Reliable Job/Career Information Sites
Reliable Sites To Investigate
Why does using credible career and academic sources matter?
When doing your research, you want the most current and accurate information so that you can make the best decisions for your future. You want to avoid sites that may just be advertising their schools or companies, which may be misleading or not provide all of the information. The sites listed below provide you a great deal of options on a variety of job and career related topics. Each provides legitimate information and attempts to market their product to you. The DSC InfoGuide - Finding Reliable Information - has a number of resources that can help you feel more confident about the sites you visit.
Top Career Exploration Websites
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This career database, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration, is designed to be student focused and includes a career assessment tool, along with details on more than 900 occupations.Watch a short video about the MyNextMove site. |
Bureau of Labor Statistics and Occupational Outlook Handbook
This official website of the U.S. Government has a wide variety of information from articles to videos and statistics. Many of the options are highlighted in the boxes below. Watch a short video of how to use the Occupational Outlook Handbook to research careers.
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A tool for career exploration and job analysis! O*NET Online has detailed descriptions of the world of work for use by job seekers, workforce development and HR professionals, students, researchers, and more!
Provides in-depth details about nearly 900 occupations. A career profile is a great place to start your career research. The detailed information can help you get a good idea of an occupation. That’s often enough to determine whether you want to learn more or realize it’s not for you. Watch a short video about using the CareerOneStop site.
Search, browse or query through over 900 different careers. Read career profiles, job descriptions, educational requirements, and career outlook information. Find out what kind of salary to expect, watch short videos, and even learn about the types of people that typically go into each career.
Whatever field you’re trying to pursue, this site provides advice on education, training, important job decisions, career changes, and more.
Search for specific salary information by job title and areas of field.
Find a career that makes you happy every morning you wake up.
A career is a commitment; a career is hard work; a career is your passion. Are you ready to find yours?
Informational Interviews
Informational interviews are a great way to learn about a career field of interest to you. It’s a useful tool for building your network. In an informational interview, you will connect with a professional in one field of career interest and ask them questions to learn about career paths, industries, and potential opportunities. These interviews can happen over coffee, at an office, on the phone or virtually.They are not intended to be a quasi-job interview or an opportunity to submit your resume to try to get a job. They are fact-finding missions about occupations and the employer.
Benefits of an informational interview include:
- Get firsthand, relevant information about the realities of working within a particular field, industry or position. This kind of information is not always available online.
- Find out about career paths you did not know existed.
- Get tips about how to prepare for and enter a particular career.
- Learn what it’s like to work at a specific organization.
- Gain insider knowledge that can help you with writing your resume and cover letter, as well as giving pointers with interviewing.
- Initiate a professional relationship and expand your network of contacts in a specific career field; meet people who may forward job leads to you in the future.
Online articles or resources can be easy to access but offer limited information. Informational interviewing and experiential learning are more time-intensive yet enable you to tailor the information you collect to your interests, skills, and values and make a more informed decision. Career exploration is most effective when several of these methodologies are applied.
Columbia University also has a lot of valuable information about Getting Started and Preparing for Informational Interviews.
This short video helps explain the purpose and basic steps of conducting an informational interview.