It took me a year to find a job!
With a clearer focus, Mary probably could have saved herself a lot of frustration - and time. She pursued jobs in college recruiting and journalism but, despite relevant experience, she was repeatedly turned down.
Happily, a career counselor helped Mary see how she could combine her health care experience and newly honed skills in communications. Hired as a customer service representative for a managed-care provider, she was soon promoted to health services coordinator, a position she finds challenging and satisfying.
If you are Not Focused, Others Will Focus for You. Don, an attractive young man with five years of experience in sales, was looking for a "quality company that will make a commitment to its people." He knew he didn't want to continue selling copiers. And was quite sure he didn't want to sell cellular phones either. But he didn't know what he did in almost four months of "looking," he was no further along than when he started. Since he didn't know what he wanted, other people were telling him what to do.
Why don't you get into telecommunications? some suggested. Others claimed that hospital supplies were big in this area. What about commercial real estate? The suggestions were all over the lot, leading Don in the direction of interests. Not his.
When Don was asked what he'd really like to sell, he said his real interest was sports equipment or something else related to sports. The obvious next step for Don was to identify and research the relevant companies, both at the library and through knowledgeable people. If he really worked at that, he could probably get enough information within a month to set a specific goal. Then he could move ahead to reach it.
How Research Can Help You Define Your Goal
Thirty thousand! That's an old estimate of different kinds of jobs in the U.S. - and new positions and whole categories of occupations are being created almost daily. It's an incredible range of opportunities to choose from. And there are great resources to help you research them. The Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT), for example, lists more than 12,000 job titles with detailed descriptions of each title? Most libraries also have the Occupational Outlook Handbook, a major source of vocational guidance in formation for hundreds of occupations. The Handbook describes what workers do on the job, details the training / education needed, and gives some idea of the availability of jobs?
All libraries have some resources, but it's to your advantage to use your public library with the largest business department. Some university libraries or career counseling departments also have impressive collections of printed and online resources, including Discover, SIGI PLUS, or other career guidance software. These may be helpful, especially as a foundation for further investigation. Keep current with developments in your field by reading business magazines and journals, as well as newspapers.
Talking with knowledgeable people in your area of interest is a wonderful-and fun-way to get the information you need. There is no substitute for that counsel at any stage in your career, as Fred discovered. When he started his MBA program, Fred thought he wanted a marketing career. By the time he'd finished, he'd grown interested in product development but wasn't sure it would be a good choice for him.
Fred had to talk with product developers in different industries to find out what they did. What skills and experience did they have? How did they become product developers? How has their activity changed since they started? What trends did they see emerging? What about employment prospects? Etc. Etc. Etc. Eventually, Fred found a job doing product development for a packaging company. He's learning by doing.
