Career Exploration
Although you may be feeling stressed and a bit confused about choosing a career, the Office of Career Development can help you start exploring your career goals as early as your first year on campus.
Below are some tips and resources for career exploration that you may find helpful in your career decision-making. In addition to this list of resources, we also highly recommend that you meet with our career counselor to discuss your potential career path. You can make an appointment by contacting the Office of Career Development at 517.750.6711.
Career Assessments
The first step in the career development process is self-assessment, including identifying your interests, skills, values and personality style. The Office of Career Development offers interest, skill, and personality assessment, along with personal guidance to help you discover things about yourself, your study habits, values and goals that may point to majors in which you will be successful. The following resources are available to assist you:
- Strong Interest Inventory – Speak with a Career Advisor for information.
Exploring Career Options
U. S. Dept of Labor
O*NET Online and America’s Career Infonet have detailed descriptions of the world of work for use by job seekers, workforce development and HR professionals, students, researchers, and more.
The Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) is a resource developed by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. It is updated every other year and provides information on job outlook, salaries, working conditions, training and other career-related information for a multitude of professions.
Informational Interviews
Informational interviews are a great tool for learning more about a particular career. You can set up informational interviews with anyone who works in your field of interest. Potential resources are SAU alumni (by utilizing the Mentoring Alumni Program – MAP) or friends of your parents/family. You may also simply call someone who works in the field in which you are interested and ask if they might be willing to speak with you about their career. A counselor in the career services office can help you find potential contacts with whom you might be able to conduct an informational interview.
Job Descriptions
Looking at job descriptions through some of the online job search engine (indeed.com, monster.com) is another great way to learn more about a certain occupation. Most job descriptions list the educational background needed for the job, skills needed for the jobs, duties performed in the job, etc.