Career Planning
Career planning can be both exciting and extremely stressful. Whether you’re feeling overwhelmed by possibilities or discouraged that no job feels quite right, this module will help you to explore your options and plan your career.
Top Tips
✓ Get your hands dirty! If you’re interested in a field, but don’t know much about it, get hands-on experience by volunteering or shadowing someone who works in the industry.
✓ Self-motivate. Some of your reasons for pursuing a career should come from within -- for example, personal interests. External motivation from family or friends is normal, but shouldn’t be your only reason.
✓ Go slow & steady. Don’t rush through any part of your career planning. This is a big decision, so explore, reflect, and take your time!
✓ Check your expectations. Most people do not start working in their dream job right away. You might need to move, take a lower-paying job, and work your way up.
✓ Branch out! When doing labour market research, don’t limit yourself to one career area. College provides you with a transferable skill set that will make you a strong candidate for lots of different jobs.
✓ Read up. When researching a program, check out an online program description for information on success factors and career possibilities.
✓ Reach out. If you’re still struggling to pick a program, set up an appointment to chat with a counsellor at your college.
Attribution
Unless otherwise stated, the material in this guide is from the Learning Portal created by College Libraries Ontario. Content has been adapted for the NWP Learning Commons in June 2021. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons BY NC SA 4.0 International License.
All icons on these pages are from The Noun Project. See individual icons for creator attribution.
