4-Steps to Identify and Pursue a Successful, Rewarding Career

Follow these steps to get started!

Step 1: Gather Information about Yourself

We recommend that you complete an online self-assessment before meeting with us. While there’s no single (or magical) test to tell you what you should choose as a major or career, there are a number of recognized assessments that can give insight into yourself, your interests and possibly those vocations that might be more challenging for you. In the process, you’ll go through some honest reflection and meaningful research to learn about your strengths, interests, and your personality traits that relate to careers that match you.

Start with these online tools:

FOCUS 2: This tool will assess your interests, personality traits, abilities and work-related values, as well as explore occupations and majors to help find your best career fit.

O*NET: The Interest Profiler & Occupation Search tool can help you discover work activities and occupations that match your interests.

Step 2: Meet with Us

Once you’ve completed one of the online assessments, we’ll meet with you to view and help interpret the results. Schedule your appointment.

Step 3: Identify Possible Careers/Majors

Once we have a better sense of your skills and interests, we can work together to identify related careers and majors. By discovering the types of jobs that might interest you and match your talents, we can point out the different majors that could help you move in that direction.

Our Firsthand Career Library provides materials that can be useful in the career planning and job search process from employer directories to career guidebooks to other occupational information.

These websites can help with your career exploration as well:

• Career Outlook - data and information on occupations and industries, pay and benefits.
• Career Planning for Women
• Discover Nursing
• Diversity Employers
• Explore Health Careers
• Match Majors Sheets
• Occupational Outlook Handbook
• Today’s Military
   

Step 4: Choose and Validate

Based on this research, we can pair you with an academic advisor who can help you build the appropriate curriculum for your preferred field(s) of interest. Once you begin coursework, try getting involved in student clubs, student organizations, and/or professional associations related to your field of interest. Be sure to explore and participate in the internships, service-learning and/or volunteer experiences available at HCC. Through these connections, take time to talk with people in the field and learn from their experiences. Faculty and college administrators also can offer great insights. Most people are happy to share their job knowledge if you ask.

We look forward to helping you on your career path!