Resources to Utilize — Career Center (Community or University)

Many universities as well as community centers offer a type of career center or a place to conduct research and help guide you through your job search. If you are currently a college student or recent graduate, the career center at your college or university is a great place to start. If you are not a college student, you should check with your local chamber of commerce or city hall to obtain information on local community career centers. Most towns have some sort of community career center that is available to residents. Even a local library could serve as a good starting point for conducting research.

Career centers can offer a variety of resources including:

1. Position Aptitude or compatibility evaluations. These assessment tools are designed to match up your interests with industries or job positions according to your personality or career goals. Your results can then be used to identify what types of companies or industries you should consider researching. Most career centers have counselors available to assist you in this process or give career options.
2. Company and Industry information.
3. Listings of companies within specific fields and where they are located.
4. Salary guides such as Mercer, Watson Wyatt, or Culpepper. These guides typically segment the market by industry, position title, description, and geographic locations. Make sure the information is from a credible source and not just random stats from the internet.
5. Industry outlook and forecasts that will provide detailed information about the health of an industry, forecast regarding job growth and status of a specific field or job.
6. Research Resources such as Hoovers.com, Dun and Bradstreet, or Leadership Library in order for you to conduct company research (what the company does, how they are doing financially, who their competitors are, etc.).
7. Resume and Cover Letter assistance.
8. Dedicated career counselors to answer questions, teach interview and résumé workshops, and provide private offices to conduct your phone interviews.
9. Computer software programs that can help you complete a résumé electronically.
10. Database of current open positions you can search and submit your résumé electronically.
11. Local contact lists for various local companies or companies that frequent the center to recruit new hires.

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