Career Discovery
Identifying Potential Careers
< Career Discovery

Now that you have gathered information about yourself, you can begin exploring majors and career options - just what is out there?  At this point in the career planning process, you should not be too worried about making a decision; instead, you should simply be increasing your knowledge of  various academic disciplines and careers.  Use what you have learned about yourself to rule out the obvious choices that are not good for you. This is time consuming and may seem overwhelming, but the investment you make in gathering good information often aids good decision making. There are a number of methods for conducting research on your options:

 

Utilize resources in the Career Services library

A number of books, periodicals, and newsletters are available to help you explore careers, including those occupations requiring graduate and professional degrees.  You can usually find an overview of a profession, typical activities performed, qualifications required, job outlook for the future and salary potential.  Corporate literature also frequently contains profiles of career opportunities within specific organizations and fields.  Review actual job descriptions and employer literature to get even more concrete information about potential career options and "what people do all day."

• Career Services Library

 

Explore online

The Web is a vast source of information that should be tapped when conducting research about careers.  Perform keyword searches, using job titles and industry names to gather information.

• Occupational Outlook Handbook - The US Department of Labor Statistics compiles this extensive guide to careers, which contains profiles, training and education requirements, salary potential, and job outlook for the future.

• Princeton Review Career and Internship Search - General career overviews as well as an advanced internship search with listings and information on how to apply.

• Wetfeet.com - Information on careers in business, along with industry and company profiles.

• Riley Guide - Several assessment tools available, along with employment opportunities and job resources on the Internet.

• Quintessential Careers – Listings and web resources by field. A-Z index is particularly helpful.

• www.jobweb.com - Career and job search related articles.

• Industry specific tips and key resources from Career Services – Career Services’s own on-line information about several different industries and lines of work gleaned from advice given by alumni and speakers over the years.

 

Computer-assisted career guidance

SIGI 3 - SIGI 3® software integrates self-assessment with in-depth and up-to-date career information that is easy to use and provides students and adults with a realistic view of the best educational and career options for their future success.
SIGI 3 software is a product of Valpar.

 

Volunteer or pursue work experience
A valuable way to research careers is by getting involved in them early.  Volunteering, working part-time, conducting research with a professor, or securing an internship are all great ways to gain a deeper appreciation of day to day life in a particular field or industry.  Practical experiences help you evaluate and "reality test" your choices.

 

Consult with a career counselor
Exploring career options and examining your potential level of satisfaction with them requires you to manage a lot of information.  Consulting with a career counselor is a good way to develop strategies for managing your research and to learn about ways to research your career interests more productively.

 

Talk to people about what they do
Once you have identified an occupation that sounds interesting, talking with people who already work in that field can be tremendously informative.  They can provide special insight into the rewards and rigors of a particular occupation, as well as tell you specific information about their organization.  People with the same job title, in the same type of industry, might perform very different functions depending on the culture, organization and size of the company.  Start with friends, family and faculty.  Expand your network to include alumni and employers who recruit regularly on campus.  One place to check out is the Penn Alumni Career Network, a Penn alumni database.

 

Informational Interviewing

One of the best ways to research career fields of interest is by speaking with people who are working in the field. This process may be referred to as informational interviewing. An informational interview is an interview that you initiate - you are the one wanting to ask questions. Informational interviewing can be a valuable component of networking; the primary purpose is to gather information, however, and not to get a job.

Information interviews allow you to:

• Explore career fields and industries of interest, to help clarify your goals
• Discover employment opportunities that are not common knowledge
• Get a sense of the corporate culture of a particular organization
• Expand your network
• Practice the skills utilized during job interviews
• Access first-hand and up-to-date information about various careers

How to set up and conduct an Information Interview :

1. Identify the Occupation/Industry/Company You Want to Learn About

After doing some self-assessment, you probably have a few tentative ideas about the types of careers that appeal to your interests and growing skills. Spend some time in the career library or on the web reviewing various careers and industries that have caught your eye. Talk to friends, family, and faculty about other careers you might consider exploring. You will likely find, from the people you talk to and the articles you read, a number of specific occupations you want to learn more about.

2. Identify Contacts

How do you find people to talk to? Networking. Start with friends, family, neighbors, and faculty. Tell them, "I am interested in _________ careers. Do you know anyone working in that field?" Use the Penn Alumni Career Network to identify alumni who are willing to speak with you. Professional organizations, organizational directories, and the yellow pages are also good sources of contacts.

3. Arrange the Meeting

You may contact the person you wish to interview by:

• Telephone or email
• A letter of introduction followed by a telephone call
• Having someone who knows the person set up the meeting for you

For a more casual interview, with the mother of your best friend, for example, a phone call is probably sufficient. If, however, you wish to speak with the vice president of a major corporation, a formal letter of introduction may be in order. Indicate how you learned of this person, your interest in the contact's profession and organization, and your desire to speak with her/him about her/his work. Follow up with a phone call. On the phone, be clear that you are not looking for a job, but for information on which to base a career decision. It is important to keep in mind that even a quick contact with someone you want to interview creates a first impression. Be polite and professional. If the contact is from the PACNet, follow the instructions.

4. Prepare for the Interview

The basic research you have done so far has provided a general overview of various careers. Now that you are curious, what else do you want to know? Reading about careers is not enough, so give some thought to the questions, "What do I need to know about potential careers in order to evaluate whether they are for me?" Prepare your questions ahead of time to cover as many of the following categories as you can:

• What you do daily/weekly/yearly
• Qualifications/training required
• Work environment/lifestyle
• Standard career path
• Employment outlook
• Salary ranges
• Typical employers
• Travel
• Location/geography
• Re-location possible/expected
• Hiring practices within the industry/particular companies

 It is also a nice idea, prior to your meeting, to conduct some basic research on the organization where your contact works. Having done so, you may skip basic questions and ask more in-depth questions about the structure, environment, and operations of the organization.

 5. Interview

Dress appropriately, arrive on time, and be professional. Be considerate of your contact's time - stay on track and do not overstay your welcome. Refer to your questions, but leave room for spontaneous discussions. Be prepared to answer questions about your own interests and motivations - your contact will want to know something about you in order to frame the advice he or she provides.

You may conduct the interview on the phone, but try to meet with your contact in person if at all possible. Interviewing people at their place of work allows you to get an inside view of the working environment, to see how people are dressed and act toward one another, and to generally evaluate the pace of the office.

Before you leave, be sure you have your contact's business card. Additionally, ask your contact to suggest others who might be helpful to your research. Ask permission to use your contact's name when contacting these new people.

• Create a Positive Impression: Pointers for Professional Etiquette (link)
• For interview question ideas go to PCN "Suggested Informational Interview Questions"

6. Follow Up

Immediately following the interview, take the time to jot down your thoughts, impressions, and information gathered. Send a thank-you note within one week of the interview.

NOTE: Always remember that each person you speak with is only one person. Do not form an opinion about a career after speaking with only one or two people. Start early, in your first year of college, interviewing as many people as you can throughout your college career. Speaking with a variety of people from a variety of organizations provides you with a much more three-dimensional image of what a potential career holds.

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