45 Career Day Speech and Presentation Ideas (2024)

June 19, 2019 / Last updated: December 5, 2024

I was a speaker at an school’s career day. When I received the invite, I had no idea what to talk about.

What should I say? What questions should I ask?

How should I structure my speech? What were some presentation ideas?

Now I know. And I will tell you everything that I learned.

These are the best tips, tricks, and advice for speakers at a school career day.

The speech and presentation ideas are collected from educators, colleagues, friends, and my own experience. You’ll read in this article about my learnings from hosting a career day, including:

• How to write your speech
• What things to bring (props)
• How to interact with the students
• Story and hands-on activity ideas, and more.

Introduction

When my friend invited me to speak to her 2nd grade class at their Career Day, I immediately thought: How do I speak to children? What do elementary school kids want to hear at a Career Day?

What I learned is that there are many differences in speaking to kids compared to speaking to adults. For example:

• The kids were very participative. They gave many more questions and interactions and interruptions than I’ve ever had with an adult audience.
• If I was asking a question to the audience and getting answers from multiple people, I had to remind each student of the question. In a presentation to adults, if I ask a question, I can just point at different adults and quickly get multiple answers around the room. Today I found that I had to repeat the question each time I pointed at a new student in order to help them remember what I was specifically asking for.
• The kids all sat on the floor. To raise engagement levels, it was helpful for me to also sit on the floor or in a small chair.

Best Career Day Tips

Here are my best tips that you can use when writing your speech or presentation. I’ll list more detailed tips below.

1. Keep it simple: Use language and concepts that students can understand. I don’t have specific advice on how to tailor your presentation for elementary, middle, or high school. Use your best judgment here, and when in doubt, make it more easy rather than more complicated.
2. Make it interactive: Include activities that engage the students. I will include some ideas later on on what you can do for specific interactions and activations. But the general idea is to incorporate hands-on activities that let kids participate in demonstrations related to your job.
3. Use visual aids: Bring pictures, props, or create simple PowerPoint presentations. If you’re going to create a PowerPoint presentation, then be sure to check and confirm that you can bring your laptop in or that you can give the file to the teacher to display. This is extremely important and most people forget this point causing a lot of unnecessary drama.
4. Be loud and clear: Remember that you’re entertaining as well as informing.
5. Don’t talk down to the kids: I know I said to keep it simple. But the students are often smarter than you might think.
6. Manage interruptions firmly but politely: It’s OK to redirect off-topic questions for later. You should be a leader and not feel like you have to answer every single questions.
7. Bring swag: Students of all ages probably love stickers, pencils, and other small items related to your job. If you can bring anything from the office as a free giveaway, it might be a big hit.
8. Involve teachers: They can help frame questions appropriately for the age group. Use the teacher in the class to help you direct your presentation or pick up lulls when you feel the energy is lagging.
9. Use analogies: This one is key! Compare complex job aspects to things that the students will understand. See below for specific examples.
10. Show fun examples of work: Play relevant TV ads or YouTube clips to demonstrate marketing concepts from your industry.
11. Gamify your presentation: Create simple games related to your field to engage students. You can also quiz the students to see if they’re listening.
12. Use props creatively: When in doubt, bring props. Even if it is something totally boring. The more hands-on items you can bring, I think you’ll be happy to have them during the presentation to pull from during your talk.
13. Explain daily tasks: Describe your typical workday, from start to finish, to give students a real sense of the job. This can definitely be a part of every career day presentation.
14. Discuss likes and dislikes: Share what you enjoy and find challenging about your work, within reason. Students will appreciate your authenticity if you actually tell them the things that you do not like.
15. Tell stories: Share interesting anecdotes from your work experience. For example, during my talk about being a museum tour guide, I told them a story about when I ran out of admission tickets for a large tour. It was quite stressful, but in the end, it was a huge learning experience.
16. Offer a Q&A session: Allow time for students to ask their own questions. As a pro-tip, I would suggest you do Q&A a few times during your presentation. See more advanced suggestions for how to manage this question and answer stuff below.
17. Discuss the importance of your work: Explain how your job impacts everyday life.
18. Connect to popular culture: Use examples from movies, TV shows, or social media.

Video: Career Day Tips Video

Here’s a video that I filmed last month at a high school, speaking to students as part of a career day. You’ll see some tips for engagement which apply to this age group that I demonstrate in the video. [Watch it on YouTube here].

Use analogies

Compare complex job aspects to things kids understand. For example:

• For a network administrator: “Managing a computer network is like being a traffic cop for information. Just as a traffic cop directs cars to keep them moving smoothly and avoid jams, I direct data to make sure it gets where it needs to go without causing digital traffic jams.”
• For a financial advisor: “Managing money is like tending a garden. You plant seeds (investments), water them (add more money), pull out weeds (cut unnecessary expenses), and watch your garden grow over time. Sometimes you might need to protect your plants from bad weather (economic downturns), but with proper care, your financial garden will flourish.”
• For a software developer: “Writing computer code is like creating a recipe. Just as a chef combines ingredients in a specific order to make a delicious meal, I combine different instructions in a specific order to create a program that does exactly what we want it to do.”

Write your speech with simple language

But don’t “talk down” to the kids in class, even at an elementary school.

Be prepared to answer questions.

The students will be very curious! They had a LOT of questions for me.

Have Good Stories Ready

You should also have good stories that you can tell about situations at work which describe your daily duties.

I received lots of tips and advice for my own talk from my network. Here at the best tips that I used:

Sit At Their Level

Sit at their level. Either on a little chair or on the floor. Grownups can be scary! — Jason Hackett

Bring Props

My friend Jarrod suggested that I bring some props. I brought large printed examples of some objects at the museum.

Props are a great way to keep the students engaged and allow them to look at and fiddle with something while they’re speaking with you. — Ecka

Have High Energy / Be Excited

I think my girlfriend told me this: Get excited! Kids can feel the energy. Be animated and expressive with my body and face.

My friend Danielle said: “Be silly, yet firm.”

I asked the kids to sit and talk to a partner about the question: If you were going to start a business and sell something to your friends, what would you sell and why? I blurred out their faces to be extra careful with privacy.

Ask the Students Questions

This was one of the best pieces of advice, and a lot of people suggested it.

Make sure there is a back and forth. Ask them questions, encourage them to ask questions. — Sarah Marsom

Ask tons of questions. I start by asking them if they have ever been on a field trip and then explain that I plan field trips for adults. — Theresa

Ask questions throughout!!! It will empower them to feel like they are part of the conversation and promote active listening throughout!!! — Camellia

Another speaker talking to 2nd grade students for Career Day. I blurred out the faces again for privacy just to be safe!

Questions That I Asked

• Who here has ever been to a museum? (raise your hand)
• Who can name a museum in New York City?
• What are some things that you find inside of a museum?
• Entrepreneurship: If you were going to sell something to your friends, what would you sell and why?

Interactive Play

Think about a game or activity about your job. Allow the children to role play as if they are in a day of your career.

Sample Activities

1. Simulate work tasks: Have students perform simplified versions of your daily tasks.
2. Teach relevant codes or jargon: Introduce basic industry-specific language. I’m not sure if students would actually appreciate this, but I’m a nerd, and I would like it.

Bring a Box of Snacks

Check with the teachers beforehand to get approval or dietary restrictions, but this can be a big win! Kids love snacks.

Tell a lot of stories about your job

Kids also love stories. Imagine you’re telling a bedtime story: how would you talk about your career? What is one of your favorite memories from work? What was it like when you first started your job?

Give the students examples

One of the things kids can relate to is toys. Bringing up one of the best toys like SLIME can surely make the whole class excited! Ask them what type of slimes would they like to put if they have a Slime Museum?

Give out handouts or prizes

Do you have any brochures from your job that you can pass around, ideally with photos?

Are there objects that you could pass around the room?

Bring those to your career day speech to make it more interactive.

Sample Career Day Speech

Here’s what you could say for a sample career day speech. It is based on my own presentation to a group of 2nd graders when I introduced myself as a museum tour guide.

Hello everyone! My name is Nick Gray and I am a museum tour guide. Who here has ever been to a museum? Raise your hand if you’ve ever been to a museum before. My job is to be a museum tour guide. That means I walk people around as a guide at an art museum. I tell them about the works of art. Who has ever seen a paining before? Raise your hand if you have ever seen a painting. Keep your hands up. I am going to call on someone now to ask you about what painting you saw, or what you remember. (ask a few students about any painting they have seen before, and what they liked about it) The times that I work for my job are 10AM to 6PM every day. Sometimes I even have to work on Saturday and Sundays, because those are very busy days at the museum. Do you think you would want to work on the weekend? My favorite parts about my job are meeting new people, and doing research about the new works of art. To do my job, you have to be very good at talking to people. Who here likes talking to people? Raise you hand if you like talking to people.

Industry-Specific Career Day Speech Ideas

I talked to a few of my friends in healthcare and IT to get ideas for specific things you can do during your career day talk. Try these out.

Healthcare Professionals

1. Demonstrate medical tools: Show how to use a stethoscope to listen to heartbeats.
2. Use props for anatomy lessons: Bring a skeleton model to discuss bones and demonstrate basic first aid.
3. Simulate medical procedures: Use a stuffed animal to show how to bandage or suture wounds.
4. Incorporate technology: Use a tablet to show images from medical devices like otoscopes.
5. Show and explain X-rays: Bring sample X-rays for kids to view and discuss.
6. Offer take-home items: Give out age-appropriate medical-themed prizes like toy stethoscopes.
7. Conduct guessing games: Have students guess the function of various medical tools or medications.
8. Use visual aids: Bring medical posters or models to explain body systems.
9. Engage in role-play: Have students act out doctor-patient scenarios.
10. Encourage physical engagement: Pass around safe medical objects for hands-on exploration.
11. Simulate patient diagnosis: Present simple clinical scenarios for students to think through.
12. Discuss the importance of health: Explain why regular check-ups and good habits matter.
13. Connect to everyday life: Relate medical concepts to students’ daily experiences.
14. Incorporate group activities: Have students work together on medical-themed puzzles or games.
15. Use analogies: Compare complex medical concepts to things familiar to kids.

IT Professionals

1. Demonstrate cybersecurity concepts: Show simple hacking prevention techniques.
2. Explain how popular apps work: Discuss the technology behind social media.
3. Showcase emerging technologies: Bring VR gear or discuss AI applications.
4. Relate IT to students’ interests: Connect technology to gaming, music, or sports.

8 Bonus Ideas for ALL Industries

Start with a hook: Begin your presentation with an intriguing fact or question to capture attention.

Bring a colleague: Having two presenters can add variety and show teamwork in action.

Discuss education path: Share your academic journey, whether that includes simple a high school diploma or all the way up to a PhD. I only got my BA but that didn’t stop me from being a great presenter.

Mention salary ranges: Provide realistic information about potential earnings in your field.

Bring actual work samples: Show examples of projects or reports you’ve worked on if you’re able.

Discuss career progression: For older students, explain how one can advance in your field over time.

Address common misconceptions: Clear up any myths about your profession. This one can be fun and you can ask the kids what they think, and then correct and answer them.

Mention famous figures: Talk about well-known people who work or have worked in your field.

Presentation Feedback

In two of the classes that I spoke to, I asked the teachers to fill out these “Comment Cards” for my career day presentation. I love to get feedback whenever I speak.

Class 1 — It was effective when:

• Positive narrating good behavior.
• Contextualizing your occupation with a fun launch that engaged kiddos.
• The harmonica was captivating!
• Introducing pieces from the museum, but pushing kiddos to inquir & think critically of the pieces.

Class 2 — It was effective when:

• You brought resources.
• You brought tons of enthusiasm!
• Gave many opportunities for the kids to speak and share.
• Good job sounds! (That was when I played my harmonica.)

Areas for improvement:

• Limiting students called on for each question in the interest of time (time conflicts that are not your fault, though). Nick’s note: I can certainly improve a lot here. There were just SO MANY kids wanting to participate. I didn’t want to make kids feel left out by not calling on them, so I think I tried to call on everyone. This wasted a lot of valuable time.
• I have lots more things that I could improve on! But the teachers were too nice not to critique me more.

Conclusion

Presenting at Career Day as an elementary school speaker was challenging, rewarding, and fun.

In summary, my best advice for career day speakers is:

1. Sit At Their Level
2. Bring Props
3. Have High Energy / Be Excited
4. Ask Them Questions
5. Interactive Play
6. Bring a Box of Snacks
7. Tell A Lot Of Stories
8. Give The Students Examples They Can Relate To
9. Give Out Handouts Or Prizes

I have a newfound respect for teachers at all grade levels. To deal with so many active students for hours every day… wow. It was tiring after one hour and I can’t imagine a whole day of being “on” like that.

What advice do you have for someone who is presenting to elementary school kids on Career Day? Send me an email and let me know.

Thank you to KIPP Infinity in Harlem for inviting me to speak, Zach for organizing and managing the morning, Rachel for proof-reading this post and inviting me, and all my friends on my private Facebook who gave tips and advice. 

Video Example of Teaching Style

This is the best video I found online showing classroom management by a teacher. It was helpful to watch and try to emulate some of these things when I presented to the students for Career Day.