Career Planning

    The first step toward career satisfaction is to ask yourself, “What type of work do I really want to do?”  Respect your personality when choosing a career.  For example, do you take orders well or do you feel the need to be in charge?  Do you enjoy working with people or prefer to work alone?  Would you do well in an outside sales position where you have to organize your time and motivate yourself?  Or do you operate better in a more structured environment?

    If you don’t know what field you want to enter, you might get ideas from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles, published by the United States Department of Labor.  This reference book, available at many libraries, military installations and on the Internet, lists names and brief descriptions of thousands of jobs.  Speaking with professionals in different fields can also give you a good idea of the different types of work available.

    Take advantage of evaluation services, which can help you determine the career that best suits you.  Many colleges and universities offer a variety of assessments that can help you identify good career choices.  These tests include evaluations of aptitude, personality, interests and work-style preferences.  The evaluations are generally available at low or no cost to enrolled students, or for a small fee to members of the community.  The information from these tests can assist you in focusing your job hunt in career fields which will use your strongest skills and interests.

    Once you’ve chosen a career, you may need to do some additional research on that line of work.  Do you have the qualifications you need to get such a job?  Will you need to go back to school or take classes to improve your computer skills or enhance your software knowledge?  What entry-level opportunities are available?  Talk to people in that field before making any major decisions.  Informational interviews with company executives or college advisors are excellent for this purpose.

    Give some thought to the kind of environment in which you want to work.  Would you be happier working in a large or small organization?  Alone or with others?  Supervised or in a managerial capacity?  Do you prefer to work on salary or commission?  Is operating your own home-based business the answer for you?

    You must invest a great deal of time in planning your career.  You may be tempted to skip this process, but don’t.  Listing your experience and attributes will help you write a good resume, which in turn, will build your self-image.  Determining what you want to do, and where, allows you to narrow your job search and focus on the jobs you want most.

    To be successful in your job search, you’ll find it helpful to follow a plan targeted specifically toward companies and recruiters who need your unique qualifications.  And a targeted plan can reduce the time it takes you to secure a satisfying career position.

    The tasks of the job search plan are organizing, researching, networking, targeting, resume preparation, cover letter writing and interviewing.  Each task supports the others.  Not always a clear-cut process, you may perform some of these tasks simultaneously.  To be most effective in your search, don’t approach any task half-heartedly.  Following all stages of this plan will give you a definite edge in the job market.

     Reprinted with permission from TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL JOB SEARCH, a publication of The USAA Educational Foundation, a nonprofit organization, copyright 1999.  For more information on this topic, visit www.usaaedfoundation.org or order this printed booklet by calling toll-free 1-800-531-2869.

As you consider career fields, you may find the following information helpful:

Source: U.S. Department of Labor - Bureau of Labor Statistics

Starting Salaries For New College Graduates

(For The Year 2002)

*Includes basic pay, allowances and the federal tax advantage on the tax-free allowances.