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The Career Development Process

The following four-step formula guides you toward making an informed decision about careers to pursue and how to enhance opportunities for securing meaningful employment.

Step 1.  Self-Assessment  (get to know yourself)

Self-awareness plays an important role in determining careers you may wish to explore. Take time to conduct a personal inventory of your interests, skills, values, and personality.  If you have already made a career choice, a personal inventory can help determine whether you made the right decision. Assessment instruments that will help you in this process include:

• The Self Directed Search (SDS)

•  Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator (MBTI)

•  FOCUS (a self guided computerized career guidance program)

• Career Exploration Inventory (CEI)

• The Strong Interest Inventory (SII)

These assessment tools and others are available for students at Career Services, Room 124, Student Services Building at no charge.

Step 2.  Career Exploration (learn about the career/job)

Read     To make an informed career decision, you need to understand what a job is really about. You will find a wealth of information at Career Services and at the Marion Campus Library.  Also, check out any public library, professional associations by industry type, the Internet, etc.

Talk      Conduct informational interviews with people already in the industry. These people can provide the most up-to-date information about job descriptions and changes going on in that particular career or job. Establish contacts by talking to faculty, alumni, family friends, friends of friends, current and former employers, and members of clubs or professional associations. Once you meet one person who is willing to help you be sure to ask for referrals to others in the field÷it's called networking.

Step 3.  Field Experiences  (try it on for size)

After learning about the career/job get some hands-on experience. A field experience allows you to test the career/job before making a final decision. It provides an opportunity to observe or perform the day-to-day routine of a job you are considering. Talk with faculty members, explore resources at Career Services, and use alumni to develop a contact base for possible field experience sites.

Ö         Internships/Co-Ops allow to explore career possibilities or to prepare for a chosen career. They typically involve an academic term, and academic year, and/or summer. They may be full-time, part-time, paid or unpaid. Most award academic credit. Interns often work on specific projects or perform teaching or research tasks at a professional level.

Ö         Volunteer work gives you the opportunity to work with people in career you might wish to pursue. You learn what work environment you enjoy most and gain skills that will enhance future employment opportunities. In future interviews you will be able to explain how your volunteer experience will benefit the organization by showing how it helped you.

Ö         Summer jobs also allow you to explore career fields and to develop key skills needed in a future job. With good planning and an early start, you can find a summer job that allows you to examine future employment opportunities. For more information about summer jobs, use Career Services, the Internet, the Library, professional contacts, etc.

Ö         Part-time jobs can be a excellent but often overlooked field experience. Most students take on a part-time job because they need money, but part-time jobs also exposes you to work environments that help clarify your career interests. Part-time jobs help you establish a work history while developing solid work related skills. These experiences can provide valuable references when applying for future jobs in your professional career choice.

Step 4.  The Job Search  (take action)

Conducting a job search while going to school can be very demanding and frustrating. It typically takes up to six months of active job searching before securing meaningful employment. It is estimated that nearly 70% of all the available jobs are never even advertised. If true, how do you find out about these hidden jobs?  The answer is-start early! Devise an effective, efficient strategy for implementing your career decision by learning how to market yourself. Using the network of contacts you've established through informational interviews, field experiences, and through family, friends, college contacts, etc. the so-called hidden job market will reveal itself to you. The secret to success is to be competent, confident and persistent!