The OCDA Conference will be held on Friday, June 4th, 2021. The theme for this year's conference is Confidently Committed to Change. Change is inherent in career development, whether it's career trajectory, trends, resources, services, etc. As we support others and each other during this time of life-career transition, we would love to hear about your proposal that focuses on change. Any and all proposals are welcome!

If you have a conference presentation proposal, please take a few moments to complete this form: https://hiram.wufoo.com/forms/mhbybke1rr2zy2/. The deadline for proposals is end of the day on February 1. Presenters will be selected by the Conference Planning Committee and notified on February 22nd. You do not have to be a current OCDA member to submit a proposal.

2021 OCDA Conference: Call for Proposals

The OCDA Conference will take place on Friday, June 4th, 2021! 

The theme for this year's conference is Confidently Committed to Change. Change is inherent in career development, whether it's career trajectory, trends, resources, services, etc.  As we support others and each other during this time of life-career transition, we would love to hear about your proposal that focuses on change. Any and all proposals are welcome!  

If you have a conference presentation proposal, please take a few moments to complete this registration form. The deadline for proposal submissions is Monday, February 1st by 11:59:59PM EST. Presenters will be selected by our Conference Planning Committee and notified by February 22nd.

If you have any questions, please email ohiocda@gmail.com. 

NCDA Poster and Poetry Contest 2020- Entries due Monday, December 14th 2020 at 11:59pm

Join OCDA in standing out as the most creative and expressive career association by sharing your artistic or poetic talents by clicking HERE for competition information.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Who can enter the NCDA Poetry & Art Contest?

Every adult and student enrolled in school is eligible, as well as adult practitioners who are not enrolled in school. Content divisions include:

• Primary – grades K-2
• Intermediate – grades 3-5
• Middle – grades 6-8
• Senior – grades 9-12
• Adult Student – ages 18 and older, enrolled in school
• Open adult – ages 18 and older, not enrolled in school

What is this year’s theme?

You are designing a piece of one-page art (created digitally or scanned) or a poem—both virtually submitted as a 8.5” x 11”.pdf, .jpeg or .png file—to the following theme: “My Future Career – Imagine the Possibilities.”

When is my entry due, and where do I submit my entry?

The deadline to submit your entry to OCDA is Monday, December 14 by 11:59:59PM EST. Click on the Submission Form to submit your poster or poem.

What happens if I win?

THERE ARE PRIZES!!! OCDA is providing the following prizes this year:

• First place - $125
• Second place - $100
• Third place - $75

First- through third-place winners’ entries will be sent to the national level for the possibility to win a national award and to be put on display to professionals excited about creativity and careers! We will also be doing a People’s Choice Award through OCDA social media for you to view the work and vote for your favorite to earn a certificate. Winners will also have the opportunity to attend the OCDA Annual Conference in May 2021 for free. For more information, contact Evan Faidley at efaidley@kent.edu.

OCDA Professional Development Grant

Ohio Career Development Association is offering one (1) $100 professional development grant to support a graduate student in their professional development. The grant is intended for professional development activities related to:

• Conference registration or travel

• Workshop registration or travel

• Professional training

• Professional certification

Proposals will be judged based on planned use of funds and support of the mission of OCDA to promote a greater understanding of the meaning of work and vocation, to foster career development over the life span, and to improve professional service in the field of career guidance and counseling in Ohio.

Completed forms and essays should be submitted via email to Bethani Burkhart at burkhartbm@hiram.edu by Monday, January 11, 2021 by 11:59:59PM EST. Essays will undergo a blind review by two non-applying OCDA professional members with reference to the essay rubric. Please see below for a link to the application form and the essay prompt. This professional development opportunity is sponsored by Evan Faidley.

• Application Form
• Essay Prompt

OCDA Winter Book Club

We will be reading "Friend of a Friend...: Understanding the Hidden Networks that Can Transform your Life and Career" by David Burkus. You can find this book at your local library, on Kindle, Audible, and more! The Book Club has set virtual meeting dates every three weeks, wherein which specific chapters of the book will be discussed. The meetings will take place via Zoom, and those who sign up will receive the meeting link as each event date approaches. The Book Club meetings will take place from 11:30am to 12:30pm on the following Tuesdays:

December 1st

December 29th

January 19th

February 9th

March 2nd

March 23rd 

The deadline to register for the Book Club is our first meeting, December 1st 2020. Click here to register. 

Winter Book Club

Join OCDA this Winter for our first ever Book Club!

We will be reading "Friend of a Friend...: Understanding the Hidden Networks that Can Transform your Life and Career" by David Burkus. You can find this book at your local library, on Kindle, Audible, and more! The Book Club has set virtual meeting dates every three weeks, wherein which specific chapters of the book will be discussed. The meetings will take place via Zoom, and those who sign up will receive the meeting link as each event date approaches. The Book Club meetings will take place from 11:30am to 12:30pm on the following Tuesdays:

December 1st

December 29th

January 19th

February 9th

March 2nd

March 23rd 

The deadline to register for the Book Club is our first meeting, December 1st 2020. Click here to register. 

This Book Club is for members and non-members of OCDA, so please feel free to share this with other career professionals!

Sign up today for OCDA's first ever Book Club! We will be reading "Friend of a Friend...: Understanding the Hidden Networks That Can Transform Your Life and Career" by David Burkus. You can find this book at your local library, on Kindle, and more! The Book Club has set virtual meeting dates every three weeks, wherein which specific chapters of the book will be discussed. The meetings will take place via Zoom, and those who sign up will receive the meeting link as each event date approaches. The Book Club meetings will take place from 11:30am-12:30pm on the following dates:

Tuesday, December 1st

Tuesday, December 29th

Tuesday, January 19th

Tuesday, February 9th

Tuesday, March 2nd

Tuesday, March 23rd

 Click here to sign up for the Book Club. The deadline to register is December 1st 2020.

** This Book Club is for BOTH members and non-members of OCDA, so please feel free to share this Book Club information with other career professionals! **

SIGN UP TODAY for the Maine CDA's Fall Workshop "Life Design for Navigating Change: Re-Imagining the Career Experience in a Post COVID-19 World." OCDA members will receive a promotional rate of $25 when signing up for this workshop. See below for more details!

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Life Design for Navigating Change: Re-Imagining the Career Experience in a Post COVID-19 World 

 Maine Career Development Association's Fall Workshop, with the theme of  “Life Design for Navigating Change: Re-Imagining the Career Experience in a Post COVID-19 World” will be delivered virtually on Friday, November 13th.  Our keynote speaker and facilitator, Dr. Farouk Dey, is the Vice Provost for Integrative Learning and Life Design at Johns Hopkins University.

Description: Join us to learn about future trends in higher education and the world of work, how people and organizations can leverage the current context to design new pathways, and inequities in life and career outcomes for underrepresented minorities largely due to the transactional systems in higher education and talent acquisition.

MCDA Fall Workshop, 4 CEUs
Friday, November 13th, 2020
Virtual via Zoom
8:30am-12:30pm
Member: $25, Non-Member: $35, State CDA Member (all states): $25, Graduate Student: $15

Registration Link: https://www.maine-cda.org/event-3909501

MCDA Fall Workshop November.pdf

Did you know that November is National Career Development Month? Join OCDA for several exciting events throughout the month! We are hosting two CEU eligible trainings and three Coffee Chats. See the schedule of events here:

To learn more about these events and the NCDA Poster and Poetry Contest, check out our National Career Development Month page found at this link!

If you are interested in registering to attend any of these events, you can click on the event links on the homepage of the website or find the full list of events and their descriptions at this link!

National Career Development Month Events: Registration Now Open!

Learn more about our National Career Development Month events and register online at https://ocdaonline.org/events. 

Attend Free Trainings (CEU Eligible) for the Month of November

OCDA is offering two, free professional development trainings for the month of November; both of these trainings are CEU eligible (1 each) for members approved by the Counselor, Social Worker, and Marriage and Family Therapy Board.

• Monday, November 16th from 6pm-7pm (Virtual): Engaging Graduate Students on Career Management with Evan Faidley, M.Ed., M.A.
• Thursday, November 19th from 12pm-1pm (Virtual):  Designing Mentorship Programs that Incorporate Career Readiness and Self-Efficacy with Taylor Slocum, MSEd., LPC, CPRW.

Network with Other Members - November Coffee Chats

Network virtually with other members during NCDA Month. OCDA will be hosting three Coffee Chats. These meetings are FREE to members and are a wonderful opportunity to meet other members and discuss career related topics!

Dates and Topics:

• Thursday, November 12th from 4pm-5pm:  Advising and Community Engagement/Involvement (e.g., employers)
• Wednesday, November 18th from 5pm-6pm: Advising and Career Programming
• Monday, November 30 from 12pm-1pm: Programming and Special populations

NCDA Poster & Poetry Contest

National Career Development Month is here! Join OCDA in standing out as the most creative and expressive career association by sharing your artistic or poetic talents by clicking HERE for competition information.

Who can enter the NCDA Poetry & Art Contest?

Every adult and student enrolled in eligible, as well as adult practitioners who are not enrolled in school. Content divisions include:

What is this year’s theme?

You are designing a piece of one-page art (created digitally or scanned) or a poem—both virtually submitted as a 8.5” x 11”.pdf, .jpeg or .png file—to the following theme: “My Future Career – Imagine the Possibilities.”

When is my entry due and where do I submit my entry?

The deadline to submit your entry to OCDA is Monday, December 14 by 11:59:59PM EST. Click on the Submission Form to submit your poster or poem.

What happens if I win?

THERE ARE PRIZES!!! OCDA is providing the following prizes this year:

First- through third-place winners’ entries will be sent to the national level for the possibility to win a national award and to be put on display to professionals excited about creativity and careers!

We will also be doing a People’s Choice Award through OCDA social media for you to view the work and vote for your favorite to earn a certificate. Winners will also have the opportunity to attend the OCDA Annual Conference in May 2021 for free. For more information, contact Evan Faidley at efaidley@kent.edu.

National Career Development Month Events: Save the Date!

November is NCD/NCDA Career Development Month and the OCDA Board has put together some great opportunities for our members! Read below for what we are offering for the month of November. 

Attend Free Trainings (CEU Eligible) for the Month of November

OCDA is offering two, free professional development trainings for the month of November; both of these trainings are CEU eligible (1 each) for members approved by the Counselor, Social Worker, and Marriage and Family Therapy Board.

• Monday, November 16th from 6pm-7pm (Virtual): Engaging Graduate Students on Career Management with Evan Faidley, M.Ed., M.A.
• Thursday, November 19th from 12pm-1pm (Virtual):  Designing Mentorship Programs that Incorporate Career Readiness and Self-Efficacy with Taylor Slocum, MSEd., LPC, CPRW.

 

Network with Other Members - November Coffee Chats

Network virtually with other members during NCDA Month. OCDA will be hosting three Coffee Chats. These meetings are FREE to members and are a wonderful opportunity to meet other members and discuss career related topics!

Dates and Topics:

• Thursday, November 12th from 4pm-5pm:  Advising and Community Engagement/Involvement (e.g., employers)
• Wednesday, November 18th from 5pm-6pm: Advising and Career Programming
• Monday, November 30 from 12pm-1pm: Programming and Special populations

OCDA Virtual Winter Book Club

Looking to snuggle up with a good book this winter? Need something to do while stuck at home? Join us for a good book and discussion during our first ever book club! Whether you want to listen to the audiobook or read it, we are excited to have you! We will meet virtually every three weeks starting in December; book title, dates, and sign up will be announced soon.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Dalila Byrd, OCDA Archives Chair, @ dalila.bennett@wright.edu.

Call for Toolkit Requests

We would like to feature members on our social media and the opportunity to share any tools or resources YOU have been using during the pandemic that have been useful while working with clients! We also plan to compile these resources in an exclusive Toolkit to be shared with all members in the month of November!

If you would like to be featured on our social media and/or your tool to be included in the Member Toolkit, please submit:

• Your name, job title, and employer
• A recent headshot of yourself OR a short 30 second - 1 minute video of yourself describing the tool
• The tool (a worksheet, link, book title, etc.) and a brief description of what it is and how it has been helpful

NCDA Career Practitioner Institute

Tuesday, November 10th from 11am to 5pm, join NCDA for their Career Practitioner Institute titled, "Practical Techniques and Strategies for Career Development Practitioners." For the first time ever, this NCDA CPI will be VIRTUAL. Registration is $175 for members, $125 for students/retired, and $275 for non-members. Register online by clicking here.