Laid off during the great 2020 coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic? Picking up the pieces? Trying to find the energy for an unwanted and unexpected job search?
You are NOT alone!
What follows is our effort to put together all the job search resources we could think of. In one place to help ease your search and transition into a new, different, and better future.
Remember. You CAN do this. You CAN and WILL make this transition.
Life is full of unexpected ups and downs. None of us controls the economy, the universe, and so much more. The joy, the resilience, the richness of the journey is remembering to take it one simple step at a time. When you are walking across the valley of trouble, when you are lost in the fog, when you, at times have absolutely no idea where you are and where you are going. Remember. You are not alone. You will make it. This will pass. Stop. Breath. Feel the earth under your feet. Feel your hands resting on the keyboard, your arms by your sides. Beeeeee. We live in the moment – life is in the moment. And you know what, somehow, someway, the future will gently and kindly and completely take care of itself.
So go grab your water bottle, fill up your coffee, warm up a new pot of tea. Look out the window. Breath deep. Breath again. And then …..dig in.
You are off on your new journey. It’s going to be exciting, new, different. Grab the steering wheel. Take the plunge.
You’ve got this!
Steve Bushnell
Founder, Charles River Careers 2020|03|26
Quick Links
- The Biggest and Best Job Boards
- Niche/Specialized Job Boards
- Jobs with the Federal and State Government
- Resume Resources & How to Write a Resume Someone Will Actually Read
- On-line Tests & Assessments to Help You Find the Right Career
- Browse for Jobs based on Who You Are
- Free Personality Tests
- How to Succeed at Your Job Search
- Career & Job Search Books we Recommend
- Seeing is Believing – How to Find Career Videos
Job Boards & Sites
The Biggest and Best Job Sites/Boards for Your Job Search (Our List)
Job search sites are incredibly powerful these days – but also hard to rank and compare. Most contain a mix of “paid” posts from employers, but also “scrape/crawl” the entire world-wide-web to gather postings directly from company, non-profit, and government websites. And some, like Google, even scrape the other job search sites. It’s pretty cool. But also a bit confusing.
The truth is, aside from using a companies website, and, you guessed it, even they might not be up to date, it’s almost impossible to know which site is the best to use. They are powerful tools to find and apply for openings, but as a class, kind of hard to distinguish.
Here’s some things to keep in mind:
- Most job search boards include all types of roles (salary, hourly, contract, full time, part-time, remote, etc.)
- They try to differentiate each other with company reviews, services, etc.
- Note that aggregators may ‘lag’ what the employer is doing on their website. For example, Indeed or ZipRecruiter might say, ‘1 day old’ but that might be only when they last scraped the web. And who has any idea how often they do that? We assume that Google is the most up to date – but we could be wrong.
What are our favorites?
Google Jobs – which is aggregates across the job boards (but sadly, not Indeed or Craigslist), and Indeed, which is still the largest, and also because of its excellent “advanced search” tools. If your looking for employee reviews on a company, and the companies pitch? Then head over to Glassdoor. Even if you’re looking at niche roles, that might have Sector-specific job boards (like Idealist), we recommend always using on of the larger aggregators – as most of the time, employers will make an effort to cast as wide a net as possible for the best candidates.
No no matter what tool you use… please, please, please make sure you are filter for ‘freshly’ posted jobs! Anything older that 15 days is most likely filled or you are too late in the process.
Try to find things posted in the past 7 days. Better to get your resume presented sooner than to spend more time tuning the perfect cover letter.
Here’s our list of Go-To Job Search Sites for the Cornona virus Recession:
| Job Board | Our Take… |
|---|---|
 Google Jobs |
Google Jobs is amazingly comprehensive and it’s our top choice for finding interesting and relevant roles.
Google is the world leader in scouring the internet and organizing information, so it comes as no surprise that over time they will probably dominate the job search space. The site collects jobs from basically everywhere – including companies and 100’s (perhaps thousands?) of other job sites (excluding Indeed and Craiglist!). And it’s fairly easy to use. As an example, just enter “accountant jobs boston, MA” in the main google search bar and click on the result/tool to and get started. But remember it doesn’t include roles posted on Indeed and also (we think) Craiglist. Compares Salaries across: Ziprecruiter, glassdoor and Payscale Employer Reviews: by Zippia and Comparably Agregates across: Compant, Governemnet, non-profits, LinkedIn, Ziprecrutier, Glassdoor, and 100’s of other Not: Craigslist, Indeed employer paid posts There’s a good youtube tutorial to get started => here |
 Indeed |
Indeed is number one job board in the U.S. and most likely the best aggregator after Google (in our humble opinion). Their advanced search tool is amazing. Try setting up an account, saving roles. It’s easy to apply and you can track your progress.
There are some short tutorial on how to search for titles using advanced search tool => here, => here, and => here |
 ZipRecruiter |
Zip recruiter is an aggregator for job seekers. They are also (according to them), the #1 rated posting site for employers, as they ‘distribute’ postings to “100’s” of other job boards and recommend resume hits to employers. They also have some interesting tools for tracking trends if your interested.
But here’s a fun fact – all their postings are included in Google jobs results, so in theory you have this covered. The interface is easy use. Employers also get recommendations based on resumes on file or your profile. We would never rely on this for a search – but it does provide some additional visibility. |
 LinkedIn |
Linkedin is both paid posts and an aggregator from company sites. There are lots of white collar jobs here.
Most (if not all?), headhunters are scouring this to find people. It includes both posted roles and scours the web for roles on company boards. this is also the place you should build your strongest profile. There isn’t a headhunter out there that does pay to access Linkedin to search for candidates. In addition, when you apply, it finds people in your network that might work there, matches credintials based on your profile, and more. |
 Glassdoor |
Like Indeed, Linked-In, and ZipRecruiter, Glassdoor aggregates jobs from across the web, it also has it’s owne employer posted roles.
But in addition, it also has the largest collection of employee reviews of employers. Many companies looking for talent are now concerned with thier glass door ratings – and like to tell their side of the story. Curious about what people are saying about corporate culture – this is the place to dig in. Similar to Linkedin, Indeed, and others, you can create a profile (in fact it is required), upload your resume and manage your search – including interviews. Also, as of this review, you can’t use the site unless you create a free account – which includes a pretty extensive survey to set up your profile. The salary information is good – but you can also see this in Google jobs. Definitely more white-collar focused |
 Craigslist |
This is an oldie but a goodie.
Many, of not all, small businesses prefer to post openings here because of the exceptionally low job-posting advertising costs. The jobs are mostly hourly, it’s hyper local and there are good filters and a nice map view. But beware! It is well known that there are active scammers on this platform and it relies on user reporting to flag abuse. So flag things when they look off! As far as we can tell, Craiglist jobs are not included in Google Jobs results. |
Niche Job Boards (A Short List to Get You Started…)
There are literally 1000’s of niche job board out there….way to many for anyone to catalogue (not to mention they come and go). If you just browsing around, here’s a list to get you started, and some of the one’s we like. If you don’t see anything of interest, just google ‘Top 10 job boards for ______” (fill in the blank), and you will have plenty of blog posts and suggestions to review.
| Job Board | Our Take… |
|---|---|
| snagajob | Hourly Jobs – Simple to use and easy to apply. We couldn’t find an easy way to filter for ‘fresh’ jobs, so check your results with Google Jobs or Indeed. If you’re looking local – check our Craigslist. |
| We Work Remotely | Remote Jobs – focuses on remote/work-from home jobs an claims to be the largest job site addressing this growing sector. Note you can also search/filter for ‘remote’ jobs on all the large aggregators – see above. |
| Dice | Tech – probably the largest tech board, covers all job classes across development and company life-cycle |
| CrunchBoard | Start-ups – This tech oriented job board associated with Crunchbase, the leading provider of information on start-up companies, including tracking funding rounds, across multiple sectors. |
| GitHub | Tech – Job board for the largest community of developers on the planet (our guess) |
| Stack Overflow | Tech – the job board of the largest community of developers and tech folks answering tech questions |
| builtin | Tech – start-up jobs, search by city, including, deve, content, legal, design…you name it |
| AngelList | Start-ups – mostly early stage technology start-ups, started in Silicon Valley |
| Mediabistro | Media Careers – Jobs from the top media companies, includes creatives, marketing, comms, productions and writing – and freelance. |
| Lawjobs | Legal Field – Claims to be the leading website for legal professionals. Fortune 100 and AmLaw 200. |
| RecruitMilitary | Veterans – Open roles for Veteran’s. In-person and virtual career fairs – for those who have honorably served our country! |
| College Recruiter | Recent college grads – internships, entry level jobs, summer roles |
| HigherEdJobs | Higher Ed – Faculty, Administration and Sr. Roles in Colleges and Universities (2 and 4 year) |
| SchoolSpring | Teachers – All grades, all states, all levels |
| Idealist | Non-Profits – Internships to Sr. Level |
| GettingHired | Diversity & Disabilities – Dedicated to helping employers hire professional individuals and veterans with disabilities. |
| abilityJobs | Diversity & Disabilities – The only employment site where 100% of posted jobs are from employers specifically seeking to hire people with disabilities. |
| Idealist | Non-Profits – Internships to Sr. Level |
| ApprenticeShip.gov | National Job Board for Apprenticeships across all industries (U.S. Dept. of Labor) |
Jobs with the Federal Government
Let’s face it, the government is a large, diverse and complicated. There are also many many interesting roles there. Most posted roles will be gathered by the big aggregators, but if you’re seeking a government role, it might be a good idea to go right to the source. Here’s our attempt to gather the Federal and States sites. Don’t forget most counties, cities, towns and municipalities offer full time roles of one kind of another.
Federal jobs
- USAjobs (big federal site)
- here is how to write a federal resume
State Government Jobs
Local, County and State governments employ about 10-11% of the population, and in some states it can be even higher. This might seem like a lot, but remember there are a lot of teachers and health care workers out there. Looking for a state job, here are the links directly to their websites. We also include the career centers too!
| State (or Territory) | Employment Links |
|---|---|
| Alabama | Department of Personel => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Alaska | Jobs => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| American Samoa | Personnel Division => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Arizona | Jobs => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Arkansas | State Jobs => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| California | CalCareers => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Colorado | Division of Human Services => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Connecticut | Department of Administrative Services => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Delaware | Department of Human Resources Management => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Florida | Florida Jobs – for all departments => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Georgia | Team Georgia Careers => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Guam | Department of Labor => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Hawaii | Hawaii.gov => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Idaho | Jobs => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Illinois | Illinois => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Indiana | Work For Indiana.gov => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Iowa | State Careers => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Kansas | State Employment Center => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Kentucky | Kentucky.gov => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Louisiana | State Civil Service Jobs => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Maine | Bureau Of Human Resources => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Maryland | Dept of Budget and Management Services => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Massachusetts | MassCareers => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Michigan | Civil Service Commission => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Minnesota | Careers in State Government => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Mississippi | State Personnel Board => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Missouri | Jobs.Mo.gov => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| State (or Territory) | Employment Links |
|---|---|
| Montana | State Careers => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Nebraska | State Jobs => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Nevada | State Career Opportunities => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| New Hampshire | State Jobs – Division of Personnel => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| New Jersey | Civil Service Commission => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| New Mexico | State Personnel Office => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| New York | State Jobs NY => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| North Carolina | Jobs => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| North Dakota | Office of Management and Budget – Careers => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Ohio | Careers.Ohio.Gov => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Oklahoma | Jobs.OK.gov => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Oregon | Job Opportunities => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Pennsylvania | Work for Pennsylvania => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Puerto Rico | Jobs => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Rhode Island | Apply Rhode Island => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| South Carolina | Careers => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| South Dakota | Bureau of Human Resources => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Tennessee | State Government Jobs => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Texas | Workforce Commission => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | Jobs => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Utah | Employee Gateway => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Vermont | Department of Human Resources => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Virginia | Jobs.Virginia.Gov => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Washington | careers.wa.gov => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| West Virginia | Division of Personnel => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Wisconsin | wisc.jobs => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
| Wyoming | Administration & Information => Home Page
Direct Link to => Job Board |
State Job Banks
Wow, it turn out that the department of labor has free posting sites for ALL states – for state employers. this is for all types of roles. But we assume that all state jobs will be posted here.
The full list of ALL state job board links for ALL 50 STATES is => State Job Boards
Resume Resources
Want to create an good resume? Better yet, want your resume to REALLY stand out from the crowd?
We scanned the web to find either free template, or in some cases, low cost resume templates that will provide helpful structure and creative designs – so you can create a resume that conveys both your experience, but also allows for some creative spin to stand out.
Low-Cost Resume Templates That will Help You Stand Out From the Crowd
Want your resume to stand out in a crowd?
Of course you do! Remember that every time you apply to a position, it’s guaranteed that someone else is applying. Don’t you want your resume to look better than theirs? To be the one the hiring manager or staffing agent to remembers, forwards, and schedule a call for?
We believe that your resume is ‘ground-zero’ for presenting who you are, even before Linkedin and other places you might be building a profile.
Well there’s good news. You don’t need to be a professional graphic designer to build a stunning resume. For less than $10-$20 (well worth the money given the many hours your will be spending on your search), you can but a stunning resume template and use MS Word, or Google Docs to polish and make it amazing.
Now beware! If you go to Google and search ‘low cost resume service’ you will be OVERWHELMED with people who are trying to make money on this. Reviews are sparce and pricing is elusive (more on paid services later). If your looking for ‘free’ or ‘low cost” templates, it’s also a mess out there.
Here’s our Go-To resources for excellent templates.
*please note that we do NOT make money from these recommendations. This is what we recommend for our clients!
Free Resume Templates for Google Docs
Google docs provides free basic templates for both resumes and cover letters. They aren’t the fanciest in the world, but the are free and easy to use. See the instructions below and links to Youtube videos.
Free Resume Templates for Google Docs can be found => here
Free Resume Templates for Microsoft Office/365
Microsoft provides free resume templates for use with MS Office (MS word), and MS 365. You can access these right from the program when you create a new file, or download them from their template website.
Download Free Resume Templates for MS Office/365 = > here
Low-Cost Resume Templates from Etsy
Etsy has an amazing collection of resume templates. And in many cases, the authors are available to assist if you have trouble using them. This is our first choice!
Most are available for Google Docs or MS Word, and many include helpful matching cover letters templates.
Low Cost Resume Templates from ETSY can be found => here
Low-Cost Resume Templates from Graphic River
Graphic River is probably #2 after Esty, and also has an amazing collection of resume templates. Again, in many cases, the authors are available to assist if you have trouble using them.
Most are available for Google Docs or MS Word, and many include helpful matching cover letters templates.
Low Cost Resume Templates from Graphic River can be found => here
On-Line Resume Builders
Don’t know how to use Microsoft Word or Google Docs? Would you prefer an on-line tool to build you resume?
Well, there are lots of on-line services that would love to help build your resume. But beware, for many, the pricing is NOT transparent, and they want you to provide a free version – which will no doubt frustrate you (this is by design), in the hopes that you will sign up for a premium package.
Here a couple that look better to us (but we don’t endorse them).
- Canva – this is a lot more than resumes, but they have man templates=> here, and see their pricing => here, and here is a good videos on youtube => here
There are a bunch more out there – but only a few are transparent about pricing. So beware (you can search google for on-line resume builders => here.
Here are some of the ones we found, but honestly, Canva is most likely a much more powerful platform and better way to go.
- CakeResume – looks like great tools – need to sign up to get rid of their branding => here, and see their pricing => here
- zety – this looks good but their pricing is not transparent (not good), but they have lots of examples to look at => here
- VisualCV – their site looks interesting, but they aren’t transparent about their pricing (do they have something to hide>) check them out => here
No matter what system you work with, make sure you can download a Google Doc, MS Word, or some other editable format. We think you should own and control the content of your resume. If you sign up for a service, and then cancel, you might need to pay to get access in the future.
Paid Resume Services & Freelancers
Feeling unsure about writing your own resume? Overwhelmed by resume templates or on-line services? There are lots of resume services and freelancers out there where you can hire someone to do the work for you.
Freelancers
If you can afford it, our recommended, method to build a great resume would be to head over to Upwork, the worlds largest freelancing site, and hire someone who and has a track record of satisfied clients. Our cursory review suggests you can hire an expert freelancer to customize your resume for $200 – $500, but you might find cheaper options if you want to hire new entrants in the Upwork community.
You can see some of the top Upwork resume freelances => here
Not sure how to hire a freelancer on Upwork? Check out one of the many youtube videos => here, and also Upworks advice (also on Youtube) => here
Passionate about a fancy template you found on Etsy or Graphic River, but not sure how to fill it out? Most freelancers are happy to work with templates – so you can have the best of both worlds! A world class freelancer, developing the template you want.
On-line Resume Services
Wondering about the who, what and where of what to look for in a resume writing service. Check out this great blog post on => indeed.
We did a little web research and came up with the following services that might be worth taking a look at. full disclosure, we haven’t used any of these, but selected them based on the transparency of thier pricing, examples, and (supposed) gurantee.
Resume Tricks and Tips
Resume Action (Power) Words
We can’t tell you how many resumes we’ve seen where people ‘under-tell’ their story, or ‘under-sell’ their accomplishments. Most employers are looking to hire people who: show up to work on time, care about quality, and like to get things done. Assuming you are one of these people, that means you MUST have some something that took ‘action’ in the world. The bottom line is you want to use these yours in your resume. Not sure what an action work is? Not sure how to include in your resume? Some resources follow.
Resume Keywords
Let face it. Computers are taking over the world. And the job search world is no exception. Many mid to large companies use sophisticated software (build by a number of tech companies), to ‘filter’ resume submission and ‘score’ them based an keyword matching against the posting. Linkedin, Ziprecruiter, and others also use this approach to ‘scan’ your resume and profile, to make recommendations to recruiters, when you establish your presence on these platforms. Sadly, these tools are here to stay.
What Job Is Right (or Best) for Me?
What Job is right for you?
Good question!
And although we’d like to say there is an easy answer – there really isn’t. In fact, when you think about this, most likely for a very long time, you may ultimately realize this is good news. This framing will allow you to think about your vocational search as more of an adventure, journey, or quest, rather than something that needs a quick fix. This said – we fully appreciate the seriousness of economic hardship! We also that educational choices come with a financial price, and its important to approach these thoughtfully. We all must put food on the table and put a roof over our head. But here’s hoping we can do this – and way more – over the long term.
The job that is ‘best’ for you is most-likely some intricate combination of the many different things that bring you energy, enjoyment, a sense of security, benefits, work-life balance, the right amount of responsibility, autonomy, structure, a connection to a deeper purpose (if possible), etc. It’s finding a match between your future employer’s needs, and your skills, personality, personal strivings, work-life balance, and much more.
Basically, sort this all out in some structured way is what Career and Vocational Coaches do – including us.
Some primary (free) vocational tests are as follows:
- Job Interest Tests
- Career Path Interest Tests
- Work Values Tests
- Personality Inventorys
This said, when you’re on a tight budget, there are some FREE tools out there that might begin to shine some light on things for you.
Free Job Interest Tests
Free Job Interest Tests – Holland Test via Department of Labor
So, in addition to sorting out things like Pandemics and the economy, it turns out the federal government sponsors has one of the best maintained career interest websites in the country.
The O*NET program is sponsored by the Department of Labor, and the free test, which is based on Holland Career Theory, and a smaller part of the larger O*NET database, which can be accessed at => mynextmove.org.
Holland Career Theory which was developed last century – and it is still being used today in vocational research and practice – which is testament to its strong foundations. In fact, the Holland test is still the go-to tool for most career counselors at colleges and universities across the country.
Some details:
- It is 60 questions in length
- It classifies your interests into 6 primary categories: Realistic, Investigative, Social, Artistic, Enterprising, and Conventional. (RIASEC)
- The top 3 scores are then used to recommend jobs/careers that experts think are linked to these interest groups
- The best fitting jobs are further sorted based on the educational and skill level for each
- The jobs and classifications are updated every year – so in principal – it’s current!
There are many free implementations of the Holland career test spread across the web, and some have better interfaces – as of this posting, O*Net isn’t mobile friendly! This said, to our knowledge is the best maintained and fully integrated within the larger O*Net environment.
You can take the FREE test => here
Free Work Orientation Test
Is work more a ‘calling’? A ‘job’? A way to connect with people? A way to keep busy?
This short (26 questions), insightful questionnaire is a great way to gain some insight into what the work of work means to you. At least at his moment in your larger journey.
Take the FREE Work Orientation Questionnaire (WOQ) => here
Free ‘Career Path’ Interest Test
Minnesota State – CareerWise
If you’re not satisfied the O*NET/Holland test, or others that you might have come across, you might head over to the Minnesota CAREERWise site, where they have a related alternative.
Although based on the same principles as the Holland test, they have a slightly different test that provides recommended career paths and Job clusters.
Why Minnesota of all places? No clue. But this career team has there act together. Lots of innovation and worth checking out.
You can take the FREE Career Cluster Interest Survey => here
You can see how some of these paths map to Holland Scores => here
Free Work Values (or Motivation) Tests
Are you more interested achieving? Gaining recognition? Building lasting relationships? Supporting? Finding optimal working conditions?
Perhaps some mix of these things? Then you might might want to know what you ‘work values’ are. Our ‘values’, although difficult to nail down, often play a dominant (although not alway apparent) role in defining our priorities. They also become essential criteria for how we interpret, evaluate and judge the world we are experiencing. They set the architecture for many aspects of our life, and ultimately how we spend our time.
Although work values may just be a subset of our larger values. Knowing them can shine a light of greater understanding on likes, and dislikes. And certainly, working in Jobs that are in opposition can lead to stress.
You can take Free Career Values/Motivation Test (from Psychtests.com) => here
You can take Free Work Values Test at 123.test.com => here
You can browse jobs by Work Values on the O*NET site => here
Free Work Styles Test
Are you dependable? Detail oriented? Good at managing stress? An analytical thinker?
Work Styles are aspects of your personality traits – that could be important in the workplace. This includes things like how cooperative you might be, elements of being conscientious, how open to new ideas, and grit and persistence.
Note that although there is overlap, Work Style tests are not the same things as full blown personality tests (discussed elsewhere on this page).
Free Working Styles Assessment (via. Psychtests.com) can be found => here
Another free Working Styles assessment (via. Psychology Today) 85 questions can be found => here
You can browse jobs by work styles => here
I Don’t Like Tests – Can’t I just Browse Around for Jobs?
No More Surveys! I just want to Browse Around
Just want to paruse some sites to get some ideas. Here are some other approaches to find jobs/careers that might be a good fit for you.
Browse by Career paths that are similar (also called Career Cluster) => here
Browse by Jobs in Different Industries => here
Browse by Interests=> here
- Working with things and the physical world (Realistic)=> here
- Working with ideas & knowledge (Investigative) => here
- Artistic, design, and self expression (Artistic)=> here
- Helping, serving, and communicating with people (Social) => here
- Leading people & making decisions (Enterprising) => here
- Following procedures, routines, & taking care of the details (Conventional) => here
Browse by What’s Important to me (Achievement, Working Conditions, etc. – also called Work Values) => here
Browse by How I like to Work (Leadership, in teams, detail-oriented, etc. – also called Work Styles) => here
Browse by What I Know (Domain Knowledge, Industry Expertise, Occupational Information) => here
Browse by Skill Level Required => here
Browse by Science, Technology, Engineeering & Math Careers => here
Browse by What pays the most => here
Browse by Career Profile => here
Should I Take a Personality Test?
Free Personality Tests
In an ideal world it would be great to have a tool that provided job recommendations based on your ‘personality‘.
That sounds good, but, like other areas of vocational theory, it’s a little more complicated than that. While ‘personality traits‘ are thought to be relatively stable over time, there really isn’t a reliable way to measure personality, and/or find jobs where personality, as opposed to skill, work-style, etc. are a good ‘fit’. Uggh.
This said, there are times when taking a personality test can reveal, or solidify, some concept or self-understanding that might tip the balance in one career direction or the other.
Some things to think about when taking these types of tests.
- There is NO test that will ever fully capture all the dimensions of human ‘personality’ – human beings are way too diverse.
- Most on-line personality tests measure something called ‘personality traits‘, and these are only a small part of what psychologists consider personality also encompasses environment of evolution, traits, personal strivings, story and cultural influences.
- Personality traits are never ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, ‘good’ or ‘bad’. They are only something to note, be curious about, or develop a relationship with. (Yes, that was deep).
- There is no clear link between a personality and ‘job fit’, although there ARE alignments that are higly relevant. As one example, if one of your personality trait scores is high on ‘fear of bodily harm’, you might want to steer clear being a police officer, or joining the Marine Corps.
- Most of the free tests that you find on the web are derived from either Myer’s Briggs, 16 Personalities, or Enneagram theory, and these can be difficult to understand and can lead to mis-classification. And this could lead to false notions of who you are and your potential! We have enough internal biases the way it is.
- As of this writing, the most widely accepted personality inventory by the field of psychology research, is the BIG5 personality inventory, there is another close relative call the HEXACO. The BIG5 covers areas like Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism (or negative emotions. (OCEAN). HEXACO covers the BIG5 but also includes something called Humility and Altruism. One of the cool things about these tools is that ‘scores’ they are reported a continuous scale, which means that people express them to a greater or lesser extent. There are also multiple subtraits for each of the major classifications.
- It’s important to approach these tools with self-compassion, a grain-of-salt, and guidance. They are not always correct and might trigger some unexpected feelings. If they persist – be sure to reach out to a psychologist or career counselor to put them in the right perspective. Remember that you are, and will always be, a gift to the world – no matter what some test says. Full stop.
FREE BIG5 Personality Inventory Tests
Using the BIG5 model, the most comprehensive personality implementation we are aware of is from the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP). If you have the time, we suggest taking the long form version (300 Questions) – it takes about 15 to 20 minutes to complete. Be sure to read the guidance provided by Dr. Johnson at Penn State, who provides this free of charge.
You can take the Free IPIP-NEO Big 5 Personality Inventory – Long Form (300 Questions)=> here
You can take the Free IPIP-NEO Big 5 Personality Inventory – Short Form (120 Questions)=> here
You can take a Free HEXACO Personality Inventory => here
How Do I Succeed at My Job Search?
Let’s face it. Navigating a job search is not something they teach you about in school.
And if you were unexpectedly laid off, like (perhaps) due to the consequences of a global pandemic (Thank You COVID-19!), it’s not something you had even contemplated when you were pondering your New Year’s resolution. But the past is gone. We live in the moment, and the question now is how do you SUCCEED.
Here’s our list of top 10 ways to succeed at your Job Search.
- Be Persistent. You MUST MUST MUST get your resume in front of a lot of relevant people
- Set Clear Goals – for every day, every week, and every month.
- Track your progress.
- Intentionally strive to stay positive. The process of transitioning between jobs, looking for work, is a set-up for negative thoughts! Take breaks, seek support, and engage in self compassion, and be attentive to your thinking.
- Use multiple approaches to get your resume out there. Sure, apply on line, but what about family and friends, religious groups, professional networks, educational networks.
- Be able to tell a coherent, insightful, forward-looking story about your career. Not only what you have done, but where are you going!
- Know your super-powers. Full stop. What we mean by this is, really make and effort to know what you do or know well. Everyone on this planet has a unique set of gifts – this includes you! Make a list. Validate with friends and colleagues. Smile internally and hold your incredible gifts, talents and knowledge. You are gift to the world and will find you place in it.
- Be authentic during interviews. You must do your research! Bring questions. Find out how you can help your potential employer succeed. What does success look like from their perspective?
- Never never never bring your phone to an interview. Why? Because you might look at it!
- Revisit #1.
Our experience in working with many clients, is that the people who succeed are not the one’s with the fanciest resume, nicest smile, or even the best credentials. The people that succeed are the ones that just keep working at it; the travelers who appreciate (and accept!), that regardless of whether it’s a phone screen, a video call, an interview, or getting an offer, there will be 30, 40, 50, or more ‘NO’s’ for every ‘YES’. That a ‘NO’ is not a rejection, or fault, or error, it’s a natural part of the process; something to note, be curious about, and then let go of.
Remember; for every role you are applying to, it is guaranteed there are other applicants. Yes, this is, in part, a numbers game.
Keep Going. Although it might not feel like it right now, your effort will ultimately pay off!
Great Books to Help With Your Career & Job Search
Wondering if there are good books to help with you current career transition? There sure are.
If fact, there are literally hundreds of books on Job search, career transitions and how to find your calling. We’ve seen a lot in our time and get recommendations of our community. To see our short list of Career Books that are classics.
Check out our Career Books page => here.
Seeing Is Believing – Career Video Sites
Wondering if there are some good videos on careers out there? This is an ever-changing space – but initial sites for ‘watching’ videos about careers can be found below.
Any you can always search Youtube for the 1000’s of “Day in the Life of a ‘pick your job of interest here'” => here
Browse Careers Videos on the CareerOneStop site are => here
Search for Career Videos on CareerOneStop’s Youtube Channel => here
ConnectEd has a good collection of career videos => here