterative. Amending your plan in light of new information is progress, not failure.
Εκπαιδευτικό Πρόγραμμα
The final reflection
This is the final reflection of your journey. Think about the findings you have made, the insights you have gained into your career path, and what are the next steps to take.
Εκπαιδευτικό Πρόγραμμα
Here you can find links to online communities and platforms where to find support, including job search platforms, and mentoring.
Online Communities
European and International Communities
Country Specific Support and Mentoring
Εκπαιδευτικό Πρόγραμμα
Find useful links to CV‑creation and portfolio‑development platforms and tools, job‑posting sites, and employment and educational organisations that can support your journey and help you put your implementation plan into action.
CV Creation Platforms and Tools
Portfolio Development Platforms
Skill Tests - European
Skill Test - Country Specific
Job Posting
Platforms - European
Job Posting
Platforms - Country Specific
Educational Resources - European
Educational Resources - Country Specific