Career workshop and classes on money personality

I just posted that Money Habitudes cards are used all the time in a variety of financial education seminars, job classes, and the like. Well, here’s a good example of a career workshop using Money Habitudes. In this case, JVS (Jewish Vocational Service) in Boston offers a career seminar called “Money Habitudes: A Workshop for Identifying How Money Affects Career Decision-Making.”

What’s your Money Habitude?
As a child I liked to play cards. Go Fish, Gin Rummy, Crazy Eights, Slapjack, even a little bit of poker …
I never imagined that my work as a career counselor would overlap with my childhood love of cards. Then I discovered Money Habitudes, a card game that helps people discover their underlying feelings and assumptions about money. As a career counselor, I’ve seen firsthand how our attitudes about money impact the choices we make, both personal and professional.
I’ve found Money Habitudes® to be useful on a personal level as well. I get to enjoy a game of cards AND find out something new about myself. I played Money Habitudes® today and learned about my current dominant Habitudes with regard to money.  …
Want to play some cards? … Money Habitudes workshop on Wednesday, January 25, 2012 from 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM. For more information and to register click here.

Career Workshop

The previous post outlined how and why Money Habitudes cards are used in financial education classes, with additional information available elsewhere on the site for teachers of financial education courses.  This JVS event is a career example and the reasons are similar, but here are some similarities between this career course and other job classes that use Money Habitudes:

1. Fun classroom activity: Many agencies and organizations use Money Habitudes because it feels like a game and because it’s hands-on, interactive, and used like a fun classroom game. They also use it to mix up some of the “old reliable” classes they usually offer. And because it’s novel and non-threatening, it can be a good way to get new clients or students in the door – and have them come back for another class or coaching because they had a good experience.
2. Time: This class is 1.5 hours, which is maybe a little longer than many career seminars of an hour or so. However, having 90 minutes lets a facilitator introduce and explain the activity. It lets one put it in context (in this case, “how our attitudes about money impact the choices we make, both personal and professional”). It allows sufficient time to conduct the sorting exercise without rushing. Then it allows ample time for group discussion, questions, and other activities. With less time, facilitators use the cards more as an icebreaker or conversation starter about money attitudes rather than as a tool for teaching personality tests.
3. Complements other career classes: As a self-awareness class using a money personality test, the course dovetails well with the organization’s other offerings: Resume Clinic, Mock Interview Clinic, Find Your Next Job on Twitter (networking, social media), Salary Negotiation, Branding 2.0 (personal branding). Even without these other classes, talking about one’s money type in the context of a job or career often brings up issues around how you relate to others, how others see you, how you present yourself to an employer, etc. Salary negotiation issues are particularly interesting when talking about money attitudes and values. As a result, instructors often integrate Money Habitudes cards into a series of classes or at least nominally connect them to other classroom or counseling offerings. The JVS theme for its integrated series of classes is “Rejuvenate your Job Search.”
4. Low-cost or free classes: Many organizations that use Money Habitudes provide classes at no cost or low cost. The classes that JVS is providing are $15.
5. Diverse audience: Some career counseling organizations have a specific target audience, but others do not. One of the benefits of Money Habitudes is that it works well with a diverse audience. In this case, a class may consist of highly educated former executives alongside low-to-moderate income (LMI) students. Used like a game, it’s something everyone can enjoy and get value from. Also, organizations that focus mostly on financial education, asset building, marriage, relationships, or life skills use Money Habitudes as a way to offer a fun career workshop.
6. Staff training and personal development: As the posting notes, career counselors can use the tool to work with clients, but they can also get personal understanding and self-awareness from it themselves. That makes it a fun class activity for the students and the teacher. However, being aware of how you relate to money and how your clients relate to money – which may be very different – helps you as a coach better relate to a client and understand him or her. That can make for a better interaction, especially in one-on-one counseling, in terms of how you give advice and how you listen and react to a client.

As a training tool, organizations typically purchase a set of durable Money Habitudes cards and use them over and over. The tool is a frequent inclusion in several programs or classes within the same organization. There is no license fee to use the tool in a workshop. Additional information for coaches, counselors, and facilitators can be found in The Guide for Professionals.