Occupations and Career Exploration 

The North Carolina Career Resource Network 

Likes:  user friendly; search in Spanish/bilingual; great for college students; action words for resumes; job descriptions; section for displaced workers; easy to navigate, clear interface; 800 job descriptions with information on certificates required; detailed resume tips; good dress for success info; videos; advice on networking and interviewing; brief descriptions of each section in upper right hand corner; NC specific information; great for teens doing career exploration.

Dislikes: not for people with immediate need; no job links; some tests required payments; need to be computer literate; overwhelming amount of info on site; does not work with every browser.

 O*NET^TM OnLine!

Likes:  user friendly; organized; shows median salary by state; can type acronyms to find job titles; keyword usage; career path search; helps people recognize the skills and tools they already have; links to related occupations; concise, no borders or frames; related jobs linked together; job terms are simple; gives wages and wage comparison; drill back to state or national level; use wording for application and resumes.

Dislikes: no link for job searching; requires some familiarity with database; too many acronyms.

O*NET® Career Exploration Tools

Likes: checklists entertaining; practical information on job fields; assessment tools; locator profile; bilingual; career building/ job transitioning; job clusters; keyword search is forgiving; easy to search; occupational information; descriptions of qualifications, possible wages, comparison of availability between US and State

Dislikes:  no specific job information; not for people with immediate needs.

NC LIVE Resources

NC LIVE Job Bank

Likes: search by county; includes salary information; detailed job information; user friendly.

Dislikes:  no direct online application.

NC LIVE Learning Express

Likes:  user friendly; clear instruction; appeals to patron with few or no computer skills; language is less intimidating; basic skill tutorials for adults; for people needing; self –directed; practice tests. Practice tests may be taken as many times as desired (but content of the test does not change).

Dislikes:  may be a time issue in library; no direct link to jobs

Coin Career Library – EBSCO Host

Likes: broad range of career info.; easy navigation – like tabs; self assessment

Dislikes: computer based – computer skills needed; no links within text except at bottom; too many steps in document.

Online Social Networks

• Linkedin                                                                                                                                                                                                         Likes:  networking for professionals; relatively simple to navigate; job search capabilities; online resume; can request and receive online recommendations; especially user friendly to younger job seekers.                                                                                                                   Dislikes: mainly for professionals; experience required- not for beginners; need to register; may need to relocate – not strictly local.
• Twitter

  Likes: networking; useful for people who are employed; awareness of professional activities.

  Dislikes: not useful to majority; need to be computer savvy; lots of scrolling.

Social Networks

Likes: prevents isolation and promotes networking; promotes computer skills; can promote professionalism; info about general and specific sites.

Dislikes: some libraries do not allow social networking sites; not for job networking for low income; need to be careful about personal vs. job.

North Carolina Employment Security

Likes:  search by location; search by jobs anywhere in state by several different criteria; links to other states job banks; unemployment claims information is prominently displayed; many useful links; job listings/ job fairs; downloadable forms; wide range of locally focused resources; benefit estimate calculator;“real Life Tips” on budgeting and cost-cutting tips.

Dislikes: FAQs are a little confusing; information quantity overwhelming;not easy to use for beginners;no keyword search.

JobLink

Likes: youth area; quick links; dislocated worker toolkit; videos.

Dislikes:  no local jobs; too wordy; not for beginner.

Links from the New York Public Library online employment resources

Likes: dealing with emotional aspects as well as practical things to do immediately after a layoff; includes sections on managing time and money; good for beginners; able to add as link to library site.

Selected books for occupations and career exploration

Bolles, R. N. (2009). The 2009 What color is your parachute?: A practical manual for job-hunters and career-changers. Berkeley, Calif: Ten Speed Press.

Likes:  easy to read; speaks to more than just professionals; keeps reader focused on “big picture”; p. 45 list of skills expressed as verbs; p. 90-93 interviewers questions with answers.

Farr, J. M., & Shatkin, L. (2009). Best jobs for the 21st century. Indianapolis, IN: JIST Works.

Likes: good for young students exploring careers and younger workers not entrenched in their career or those looking for a new career path; excellent job description; descriptions by demographics - best overall, highest earnings, projected growth, number of openings; job list – pay, growth, education, age, gender, self-employed.

Dislikes: descriptions are general; wages based on national averages instead of local averages; salaries listed may not be accurate for all areas of country.

Farr, M., & Shatkin, L. (2009). 300 best jobs without a four-year degree. Indianapolis, IN: JIST Works.

Likes:  good place to start for library user; gives detailed information on each job; comprehensive, detailed, user friendly resource especially for those who need career direction with limited computer skills.

Greengard, S. (2008). The AARP crash course in finding the work you love: The essential guide to reinventing your life. New York: Sterling.

Likes:  Lots of resources; books, websites and worksheets; for active retirees good for professionals changing jobs.

Dislikes: aimed at older workers; fairly general approach; cheap paper – not going to stand up to high usage

Tieger, P. D., & Barron-Tieger, B. (2007). Do what you are: Discover the perfect career for you through the secrets of personality type. New York: Little, Brown and Co.

Likes:  in-depth personality assessment; helps people look for alternative career; tells how individual personality traits might help get specific jobs.

Dislikes:  not useful for someone needing a job right away; not a practical job search book; requires a lot of self-insight.