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Steps to Career Success
1) Learn more about yourself via Career Assessments:
- Comprehensive assessment which includes interests, values and skills - My Next Move; you can use your RIASEC code from My Next Move to discover additional careers broken up by interest area on O*Net
- Personality -16 Personalities and/or Truity.com and/or Humanmetrics.com
- Skills - CareerOneStop Skills Matcher
- Values - Work Values Inventory and/or The Life Values Inventory
2) Learn more about career options that match your interests through watching career videos, taking related classes, participating in PVCC clubs or meet-ups, talking with professionals / networking, finding a mentor and/or job shadowing experiences. Here are some good career/labor market resources:
- America's Career Infonet
- Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Virginia Labor Market Information
- ETC Two Year College Starting Salary Program
- How To Become Any Career
- Learn How To Become: Find Your Dream Career
- O*Net Online
- Virginia Education Wizard
- What Can I Do With This Major?
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Career Videos - CareerOneStop - Explore videos organized into 16 career clusters or related types of work.
- Dr. Kit - Employees in different professions answer questions in an informational interview format.
- My Next Move - View videos by future job opportunities, the green economy, and apprenticeship programs.
- PVCC Career Chats with Employers and Alumni/Faculty
3) Create your introduction/professional documents (resume, cover/thank you letters, LinkedIn, etc.) to help you land interviews/jobs.
- Resume Writing Advice and Cover Letter Advice
- Jefferson Madison Regional Library has a subscription to Career Transitions (click on Business Info; CT includes information on resumes, cover letters, interviewing and career assessment).
- Introduction/30-second Commercial and Interview Preparation, including questions to ask them.
- Networking Advice and LinkedIn Tips; also check out UVA's LinkedIn & Online Branding
4) Get experience through volunteering, interning or even temporary employment. These are easier ways to gain access to employers which often lead to long term employment.
- Volunteering - search by area of interest on United Way
- Interning - check out PVCC's site for listings and tips.
- Temporary employment - check out UVA's listing of local agencies.
- Job Searching - check out PVCC's site for listings and tips.
5) Decide whether your career target is a good fit. If not, consider repeating these steps since finding a great career path is often a process.