1. Choosing a Career
One of the hardest—and most exciting—
choices you’ll ever make is your career.
Although chance may play a part, come
prepared!
Rule#1: Choose a career that is something
you really like to do.
Rule#2: Do your research and choose
carefully and thoughtfully.
Rule#3: Make it meaningful to you.
You owe it to yourself to look for work
that is meaningful and rewarding!

2. Choose Career Options That
Match Your Values
 Knowing what you value most will help
you refine your career search and choice:
 Helping others
 Prestige
 High income
 Flexible work hours
 Establish and align values, career choice,
and career goals for motivation.

3. Surviving in a Fast Economy
 You will always have some control over
your career.
 You must accept risks and plan for the
future to advance your career.
 A college degree does not guarantee
employment.
 A commitment to lifelong learning will
help keep you employable.

4. Factors to Consider
Do: Don’t:
 explore a number of  focus on a major
careers and majors just to get a career
out of it
 get involved
 select a major just
 Get advice from because it is “cool”
people in your or seems to promise
target occupation prestige
 follow your passion  let someone else
 Dare to try push you into a job
 Assume that you
something new
have it all figured
out

5. Factors Affecting Career Choices
Interests Personality
Skills Life goals
Aptitudes and work
People skills
values
Experience
Family
traditions

6. Exploring Your Interests
Holland’s Hexagonal Model of Career Fields
Realisti Investigativ
c e
Conventiona Artistic
l
Enterprisin Socia
g l

7. Where to Go for Help
 Career center
 Faculty
 Upper-class
students
 Student
organizations
 Placement
services

8. Become Knowledgeable
About Careers
 Explore the Occupational Outlook Handbook at
http://www.bls.gov/oco/
 Research several careers, not just one
 Browse the Careers section of a local bookstore
 See a career counselor
 Scope out Internet resources
 Network--many people love to talk about
their jobs!

9. Explore the Occupational Outlook Handbook
http://www.bls.gov/oco/
 Keep up w ith the occupational
outlook for various fields.
 Get to know w hich ones are
adding jobs and w hich ones
are losing them.
 The Occupational Outlook
Handbook is an excellent
source, and is updated every
tw o years.
 Good new s! Over the next few
years, jobs requiring college
degrees w ill be the fastest-
grow ing and highest paying .

10. What to Look for in a
Career
 Major career field target  The type of people you would
 Preferred type of work interact with
 Income requirements  Physical requirements
 Geographical requirements
 Local/national/international
organization
 Special needs  Benefits and perks
 Industry preferences  Advancement opportunities
 Stress level  A good boss
 Level of interaction with other  Training
people  Industry outlook
 Indoor vs. outdoor  Reputation of the firm in the
 Amount of independence industry
 Balance between creative and
conventional tasks

11. Select Several Careers,
Not Just One
 It’s a good idea to have several careers in mind
rather than just one in your first year of college.
 Approximately 60% of students change their
major at some point during their college career.
 It pays to be knowledgeable about more than
just one career field. The average graduate
changes their job seven times in their life.
 It also pays to develop a wide variety of general
skills, particular those related to communication.

12. Network
 Check with people you know about career
information.
 Networking can lead to meeting someone
who may be able to answer your questions
about a specific career or company.
 It is an effective way to learn about the type
of training necessary for a particular
position, what it took to get into the field, and
the positive and negative aspects of the
work.
 More and more professionals are active on
online networks such as LinkedIn.com and
Doostang.com. Some professionals even
use Facebook to get in touch with others in
their field…as well as research potential
candidates.

13.  Assess Your Skills
 Academic Strengths
 Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening
 Math
 Creative Thinking
 Problem Solving and Decision Making
 Personal Qualities
 Self-Esteem, Self-Management,
Responsibility
 People Skills
 Social, Negotiation, Leadership,
Teamwork

14. See a Career Counselor
 The career counselors at your college
are trained professionals who can help
you
discover your strengths and
weaknesses
evaluate your values and goals
sort through what type of career you
want
 They will not tell you what to do, they
will simply help identify what factors
may lead to successful and interesting
career options.

15. Questions for Academic Advisors
 What classes should I take this term
and next?
 What sequence of classes should I
take?
 Am I taking too many difficult classes
in one term?
 What electives do you
recommend?
 What career
 opportunities
are there if I study
mainly _____?

16. Getting Experience
 Volunteer or service
learning
 Study abroad
 Internships/co-ops
 On-campus employment
 Student
projects/competitions
 Research
 On-the-job training
 Apprenticeships

17. Research the Job
 Identify the skills and
experience necessary to How big
perform the job you want. will my
 Determine the general office be?
requirements of the job.
 Learn about the day-to-day
tasks and responsibilities.
 Research the company and
employer.
 Determine the company’s
philosophy.
 The more you know about the
job, the stronger the
candidate you will become.

18. Know What Employers Want
 Potential employers will look for evidence
of your accomplishments and experiences.
 Did you hold leadership positions?
 Were you active in campus organizations or
extracurricular activities?
 Did you have relevant experiences in co-op,
internships, or part-time work?
 Did you make good grades?
 The more you have of these experiences, the
better.
 Go by incognito and get the “lay of the
land.”
 How do the employees dress, interact with each
other, look for
company policy wall signs and so on.

19. Building a Resume
 Put contact information at the top.
 State an objective if appropriate.
 List education to date.
 State accomplishments succinctly using
action verbs.
 Separate w ork experience related to your
major from other w ork experience.
 Include interests you w ant to talk about—
they are often used to begin an interview .
 Even if the job isn’t related to your
major, employers w ill w ant to see how
your experience is relevant to the job.

20. Knock ‘Em Dead in a Job Interview
 The examples you give  Ask appropriate job-
of your past
experiences is critical. related questions.
 Be able to show how  Keep your cool.
past experiences Remember, employers
relate to this
opportunity. are looking for
 Résumés are important competent people
in getting you an with whom they want
interview in the first
place. Make yours to work.
organized and clear.
 Prepare for the
interview: research
your prospective
employer.
 Anticipate what you
will be asked and
practice interviewing.

21. Job Interviews (cont’d)
 Be able to answer basic questions:
 Why do you want this job?
 What are your strengths? Your weaknesses?
 What sets you apart from other candidates?
 If you decide you want the job, you
may want to ask for it at the close of
the interview.
 Type a brief follow-up letter to mail
within 24 hours. Follow-up is key!
What are other interview questions you’ve encountered?

22. Explore Relevant Part-Time
and Summer Jobs
 Students benefit when their jobs
are on campus.
 Investigate if there exists a part-time
job in the department of your major.
 Advanced planning will help you
obtain a summer job with a company
related to your field.
 If you can’t find a related job, you
can still demonstrate work-related
skills and a work ethic that will
impress prospective employers.

23. Get A Job--Activity 13.1
 In your group, create a classified ad
for the “job” of college student.
 For example, “_______________________
College/University is seeking
applicants w ith excellent skills in oral
and w ritten communication, problem
solving, time management, and
technology for positions as
professional students preparing for a
variety of future opportunities…”
 Ads should list particular job
requirements, benefits, information
about your institution and so on, and be
transferred to a large sheet of paper
to present to the group.

24. Internet Career Journey
Activity 13.2
Research a potentially desirable career via the
Internet. Your goal should be to build a portfolio
that includes:
 a printout or description of a career field of
interest from the online Occupational Outlook
Handbook
 a description of ten things you have learned about
yourself and your career choices based on what
you find
 a projection of your lifestyle twenty years into
the future, including the career necessary to
sustain that lifestyle, and other career-related
factors of interest such as preparation required,
necessary skills, additional training after
college, pros and cons, entry salary range,
advancement opportunities, personality
characteristics of those in the career field,

25. Internet Career Journey
Activity 13.2 --Web Resources
Occupational Outlook The Riley Guide:
Handbook Employment
11_Careers_new.ppt Opportunities and Job
Resources on the
Career Resource Center Internet
http://www.careers.org/ www.rileyguide.com
Job Hunt
http://www.job-hunt.org Monster.com
http://www.monster.com
The Catapult on Job W eb /
http://www.job-
hunt.org/
Quintessential Careers
http://www.quintcareers.com/i
ndex.html