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The Job Search

Like night vision goggles for your job search

  • Course Length: 1 week
  • Course Type: Short Course
  • Category:
    • Business and Career Preparation
    • High School

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Let's face it: job hunting sucks. After about the twentieth time being rejected for yet another position because you don't have the experience that you'll only get if someone gives you a job that you can't get without having experience...we don't blame you if you're ready to thrown in the towel—or roll it into a tube and whip something with it.

But there are ways to make job hunting suck less without doing violent things with towels. It all starts with:

  • Figuring out what you actually want to do and what you're qualified to do, so you can apply for positions that are really a good fit.
  • Knowing where and how to look for jobs.

And most importantly,

  • Building a network that connects you to the people who are giving out jobs.

This course teaches you how to do all that stuff so you can save your towels for something more appropriate...like drying stuff.

Unit Breakdown

1 The Job Search - The Job Search

This is it. You have to get a job. Where do you start? What will you do? This course helps you answer all of those questions in 5 short lessons. We'll start by helping you figure out what you want to do and what you're good at, help you navigate the seas of the internet to find some job options, and give you the deets on networking.


Sample Lesson - Introduction

Lesson 1.01: So, What Are You Going to Do?

The perfect career for people who enjoy being cold.
(Source)

It's official: you've reached a point in your life when "superhero" is no longer an acceptable response when people ask you want you want to be when you grow up. Now they expect a response like "investment banker" or "lawyer." You'll just have to resign yourself to wearing your superhero underwear covertly, under your business suit. (We won't tell anyone.)

So, what's a former superhero-to-be to do? How do you land on a career that's just as exciting as saving the world with your x-ray vision or stretchy arms? Do those careers even exist?

Yes, they really do. But one man's Gotham City is another man's Dullsville. In short, there's no one-size-fits-all perfect career. And finding the right one for you involves a lot of searching. In fact (to get all self-help on you), it involves a lot of soul-searching. Who are you? What do you love to do? What matters to you in the big picture?

If you're the kind of person who loves to talk about yourself, this process will feel as satisfying as a visit to your therapist—perhaps even more satisfying, because it comes without the $100/hour price tag.

If you're not that kind of person, buck up and take heart: Doing this soul-searching now is your ticket to landing on a career that makes you feel like a superhero, even without the cape.

Sample Lesson - Activity

Activity 1.01a: Who Are You?

Not a people person? You may want to re-think a career as an airline steward, or you might find yourself on a dramatic trip down the emergency slide when one more person tries to fit a bag the size of a rhinoceros into a compartment the size of a...baby rhinoceros.

No, personality isn't destiny (if it were, Shmoop would still be doing the stand-up comedy circuit in Los Angeles for the equivalent of $3 an hour). But it's a good idea to at least consider your personality traits before you embark on a career.

Enter the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. It's a test that divides people into 16 personality types and—even better for our purposes—suggests careers that other people of your type tend to enjoy and be good at. 

Step One

Take a version of the MBTI personality test.

Step Two

Once you've finished, be sure to read the specifics on your type. Make a note of the suggested careers that correspond with it.

Sample Lesson - Activity

Activity 1.01b: What Do You Like to Do?

It might seem a little silly to take a test to figure out what you like to do. After all, do you really need someone else to tell you that you like playing video games and dislike doing the dishes?

But a test can show you some interests and "likes" that you never even realized you had before you took it. Plus, the computer's way better than you are at organizing those interests into career clusters—groups of careers and industries related by common features—and telling you which clusters fit best with your interests. There might be jobs out there you didn't even know existed.

Step One

So, take the career cluster interest survey. 

Step Two

When you've finished, you'll see your top matching career clusters. Spend some time investigating the careers in each of your top matching clusters. Bookmark the ones that sound great to you, and those that also appeared after you took the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.

Sample Lesson - Activity

Activity 1.01c: What Matters to You?

You love crunching numbers and problem solving. You're a people person and a planner who's great at making tough decisions. So, you should probably become a CEO of a Fortune 500 company, right?

Not so fast. Do you want to be on the job 24/7? How would you feel about outsourcing your company's manufacturing to India even if it means you'll have to fire lots of workers? And by the way, how will you reconcile your career with your deeply-held socialist convictions?

Just as important to your career choice as your personality and interests are your values:

  • What do you believe in?
  • What are you passionate about?
  • What kind of lifestyle and work/life balance most appeals to you?

Step One

This career values card sort helps you figure that out. First, sort through all the cards according to your values. While it only has space for five "most important" values, jot down your top eight.

Step Two

Record those values on this Career Options Worksheet. 

Step Three

Brainstorm six possible careers, and fill them in at the top under "Career Options Under Consideration."

Step Four

Fill out each box on the worksheet by thinking about how congruent each value is with each career option:

  • 3 Very Congruent
  • 2 Congruent
  • ? Maybe Congruent
  • 0 Incongruent
  • -1 Very Incongruent

Then total your columns and analyze your results. Per ushe, a high total is a good total, and means that career would support your values.