Employee Career Exploration Week

Aug. 3-7, 2026

Open to all State of Minnesota Employees. Free to attend. Designed to help you grow.

Employee Career Exploration Week gives all state employees a way to learn new skills and explore their career goals. The event brings employees from across state service together for ten live virtual sessions. The sessions include presentations with Q&A and panel discussions. If you aren’t able to join live, you can watch the session recordings. The team will add the recordings to this page within two weeks after the event.

How to Register

Session registration links will be shared in the July Career Connections newsletter and with agency leaders to distribute at their agencies. Because sessions are limited to current State of Minnesota employees, links are not posted on this site. Please check with your manager or supervisor or your agency's learning and development lead if you're not sure where to find the links.

You need to register for each session you want to attend so you receive the calendar invite. If you’re not sure where to find the links, please check with your manager or supervisor.

Accessibility

Every session will have an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter. In addition, Teams Town Halls have live captions, screen reader support and keyboard navigation. After the event, the team will edit each recorded session to include captions. If you require an accommodation or have questions, please contact us at workforce.development.mmb@state.mn.us by July 20.

Sessions

Take Charge of Your Career
Take Charge of Your Career

Monday, Aug. 3, 11 a.m. – Noon

Building the career you want in state service starts with knowing how you want to grow and what kind of work you want to do. This session will help you think about your long-term career goals and how you can grow your career in your current position or explore other career opportunities within the state.

Who should attend?

You may find this session helpful if you want to...
- Grow your career
- Build your skills
- Find a new job in state service
Using Classification to Guide Your Career Path
Using Classification to Guide Your Career Path

Monday, Aug. 3, 3-4 p.m.

The state uses a robust web of job classifications to make sure jobs are as equitable as possible for all employees. When you understand the basics, you can use these classifications to understand your current role and identify how to grow into the role you want. This session will show how to navigate job classifications and career paths to help you build your career.

Who should attend?

You may find this session helpful if you want to...
- Grow your career
- Find a new job in state service
- Learn something helpful for your job
Meeting the Needs of Minnesota’s Evolving Workforce
Meeting the Needs of Minnesota’s Evolving Workforce

Tuesday, Aug. 4, 11 a.m. – Noon

Did you know the average State employee is 45 years old? Or that 22% of new hires at the State identify as a person with a disability? Or that 37% of our employees live outside the Metro area? Our workforce keeps changing, and the State of Minnesota wants to respond to what workers need today. In this session, we’ll look at current workforce trends and what they mean for you. Bring your toughest questions for the Q&A with the state’s Workforce Development Director Dori Leland.

Who should attend?

You may find this session helpful if you want to...
- Grow your career
- Learn something helpful for your job
- Prepare for a leadership role
- Support your team as a supervisor
Reimagining Your Career in State Service
Reimagining Your Career in State Service

Tuesday, Aug. 4, 3-4 p.m.

Challenge the idea that career advancement only happens in one direction. Some employees follow the traditional career ladder. Others grow their careers in their current role or by making lateral or diagonal moves. This session will explore the difference between career ladders and career lattices and show you how real movement happens across roles, levels and specialties. After a short presentation, a panel of current state employees talk candidly about how they entered state service, the skills they built and the pivotal choices that shaped their careers.

Who should attend?

You may find this session helpful if you want to...
- Grow your career
- Find a new job in state service
- Learn something helpful for your job
- Support your team as a supervisor
Influencing and Leading as an Individual Contributor
Influencing and Leading as an Individual Contributor

Wednesday, Aug. 5, 11 a.m. – Noon

Individual contributors are employees who use their skills and knowledge to lead their own work without being in a supervisory role. Leading as an individual contributor takes strategy. In this session, a panel of current state employees will talk candidly about how they lead and influence in their roles as individual contributors. They’ll talk about the challenges they face and share ideas you can use in your own career growth.

Who should attend?

You may find this session helpful if you want to...
- Grow your career
- Build your skills
- Lead without a title
Is Leadership Right for Me?
Is Leadership Right for Me?

Wednesday, Aug. 5, 3-4 p.m.

A leader isn’t just their job title. They’re someone who steps up to manage projects, people, organizations and more. Moving into leadership takes practice and skill. This session will help you understand what it takes to be an effective leader, explore your leadership potential and plan your path toward your first leadership position.

Who should attend?

You may find this session helpful if you want to...
- Grow your career
- Find a new job in state service
- Lead without a title
- Prepare for a leadership role
Your Strengths, Your Story: Ideas on How to Show Up and Stand Out
Your Strengths, Your Story: Ideas on How to Show Up and Stand Out

Thursday, Aug. 6, 11 a.m. – Noon

Your strengths and ideas matter. Knowing what you bring to your work helps you focus on the tasks and opportunities that energize and motivate you. In this session, we’ll share how to identify your strengths, create a personal value statement and build connections that support your career. You’ll learn simple, practical ways to grow your presence and take meaningful steps toward your career goals.

Who should attend?

You may find this session helpful if you want to...
- Grow your career
- Build your skills
- Lead without a title
- Find a new job in state service
- Learn something helpful for your job
- Support your team as a supervisor
Strength Through Setbacks: Building Self-Reflection and Resilience
Strength Through Setbacks: Building Self-Reflection and Resilience

Thursday, Aug. 6, 3-4 p.m.

Setbacks are a natural part of any career journey. This session will help you bring a growth mindset to your career development by learning how to manage disappointment, leverage the resources available to you and practice self-compassion. You’ll gain tools to recover, refocus and move forward with confidence.

Who should attend?

You may find this session helpful if you want to...
- Build your skills
- Prepare for a leadership role
- Learn something helpful for your job
- Support your team as a supervisor
Leveraging LinkedIn Learning for Professional Development
Leveraging LinkedIn Learning for Professional Development

Friday, Aug. 7, 11 a.m. – Noon

LinkedIn Learning is an online learning platform with thousands of on-demand video courses and a wide range of tools to support your career growth. It can be hard to know where to start and what features are available to you as state employees. In this session, we’ll walk through the platform’s most useful features, including personalized career learning plans, skill assessments, learning paths and the State of Minnesota’s video library. You’ll learn how to use these tools to build a clear learning plan that supports your career development.

Who should attend?

You may find this session helpful if you want to...
- Grow your career
- Build your skills
- Learn something helpful for your job
- Support your team as a supervisor
Applying as a Current State Employee
Applying as a Current State Employee

Friday, Aug. 7, 3-4 p.m.

Many state employees grow their careers by moving between agencies. Even current employees can find it hard to write resumes that stand out. A clear, well-crafted resume can help your resume reach the hiring manager. In this session, you’ll learn how to tailor your resume, understand and write for minimum qualifications and present your experience with confidence. Recruiters will explain how they review resumes and share tips you can use to apply for positions.

Who should attend?

You may find this session helpful if you want to...
- Grow your career
- Find a new job in state service
- Prepare for a leadership role

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Check out the Employee Career Exploration Week FAQs page for answers to common questions. You can learn how to join the sessions, what technology you can use and how to contact the team if you need more help.