Career search for the 21st century

 

In this day of the Internet, many people know how to search on-line for a job but searching for a career is still lagging even with many tools out there to help you.
If you are in a situation of changing your career rather than thinking everything you did in your past is now lost it is time to visit some great sites that address transferable skills.

Unlike specific job-related or task oriented skills, which tend to be used in only one line of work, transferable skills are skills that can be used in multiple occupations. Some may be industry specific but offer alternatives to occupation. Skills such as computer skills, mathematical reasoning, customer service and others can be used in a variety of industries and occupations.

Within transferable skills there are also universal skills – skills you can transfer from life, school, and prior occupations to new occupations. Things like work ethic, honesty, loyalty, organization, ability to adapt to changes and ability to work within a budget are universal skills useful in any occupation.

The following links will give you a wealth of information on transferable skills and how to use them in your career search and job searching.

Targeted towards Recent College Grads University of Minnesota at Duluth
http://www.d.umn.edu/student/loon/car/self/career_transfer_survey.html

Targeted towards Veterans and Transitioning Service members
http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/vre/tsi/default.asp - Transferable skills still a bit on the blah blah government lingo side but with some dedication you can pull out something useful

https://www.cool.army.mil/ - Army specific for codes but can be used by other branches gives information on civilian careers that are similar as well as civilian credentials needed and possible funding to pay for them.

Everyone
http://www.quintcareers.com/transferable_skills.html - Links to articles and tools for transferable skills assessment and use in job searches.

http://careerplanning.about.com/library/weekly/aa121202a.htm - - “About” covers everything and their detailed explanations of how and why to use transferable skills assessment is excellent.