This site is privately owned and is not affiliated with any government agency. Learn more here.

Finding a Path

For many Americans, finding a career path is not something that they discover as children.

Some Americans do not find a career path until after they attend college or a university. For others, they might spend years working in a particular job before they realize that the career path they are on is no longer right for them.

No matter your age or education, there may come a time when you need to alter your career path. Maybe your family obligations have shifted, or you are moving or in need of more financial security. Whatever the reason, knowing about the potential career opportunities you have before you leave a current job or graduate from school is the first step in moving towards the right career path for you.

Before you jump into a career or job, you must first identify everything that you want from your career. However, if you have a current job or are finishing school, you may not have the time to organize a list of job requirements. Therefore, for guidance from resume building to interview tips, you may want to reach out to resources such as career counselors and job resource centers. You may also want to take part in informational interviews.

How Professionals Can Help You Find A Career Path

If you are new to the working world, you may have several questions that range from how to create a resume to what to talk about during interviews. Overall, you may not know what to expect in a potential career. However, if you work with professionals, they can help guide you every step of the job-hunting process. Since they have the proper resource tools, they can help guide you towards the right career path for you.

It is crucial that you know that professional career help is not only beneficial for those entering the workforce for the first time. If you are looking to change jobs or careers but you are not sure how to go about doing so, you may also benefit from professional help. Career resources can help ensure that you are making the right decision to better your career and personal life.

If you prepare to transition to a new job or career, getting professional assistance can help you make that new leap. If you do not take the time to transition correctly into a new role, you may end up taking a few steps back instead of forward. Therefore, to make sure you are confident in your transition, you should seek out professional help.

Learn How To Find The Best Job Path For You

While you may be able to make a list of things that you like to do, determining the right job path can be an exhausting task. However, if you start a self-assessment and identify your personality, skills, experience, and attributes, you can narrow down the job path that you should take. When you take the time to create a self-assessment, you uncover skills and traits about yourself that you may be able to tailor towards a career path. You also learn your weaknesses, which you can either strengthen or choose to work around.

Career Counseling

Finding the right career path for you requires that you learn all that you can about a particular job. You need to consider the salary and benefits as much as the daily tasks and work styles. Otherwise, you may enter a job that is not right for you.

Making sure you find a career that makes you happy and is right for you is essential since your job is a place where you spend most of your time. Therefore, to be as prepared as you can be, you may want to consider career counseling.

Career counseling is available to college students, recent graduates, and those who are currently in the workforce. If you are a college student, the career counselor at your college or university can help you decide the best career options for you based on your current curriculum. If you are already in your career or on a career path that you would like to change, a career counselor can offer you the professional guidance and confidence that you need to make the transition that is right for you.

Overall, career counseling range drastically in terms of price and services. When you know where to look and how to find career counselors in your area and within your income, you are on your way to getting the help you need to choose the best career path for you.

Job Resource Centers

If you are looking for additional assistance, you can reach out to a job resource center. At your local job resource center, you will have access to resume-writing assistance, and advice and tips to prepare for interviews. You will also have labor market insights that can help you understand the long-term potential of the different career paths that you are considering.

Typically, job resource centers are made up of professionals who offer career counseling. They can also help you apply for benefits if you need financial help while you are job hunting. Job resource centers can vary in size and location. You can find them at your local library and American Job Centers created by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Special services are often available to veterans, workers with disabilities, older workers and more. Once you find a resource center near you, you can use it to see how employees can help you transition to a new job or strengthen the career you have.  

Informational Interviews

If you want to learn insider details about a specific job, company, or industry, or you want to grow your professional network, you may want to take part in informational interviews. Informational interviews give you the ability to ask questions to professionals about their daily work lives, such as benefits or promotional opportunities, and the path that they took to reach their current position. When you learn how an informational interview works and how to arrange these interviews, it can help you jump start or transition your new career path.