Career Center > The Career Planning Process

Step Two: Exploring the World of Work

We cannot choose what we do not know. There are over 20,000 occupational titles, and the Department of Labor predicts there will be 23.9 million job openings between 2004-14! That adds up to a lot of choices for the job seeker.
    Why is it important to explore the world of work before making a career decision? It has been said that where we live and the kind of work we do are the two most important factors in achieving a satisfied life. Consider the following reasons for investing time and energy into career exploration activities:

• The occupation you choose may determine whether or not you eventually become employed. Labor trends indicate that not all job opportunities expand at the same rate and some even decrease as technology makes certain jobs obsolete.
• Success or failure may be related to your occupational choice. You must be able to do the work in a specific job. Learning about the requirements of occupations as they relate to your skills and strengths is important.
• Finally, and most importantly, your occupational choice will influence every other area of your life: where you live, how often you move, with whom you associate, your economic and social status, your emotional and physical health.

Ways of Exploring Careers

Reading Occupational Literature

Many resources are available for researching specific occupations and industries. The CC library is an excellent place to start, and the Wyndham Robertson Library also offers many valuable resources that offer pertinent facts about work requirements and conditions, employment figures, training, advancement, earnings, and job outlook. Other sources include:

• Chambers of Commerce
• Newspapers and magazines
• Industry and government libraries
• Recruiting materials
• Trade journals and newsletters
• State Employment Offices
• Web sites

My.Hollins.Edu Resources

The Career Center on my.hollins.edu offers excellent career information site sources such as Virginia View, Occupational Outlook Handbook, and What Can I do with this Major?  Company profile sites include Fortune 500 Companies, Fortune Global 500 companies, and Hoover’s On-Line.

The Informational Interview

By interviewing individuals who have jobs in which you are interested, you can get a personal feel for what the job really entails. This experience can serve two invaluable purposes. First, knowing more about what a career is like is an important step in clarifying your career goals. Secondly, gaining this special insight into a field that you are considering will allow you to tailor your job search according to what you have learned about current trends on both a national and local level.

Before the interview, keep in mind that you will make the best use of your time and the professional's time if you do some advance preparation. Use available resources to find out basic information about the nature of the work, education and training required, employment outlook, and salary ranges. This homework is very important! Set the stage for your meeting: decide what you want to wear, how you want to begin your interview, what to say about the person who referred you, and exactly how to state your mission.

During the interview, remember that you are in charge of this meeting and are responsible for conducting it. This is not a job interview so you can take advantage of the ease you feel with your questions. You will get good information through an open-ended question followed by a more specific one.

The following questions are appropriate for an informational interview:

1. What is a typical day on this job like?
2. What is the nature of the work?
3. What is the range of your duties and responsibilities?
4. What prepared you most for this job? (education, experience, training?)
5. What are the current issues (problems, needs, plans, etc.) of your organization or field?
6. What are the physical and psychological demands?
7. What do you like most/least about this job?
8. Where is the work performed?
9. What kind of person works best in this field?
10. What types of organizations employ people in this occupation?
11. How have women been doing in this field?
12. Do you have any suggestions for how I might best prepare for working in this field?
13. What are the working conditions?
14. Can you give me the name and organization of someone else who does what you do? May I use your name when contacting them?
15. How does your work fit into the organization as a whole?
16. With whom do you work closely?
17. How did you get into this field and your present position?
18. What are the eligibility requirements for entry into this occupation?
19. What kinds of skills are required?
20. What kind of education is required?
21. What kind of specialized training is required?
22. Are job opportunities in this field increasing, decreasing, or remaining stable? Why?
23. What are the projections about employment opportunities in geographic areas that you prefer?
24. What opportunities are there for career mobility?
25. Does this occupation offer you the opportunity to acquire skills and responsibilities that would allow you to advance in that organization?
26. Could you use those skills acquired in another organization or another job?
27. What is the probable and potential earning power?
28. What is the pay range and benefits (i.e., insurance, vacations, fringe benefits?)
29. How rapidly do pay and benefits increase?
30. Is there a maximum possible income?
31. What are the advantages and disadvantages?
32. If you could change the job in some way, how would you change it?
33. What advice would you give a person considering this occupation?

As you are leaving, summarize exactly what has been helpful. This provides positive reinforcement for the employer and makes a good impression of you as an interviewer. While this is not a job interview per se, you might feel comfortable to ask the employer if you can contact him or her should your future job search focus on this field.

After the interview, take good notes! Include not only objective data gained but also your subjective evaluation about the person you interviewed, the job, and the future possibilities you envision for yourself. Send a thank-you note immediately and emphasize what you learned from the interview. This individual may become a significant player in your career network.

Internships

An internship is a supervised work or volunteer experience with specific learning objectives. Short Term is the perfect opportunity to participate in an internship that will allow you to develop job skills, become familiar with a career field and its work environment, and to evaluate your abilities and interest in a given occupation. Hollins students may receive academic credit for a maximum of 16 credit hours of internship work. These credits may also be taken during the academic semester and/or the summer.
    The CC holds orientations each fall to help students better understand how to research and set up internships. Students who have previously completed ShortTerm internships are available to share their experiences and to offer advice.
    Students can research nationwide databases on my.hollins.edu which includes opportunities listed by the four Virginia women’s colleges and universities. The CC library houses print resources on most Short Term internship information as well as materials on internships for summer, semester, and overseas. Many students have successfully developed their own internships by directly contacting businesses and alumnae/i working in career fields which interest them.
    If you want to develop your own internship, call or write the human resources office of the company or agency which interests you and ask for the name of the person who coordinates internship activities. Write this person to introduce yourself and explain your interest in doing an internship; always include a resume. The Career Center will provide a sample letter for you to use for this purpose. Follow up with a phone call and request an interview to discuss the possibility of an internship. If the business is new at offering internships, be patient and helpful in explaining how you and the company can mutually benefit from the experience. See your academic advisor if you want to receive academic credit for an internship outside the Short Term time period.

Employment

Paid work experience while attending college, during summers, and over holidays gives you valuable insight and enables you to interact with other workers. Hiring managers are placing more importance on work experience and internships as valuable indicators of how a college student is managing the career development process. The Career Center encourages campus offices to schedule training each year for first year student assistants to emphasize the value of on-campus employment experiences.

Career/Graduate School Exploration

Hollins career events and CHALLENGE Job Fair are excellent ways to network with company representatives. The Center also advertises regional and national career fairs, seminars, and workshops that provide opportunities for career exploration. These events include Minority Career Day, U.S. MBA Forum, National Teacher Job Fair, Theological Career Day at Harvard, Rutgers Career Day, Graduate and Professional School Forum at RMWC, Graduate/Professional School Festival at JMU, UVA Law School and Graduate School Forums (separate events), Education Job Fair, Career Fair and Graduate & Professional School Day at W & M (separate events).

<< Step One :: Step Three >>

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Alumnae/i Career Services

Career & Graduate School Statistics

Career Advice from an Alumna

Internships

Power of the Liberal Arts

The Career Planning Process

Trends in Today's Job Market

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CONTACT
Tina Rolen
Director of the Career Center
(540) 362-6364
cdc@hollins.edu