A job search can be time consuming and fraught with emotions. Whether your job search is motivated by a job loss, a career transition or a desire for more pay/responsibility, searching for a job takes time and effort. The best job searches happen when you have a clear idea of what you want and what your strengths & skills are. Unsure about those two areas? Career and skills inventories are great ways for you to discover more about your jobs & career needs.
The Library has several great resources for career and skills inventories. The granddaddy of them all is the Occupational Outlook Handbook from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Use the digital or print version to research any occupation, the path towards landing a job in that occupation, and the outlook for future job prospects. In addition to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, Learning Express Library is the perfect tool to use to explore occupations, your skills sets, and find a career match. Money is an important factor in any job search. The Library database FinancialFit has microlessons on work and finance, allowing you to make more informed work life choices. Besides Library resources, the following websites offer different career and skills inventories. (These free resources are not affiliated with the library and may require you to create an account).
- Illinois Career Information System From the state of Illinois, this website offers entrepreneurial assessments, interest profilers, work preferences surveys, workplace employability skills and more via their Self-Surveys section.
- Northstar Digital Literacy Assessment offers an online assessment of your current technology skills.
- O*NET Interest Profiler from the Department of Labor offers an interest survey that uses the science of the Holland Theory of Career Choice to help you connect your personal interests to occupational interests.
- SWOT Analysis from the State of Louisiana guides you through creating a personal SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis.
- Work Values Matcher from the Department of Labor is a card sorting activity that helps you prioritize your work values and learn which careers match your values.
Once you’ve discovered your strengths, values and skills, it’s time to create a job search action plan and employ some proven job search strategies. Strategy number one is to treat your job search like a job. Schedule a time each week or several times a week to job search or work on career goals. Along with carving out that time, you should create job search goals and divide individual goals into achievable weekly objectives. An example of a weekly objective could be to polish your online presence and make all your personal social media accounts private. It’s also a good time to make sure you have a professional sounding email address. If your email address is princesssparklepony@ aol.com, create a Gmail account for your job search with an email that is your fistnamelastname@ gmail.com. Using AOL, Hotmail, or Yahoo can be seen as out of date, so we recommend using Gmail as your primary email service for job hunting.
Other weekly objectives can be:
- Create a list of your professional accomplishments. Put all your wins, large and small, on it. This list will come in handy later when you are updating your resume and interviewing.
- Analysis your skills and identify any skill gaps. For those gaps, find classes or resources that can help you improve or update your skills.
- Craft a compelling short elevator speech that you can use when you network and during interviews.
- Analyze your current contacts and network. Brainstorm ways to add to your network by using a networking worksheet like this one from Bryn Mawr college.
- Create new connections and network. Look at people in jobs you would like to have. Reach out and see if they have time for a phone call or a coffee so you can learn about their experiences.
- Attend industry specific conferences and networking events to create even more connections and to improve your skills and knowledge base.
Starting a job search is tough, but the library is here to support you.
We invite you to come create, collaborate, and grow with us at DeKalb Public Library! If you have questions about our building, services, materials, or any suggestions, please reach out to us at [email protected] or 815-756-9568 ext. 2150, or stop by and see us during our open hours. Happy reading!