Manage Your Career

The Job Seekers Guide is intended to enhance services provided by your local employment programs. The layout of the Job Seekers Guide provides you with a comprehensive listing of local and national online resources relevant to each step in managing your career.

Managing your career is a process, and it can be different for each person. The five sections reflect each step in the managing your career. Below are brief descriptions of each step that can help you determine where to begin.

Step 1: Assess Yourself
This step helps you discover all of your skills, interests, and values so you can explore the world of work and present yourself to a potential employer. You should perform this step every year, even if you have a job, since you may have gained new skills, or your interests and values may have changed.

Step 2: Explore Careers
In this step you will learn how to take all the information you learned about yourself in Step 1 and explore occupations that fit the person you are today. You will learn how to research occupations that interest you.

Step 3: Create a Plan & Set Goals
Now that you have narrowed the direction you want to go in, setting goals and making a plan will improve your chances of getting there.

Step 4: Expand Skills
In this step you will learn ways to expand your skills by listing the ones you need to learn and where to get them before you start the job search.

Step 5: Find a Job
Are you ready? You are going to need an updated résumé, a winning cover letter, and in some situations, a portfolio of samples of your work. You will also need to know how to use your contacts to tap into that hidden job market. This step will provide you with information and activities to make you stand out.

The format of this guide will allow you to complete the exercises online, but remember to save or print each completed worksheet for your records. Don’t forget that we are always here to help you in your process.