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How to Find a Job Through Independent Job Exploration

Updated on May 6, 2014
DISCOVERY
DISCOVERY | Source

Choosing a Career Without Tests

Career Assessment Instruments do not work for everyone -They certainly did NOT work for me in 1) high school, 2) college, or even after 3) graduate school. (They worked later, but that is another Hub.)

Fortunately, there are other ways of determining what job is best for you.

Career Exploration is a part of Career Planning and Work Readiness preparation. Smart workers with a forward-looking eye will always continue to do career exploration in order to stat up to date with the local and national job markets and to maintain and expand their network of contacts. Career exploration can even be used to help plan retirement activities (second career, hobbies) and this is important, because, given lengthening life spans, Americans may have 20 to 40 years to fill up past retirement age. Not everyone will have enough money to travel the world or become a Space Tourist, so some planning is necessary in order to stay active and, thereby, more healthy in later years.

Above all this, career exploration enables a job seeker to know the width and depth of variety of jobs available in America or any country. In this way, it allows a job seeker to remove some artificial limits from the universe of jobs he or she may actually choose. It provides more complete information, The greater the knowledge one has of the jobs that exist and that are emerging, the more likely one is to find a job that fits one's unique individual interests and skills for a satisfactory result to both one's vital Self and one's employer.

Further, a knowledgeable job seeker can help to guide other job seekers that may not yet know where they wish to work, or where even to find a job or, more basically, to start looking. This important in Job Clubs where the unemployed gather in order to share information on job openings in a local town, about new businesses moving to town, and about new types of jobs that are opening up. This job knowledge is also important in helping friends, family, and acquaintances when they are between jobs or need to make career decisions - e.g. career changes, transfers, etc. - and are stymied.

Lastly, learning about various jobs lays down a network of personal business contacts that you can maintain in order to facilitate future referrals, references, industry news, and assistance. Indeed, discovering strange new jobs and new career fields is the way of today and tomorrow.

On top of all of this, career exploration and Independent Job Exploration (done on your won time and according to your own plan) can be interesting and fun. Further, it is something you can legitimately do on a computer at work during slack times - Especially if you put the information into your Work Portfolio.


Explore New Possibilities

Mars Rover. (Photos public domain)
Mars Rover. (Photos public domain) | Source

Patch Adams & Uhura - Career Consultants

Dr. Patch Adams has asked each of his patients, staff, and volunteers in words to the effect of, "What is your passion? What gets you excited?"

That's a good way to attack a job search. Plan a course of action that takes to work in a career field that excites you and gives vent and pathway to your passions in life.

If you are not sure what your passion is, then you have a dilemma. In that case, I suggest going to volunteer at Patch Adams' community medical and health compound, Gesundheit! Institute

If you are unable to go there, watch the film starring Robin Williams Patch Adams (1998). The film has some sad moments, but it also presents several success in Dr. Adams helping people to find their passions in life and to fulfill them through work and service. One CAN be inspired by a film toward an occupational choice! After all, Nichelle Nicoles (Star Trek's® Uhura) is responsible for many NASA astronauts' and technicians' careers.

Online Exploration

Take some time and read about the hundreds of jobs available in the USA at the Department of Labor Occupational Outlook Guide. The link takes you straight to an alphabetical index of jobs - click on any letter of the alphabet for job as beginning with that letter.

You'll find information from expected pay ranges and education requirements to actually daily job duties. The web site is actually a very good starting point for Career Exploration. You can go at your own pace.

DOL Occupation Info Index Screen Shot

Explore New Occupations

Videos of Many Occupations are Available

If career assessments do not work for you and you are unable to do much Job Shadowing or Interning, then you may take advantage of online videos of hundreds of different jobs and their day-to-day duties. Check Google Video, YouTube and other or search "job videos."

You can start with Sean's videos (samples on these pages) and search video galleries such as YouTube and Google Video for more.

First Female Astraunaut Class, USA

Left to right are Sally K. Ride, Judith A. Resnik, Anna L. Fisher, Kathryn D. Sullivan and Rhea Seddon; 1978.
Left to right are Sally K. Ride, Judith A. Resnik, Anna L. Fisher, Kathryn D. Sullivan and Rhea Seddon; 1978.

Talk Show Intern - Week #2

Florist - Week #6

Pizza Baker Week

A New Job Every Week - Reducing Global Poverty

Young Canadian Sean Aiken (age 26 in 2008) set up a website called "One Week Job", in which he interned at a different occupation each week for 52 weeks from 2007 - 2008. In doing so, He raised over $20,000 in donations for viewers of his Career Exploration videos on his site and on YouTube.

Donations and all of Sean's weekly earnings all go to charity in order to reduce worldwide poverty. Sean is doing such a good job in Career Exploration, that it became a full-time job and a friend joined him after the first 19 weeks in order to film each internship.

Canada's NiceJob company supports Sean with a monthly stipend as he continues to report on his weekly internships, which he intends to continue for some time. Please visit him at http://www.oneweekjob.com.

In Canada, Sean's generation is often referred to as the Peter Pan Generation, whereas in America, we have the Millennial Generation of the same age cohort. In Canada, they generally are leaving their parents' homes later than the previous generation left, postponing marriage and family, and taking their time about finding the right careers for their lives.

While you may not be able to find 1-week internships n your area, you may be able to do some Job Shadowing. This is done by calling a company and asking to spend a regular working day with someone in the firm that holds a position that you want to examine as a possible career. The US "Take Your Daughter to Work Day" and later, "Take Your Child To Work Day" (to include the boys) are based in this standard Career Exploration procedure.

You can also set up Informational Interviews with HR departments, in which you interview for a position but in a way to gain valuable data about what the job is really like and whether it is something you would like to pursue. Not all companies will make time for this procedure, but many will do so.

Sales & Marketing - Week #10

working

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