VGCC Library Services: ACA 115: Career Goal Presentation Project: Career & Job Information

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Use the websites below to find out more about specific careers or industries.

Occupational Outlook Handbook This link opens in a new window
THE resource for information about jobs and careers. Created and maintained by the U.S. Department of Labor, it includes information for each career on average salary, work responsibilities, needed education, etc. Also included are links to professional organizations, which excellent sources for more information.
Ferguson's Career Guidance Center This link opens in a new window
Ferguson’s Career Guidance Center is a comprehensive resource for career exploration and planning that allows users to quickly find the valuable career information they need, whether it’s industry and professions articles, school planning resources, or skills and career advice.

Career Q&A: Professional Advice and Insight Series (Films on Demand)
A series of video interviews with professionals working in a wide variety of career fields.
CareerOneStop
Explore careers, find training opportunities, and search for jobs.
My Next Move
Search or browse careers by industry to see what skills, education, and personality traits are needed.
O*NET OnLine
Match possible careers to individual interests, abilities, and other characteristics, then explore identified careers in more depth.

Use the websites below to identify your personal interests and other characteristics and which jobs might be suited to you.

Career Coach: Assessment
Provided by VGCC Career Services and free for students, complete a 6-question or 60-question survey to learn about career paths that might interest you.
50 Best Jobs for Your Personality
An ebook that helps you determine your personality type, then suggests jobs for that personality type.
O*NET Interest Profiler
Answer 60 questions about what you are interested in to see a list of possible careers that match those interests.
Values Assessment
Rank work values to see what careers best suit those values.

Job postings or ads usually follow a particular format. Here are some tips on how to find and read job postings.

Best Job Search Sites
U.S. News lists 10 different kinds of websites to look for job postings.
Dissecting the Job Posting
Learn how to read and decipher the different sections of a job posting.
Reading & Using Job Ads
From Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL), this tutorial goes through the parts of job posting, what each section relates to, and what some of the common terms mean.

Search for job postings on the sites below.

Career Builder
A well-known national job-search website.
Indeed.com
A job search aggregator that searches many different job boards and sites.
Monster.com
One of the best-known job search websites out there. Search for employment in the U.S. and internationally.
NC Works Online
Look for jobs open in North Carolina.
USAJobs.gov
The employment site for jobs with the U.S. federal government.
Work for NC
Search here for jobs with the state government of North Carolina.

Learn more about some of the different "soft skills" that are often required in a job or career.

10 Unique Soft Skills Employers Desire in New Hires
An article from Entrepreneur magazine about the soft skills employers are most interested in.
Doing The Job: Basic Job Skills (Films on Demand)
This video from Films on Demand looks at a wide variety of skills needed in a job, including many soft skills.
Hard Facts on Soft Skills
An article from the journal Quality Progress examining what soft skills are, how important they are to employers, and some of the skills that are most important in technical and engineering fields.
Hone the Top 5 Soft Skills Every College Student Needs
Lists and explains some of the soft skills that everyone needs to succeed in school and work.
Soft Skills to Pay the Bills: Mastering Soft Skills for Workplace Success
A series of short videos that explain and demonstrate "soft skills" that are important for job and career success.