How to Find a Great Job: Entry-Level Workers and Career-Changers

Career

If you are planning to change careers—or are just starting out in your first career—you’ll face your own unique challenges. Job seekers in these two categories are similar, because a complete change in careers can put an experienced professional back at the starting gate, looking for entry-level jobs. An employer is unlikely to give you credit—or a salary increase—because of past experience that will not translate to your new job.

Gaining Skills and Qualifications

You'll need to determine what qualifications you need to begin working in your chosen career. If you need some experience, look for an internship or volunteer position or project that might apply. (A librarian can help with this!) Perhaps you need to take a class—or earn an entire degree. Maybe you need to learn new skills or specific business expertise, or will have to pass an industry-specific exam. Again, the library may be able to help. Many libraries own software that teaches or tests specific skills—from an extensive program on studying for the GED, to learning Spanish, to a practice exam for master carpentry.

Whether you’re a new graduate, a mom re-entering the workplace after a multi-year hiatus, or simply want to change careers, you’re in for a lot of research. You need to figure out three things:

1. Where the jobs are
2. What you really want to do
3. How to make it happen

You know about the first item—just follow the advice for all job seekers at the beginning of this chapter: head to the library, hit the Web, and research the job markets. But don’t simply choose a profession because the employment outlook is good! Training to become a nurse just for the guaranteed job security is sure to lead to unhappiness, stress, and possibly bad patient care if you’re not suited for the work. So head back to the library, because the second item may take some additional research.

Taking Aptitude and Assessment Tests

An assessment test or career aptitude test can reveal what specific jobs might best suit your abilities, interests, and personality. Ask a librarian what the library—and the Internet—has to offer in this area.

The most widely know assessment tests are the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, the Strong Interest Inventory, and the Campbell Interest & Skill Survey, but there are dozens of them. Some library subscription databases include assessment tests. For example, “Gale’s Testing and Educational Database includes many employment and aptitude tests that are very useful,” says Jim DeArmey, coordinator of information services at Baltimore County (Maryland) Public Library.

The results of your aptitude or assessment test(s) should give you some specific ideas on careers to pursue. If the results simply outline your skills and aptitudes, match those up with the skills listed in the O*NET OnLine database to find careers. (That website again is http://online.onetcenter.org.)

Change Rule

To be clear, changing careers refers to a complete shift to a new industry, requiring different skills or knowledge than your previous positions. A legal secretary who wants to become a teacher is changing careers; a legal secretary who wants to become a paralegal is not.

For Instance…

“Lateral” moves like the examples at left don’t involve a complete career change; they simply stretch the options for using the skills and experience a professional has already acquired:
• daycare worker to teacher’s assistant
• telemarketer to receptionist
• office manager to computer tech support
• ad agency graphic designer to account representative (or vice versa)
• high-speed Internet installer to high-speed Internet customer service rep

Jerome L. Myers, MLS, main library manager at the Tacoma (Washington) Public Library Education and Job Center, says, “There are certain careers that require applicants to pass a test, whether it’s for air traffic control or typing skills. The civil service job exams are our most popular—for employment as a postal work or police officer, for example. You can come to the library—or log in from home if you have a library card—and take a practice exam. You can work at your own pace; it’s very beneficial.”

Study Your Subject

“Do your own research. It’s in the newspaper every single day.”
— Bernice Kao, job/career specialist and job service outreach librarian at Fresno County (California) Public Library

You’ll see this same advice at various points within this book: research your target industry. Make it part of your job search research to stay abreast of what’s happening. Don’t wait until you have an interview lined up—do it now so that while you’re networking, or leaving a comment on an industry insider’s blog, or meeting your new neighbor who happens to be a headhunter, you’re knowledgeable, up to date, and prepared with facts.

Keep in mind that you may need to sell yourself a little more strongly in your resume and interviews to convince an employer that your experience will translate.