You rang in the New Year. Maybe drank too much champagne. And maybe created some unrealistic resolutions (like going to the gym every single day).
But what about your career? Why not make 2012 the year you plan for greatness? Whether you are a prospective student considering completing a bachelor’s or graduate degree—or a current student looking ahead – a career strategy can set you up for success.
Whether you have selected a major or not or whether you have a defined career goal or not, you can benefit from career research. The research can help you learn about factors such as daily job responsibilities, job growth for a specific career type, and average salary. It doesn’t need to take a lot of time and can be done through online sources or at a deeper level through informational interviews or networking. Consider the methods below to complete your research.
Also, consider completing the Career Worksheet and refer to it as you explore your career interests. It will help guide you in seeing which careers align with your interests and personality. As a companion to these websites, you may want to complete Investigating a Career, an online worksheet that gives you a chance to explore your dream job in greater detail.
ACADEMIC PROGRAMS - If you haven’t enrolled in a degree program, review ASU Online’s offerings here.
AZCIS - A great way to explore careers is by logging onto the Arizona Career Information System (AzCIS):
User name: asucareer
Password: 4azcis02
The Arizona Career Information System showcases many occupations and provides valuable information on wages, duties, degree requirements and job outlook.
O*NET ONLINE - O*NET provides excellent information on jobs and describes the tasks performed, education required, wages and employment outlook and a listing of knowledge, skills and abilities needed to do the work.
OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK - The Occupational Outlook Handbook is a guide to help you find information on job responsibilities, work environment, required education and skills, salary and outlook and related occupations that match your interests.
SUN DEVIL CAREERLINK - Sun Devil CareerLink lists thousands of opportunities throughout the year. This resource gives you a snapshot of real jobs and internships available to students and new college grads so you have a better idea of what employers want and the skills you’ll need.
INFORMATION INTERVIEWING- Conduct an information interview with someone working in your field of interest to gain insights into what he or she does. The information can help confirm that you will enjoy the career field or eliminate it from your list.
VOLUNTEER- Successful people give back to their communities. Not only will you feel good by volunteering and starting that pattern of success, but you'll meet people and explore a career on your terms.
Let us know what career strategies have worked for you and share your success stories with us here.
Best of luck in 2012!
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