Explore careers at library—May 22, 2009
Whether you are a recent graduate or the recent victim of downsizing, the Hastings Public Library has some excellent free resources that can help you find a new career, build new skills, or simply improve your job search.
If you want to investigate new careers, try “Exploring Careers: A Young Person’s Guide to 1,000 Jobs” which organizes jobs by interest areas and profiles real people and their experiences in different positions. Despite the title, there is good information in this title for anyone changing career paths. Another title to look at for job ideas is “175 Best Jobs Not Behind a Desk.” The most interesting thing about this book is the many charts that list jobs by different characteristics like “best-paying”, “fastest-growing” and “most active” so you can focus on just the aspects you are most interested in. The library also subscribes to an online service, the “Chronicle Career Library of Occupational Briefs” that contains detailed descriptions of over 600 occupations. These can be reached from the database section of the library website.
You can also start your job search on the library’s website by looking through the links in the jobs section. We have links to all the main nation-wide job lists like “CareerBuilder” and “Monster.com” as well as “Nebraska JobLink.” Another web resource linked from this page is “Study Guide Zone”, free test preparation materials on more than 30 different standardized tests used by colleges, employers and the military. Mark Bolles’ book “Job-Hunting Online” also offers some helpful tips and other web resources for finding that perfect job.
Many jobs require a resume, or description of your educational and work history, to be sent in with a job application. A strong resume is a real job search asset and you can learn how to write your own winning resume in “Same-Day Resume” by Michael Farr and see samples in “Gallery of Best Resumes” by David Noble.
General advice on the whole job search process is always valuable, so check out “The Geek’s Guide: Job Hunting” by Linda Beam or “Knock’em Dead 2008: the Ultimate Job Search Guide” by Martin Yate for practical tips on resumes, networking and making contacts, and interviewing.
Find the right job path with help from the Hastings Public Library.
