Career Exploration

Step one to determine a possible career is to consider whether the career matches your skills and interests. Use the resources below to identify careers and learn more about them.

Helpful Resources

Document:

• Types of Trades. Explore different careers in the trades. 

Presentation:

• Options Beyond High School: This training includes an overview of popular postsecondary options including- Community Colleges, Universities, Apprenticeships, Military Service, and Career Development. Find a schedule of upcoming webinars here or schools can request this presentation. 

Websites:

• Big Future Career Search. This search engine includes not only a career search but provides information about what college majors correlate with these careers.
• Build Oregon. Build Oregon is the ultimate hub for the resources and information to inspire the next generation of construction workers.
• Career Key. Explore different careers. Will need a log-in to use the website.
• Career One Stop. Explore careers, take self-assessments to determine careers you might like, find training opportunities, job search, and more. 
• O*Net. A search engine that explores lots of different careers and provides useful descriptions of those careers.
• Oregon Career Information Systems (CIS). This site provides information about job preparation, wages, future outlook, higher education and training programs, scholarships, and military service.  You must have a log-in to access the site. 
• State of Oregon Employment Department- Career Explorer. This search engine is a great way to explore careers, salaries, and education requirements.  

Oregon Connections offers access to a large career video library, the opportunity to join live webinars with industry leaders, and attend virtual career conversations with career professionals. Use these great resources with students you serve

You can learn more about Oregon Connections here.

Career Journeys website is created to help middle and high school students from across the state of Oregon–and beyond–to dream big. It’s all about exposing students to in-demand career pathways through videos and activities. On this website listen to 3-10 minute videos of young adults in early stages of their career. Hear about how these young adults navigated the public school system and postsecondary education (in some cases) to discover and begin their personal career pathway journey.

You can learn more about Career Journeys here.

WorkSource Oregon

WorkSource Oregon is a statewide partnership with government and local agencies that maintains an list of open jobs across the state. WorkSource also provides job training and other services. 

Learn more. 

Other Job Search Engines

• Indeed.com- Indeed is website that maintains a large list of open jobs.
• Local Contacts- Make sure to check your local newspapers for open jobs, network with your friends and family, and check with your school's ASPIRE center or career center about possible open jobs.

Preparation and increasing your skills and work experience for part-time or full-time employment is essential. Through resumes and interviews you communicate your skills, abilities, talents, and personality. Community service and volunteer work helps expand your experiences, and internships/job shadows give you a peek into the work you might do in a future job.

• Career Checklist

Community service/volunteering is when a person donates his/her time or efforts for a cause or organization without being paid. It may be a one-time only or an on-going commitment. It should directly or indirectly benefit people outside the family or household or else benefit a cause, even though the person volunteering normally benefits as well. Most volunteer sites are non-profit organizations.

Community service/volunteering is a great way to build skills and experience needed on resumes and job applications. 

Helpful Resources

Document:

• Tips for Volunteering for Students. A quick guide to helping students learn more about volunteering.

Websites:

• Hands on Greater Portland. This website includes volunteer opportunities throughout the Portland metropolitan area. 
• My Future. Includes helpful information about community service volunteering opportunities. 
• Volunteer Match. This website is a database of volunteer opportunities. You can sort by location. 

Employability skills, also known as “soft skills”, are a set a transferable skills and personal attributes that are often valued by employers. Developing employability skills can help students successfully transition from school to the workforce.

Helpful Resources

Website:

• Oregon Employability Skills. The Oregon Employability Skills Curriculum is a comprehensive and open-access resource designed to empower students with the essential skills they need to transition into the ever-evolving world of careers successfully.

Creating your resume is the first step to getting a job. A resume is a summary of your work experience, education, and other qualities that might be of interest to an employer. Usually an employer will evaluate your resume against the job requirements listed in the job posting. If you are a good fit you might be invited to an interview.

Make sure to include internships and job shadows on your resume, job application, and activities chart. 

Parts of a Resume

• Header- This includes your name, phone number, and professional (non school) email address. Make sure your voicemail greeting is professional. 
• Summary- Typically one-or-two sentences that describe your work experience and how you are a good fit for the job. 
• List of work experience, volunteer experience, and work-based learning- List any relevant experiences in reverse chronological order include where you worked, responsibilities, and any accomplishments.
• Optional- If you have room you can list any awards, hobbies or interests that might relate to the job posting. 

Helpful Resources

Activity:

• Activity Chart. If you are just starting a resume for the first time, you can use the Scholarship Activity Chart Mini-Lesson to help you brainstorm and organize things you might want to include on your resume. 

Website:

• My Future. Includes lots of helpful information about building a resume, including examples. 

Interviewing for a job usually happens after your resume and any other materials have been successfully reviewed by the employer. Here are some general tips for having a successful job interview. 

• Research- Learn a little bit about the company you are interested in working for. Learning the basics can impress a potential employer
• Practice- Rehearse how you would answer common interview questions, have a friend, parent, or teacher to be the interviewer and have them ask you questions.
• Dress Appropriately- Make sure to dress appropriately for the interview, check the company's website or social media feed to get a feel for the dress code. At minimum you should look clean and professional. 
• Arrive Early- Do not be late to the interview
• Be Honest- Answer questions honestly and truthfully. 
• Ask Questions- Make sure to ask questions at the end of the interview. 

Helpful Resources

Website:

• My Future. The interviewing section of My Future includes lots of great information about interviewing for jobs including a list of common interview questions.