Career Exploration

Are you trying to find some direction for your current career? Perhaps you are contemplating a change in careers? If so, it is important to conduct research into the career paths that may interest you. The more research you do, the more likely a career path will become evident to you.

The good thing is that there is help and you do not have to do this alone. The University of Michigan has some great resources to help with your career exploration.

If you choose to take a more self directed approach, here are some things to consider while conducting your research...

	Resources
Develop a career plan Having a solid career plan is a good start	Take Charge of Your Career course through HRD will walk you through the entire process from assessment through to creating your own career plan.
Take one or more assessment test These may help you focus on careers that interest you and/or you are more suited to	The Career Services - Assessments page is where you can find links to popular assessment tools.
Read about careers that interest you The more information you have the better	US Department of Labor Occupational Outlook Handbook - A great resource to find out what different jobs entail. Includes educational and other requirements, employment outlook and salary ranges. The Michigan Jobs & Career Portal has information on Michigan-based careers. The Vault offers up information about different industries. There is some great information online, or you can order hard copies of their reports for more detailed info. Wetfeet.com is another website where you can research different careers/industries. The U of M Career Path Navigator provides quick access to detailed information about all career paths within the University of Michigan.
Network with others Talk with friends, peers, colleagues, mentors, etc. about potential careers.	Social networking sites like Linked In and Biznik are great places to connect with other working professionals. If you are a University of Michigan alum, there is the inCircle network, where you can connect with other alumni.
Consider volunteering This is a great way to get the flavor of certain career routes	VolunteerMatch is a website connecting volunteers with non-profits.
Conduct educational interviews Talking with people about their jobs is a fantastic way to gain more information about potential career choices	10 Steps to Making Connections - Information Interviewing is a great article to get started with Quintessential Careers has a great tutorial about informational interviewing.

Resources

Develop a career plan

Having a solid career plan is a good start

Take Charge of Your Career course through HRD will walk you through the entire process from assessment through to creating your own career plan.

Take one or more assessment test

These may help you focus on careers that interest you and/or you are more suited to

The Career Services - Assessments page is where you can find links to popular assessment tools.

Read about careers that interest you

The more information you have the better

US Department of Labor Occupational Outlook Handbook - A great resource to find out what different jobs entail. Includes educational and other requirements, employment outlook and salary ranges.

The Michigan Jobs & Career Portal has information on Michigan-based careers.

The Vault offers up information about different industries. There is some great information online, or you can order hard copies of their reports for more detailed info.

Wetfeet.com is another website where you can research different careers/industries.

The U of M Career Path Navigator provides quick access to detailed information about all career paths within the University of Michigan.

Network with others

Talk with friends, peers, colleagues, mentors, etc. about potential careers.

Social networking sites like Linked In and Biznik are great places to connect with other working professionals.

If you are a University of Michigan alum, there is the inCircle network, where you can connect with other alumni.

Consider volunteering

This is a great way to get the flavor of certain career routes

VolunteerMatch is a website connecting volunteers with non-profits.

Conduct educational interviews

Talking with people about their jobs is a fantastic way to gain more information about potential career choices

10 Steps to Making Connections - Information Interviewing is a great article to get started with

Quintessential Careers has a great tutorial about informational interviewing.