techtip: JOIN THE PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY

JOIN THE PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY

If you have ever been to a party where you don’t know many people, you know how awkward it can be to stand near a group and not feel comfortable joining it.

Getting started in a new career or profession is similar. Members of different professions have their own ways of doing things, their own terminology, particular leaders, and important events. As a college student, you have to learn about how to join your intended professional community, and you can and should start now.

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Courtesy U.S. Department of Labor

The Problem

You want to research a professional community that you’re interested in joining, but you don’t know how.

The Fix

Learn about the industries, companies and professional groups you would like to work with.

How to Do It

  1. Conduct industry and career research. A great place to start is O*NET OnLine (onetonline.org), a site with an interactive application for exploring occupations. Also, get in the habit of visiting the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook (bls.gov/ooh). These sites will give you a very clear picture of thousands of professions. Identify specific companies or organizations that interest you, as well as roles in which you could see yourself. Research individual employers of interest, too. How do your expectations match up with reality? Be sure to ask for help from a librarian if you need it.
  2. Do some research on yourself. Even if you already have an idea about what you want to pursue, online resources, like the O*NET OnLine Interest profiler (mynextmove.org/explore/ip) or iSeek (iseek.org/careers/clusterSurvey) will give you important feedback about what professions would match your interests, personality, values, and skills.
  3. Get familiar with professional organizations. Every profession has groups whose members exchange ideas, hold events, or conduct training. Explore their Web sites to find local chapters of the organization or local events you can attend to learn more. For a list of associations, check out Weddle’s Association Directory (weddles.com/associations). Also, many professional groups have a presence on LinkedIn, where you can see who is in a group and join an online conversation about an area of interest.

  1. Find ways to gain real experience: Check with your college’s career center to find out what kinds of internship opportunities are available. You can look online, too:
    • internships.com
    • indeed.com
    • idealist.com
    • experience.com
    • mediabistro.com

EXTRA STYLE POINTS: Visit work environments you want to explore. Find a person, either through Linked-In or your college’s alumni or career center, who will grant you an informational interview. You can also seek an opportunity for job shadowing. Here are a few questions to get your interview off to a strong start:

  • Describe the moment when you knew this was the job for you.
  • What is the most interesting thing that has happened to you in this profession?
  • What changes would you make in your career preparation if you were entering this field today?
  • Describe the most satisfying professional accomplishment you have had.