Career planning and management continue throughout your professional life. Planning carefully prepares you to cope with changes both in your work and in yourself. Managing your career effectively involves taking risks, learning new skills, and adapting to changes in both work environment and technology. If you learn to plan strategically, you will be able to make effective career choices throughout your professional life. The Counseling Center provides several online career assessment tools.

Writing Résumés

An effective résumé persuades an employer to contact you for an interview. You’ll need to communicate your strengths and interests quickly and clearly! The University Career Center provides tips for resume writing.

Cover Letters

A cover letter should always accompany a résumé, even if you apply for a job online. A well-written cover letter states what your résumé does not. Use your cover letter to show an employer that you are the best fit for the position. You may also want to review additional tips and samples for cover letter writing.

Job Interviews

Although a job interview gives an employer an opportunity to evaluate you, it is also an opportunity for you to evaluate the employer. Therefore it is important that you prepare for the interview ahead of time. Anticipate questions the employer might ask, and think about how you will answer them. Your impression during the interview can make the difference between a job offer and a rejection letter. The Career Center provides an “Interviewing Tips” video to help you through the interview process.

Online Resources on Career Planning and Management

• Career Key
  The Career Key is a free online career test designed to match your interests and personality to careers that will suit you.
• The Employment Security Commission (ESC) of North Carolina
  At the ESC’s site, you will find recent labor force statistics as well as searchable job openings.
• North Carolina Career Resource Network
  Here you will find summaries of more than 800 occupations in North Carolina, and learn about the most recent trends in the state’s labor market. You may also wish to consult this site to learn of job training opportunities, or to get advice about writing résumés and cover letters.
• O*NET OnLine has detailed descriptions of the world of work for use by job seekers, workforce development and HR professionals, students, researchers, and more.
• United States Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook
  For a wide variety of jobs, the Occupational Outlook Handbook tells you the training and education you need, how much money you can expect to make, the opportunities for advancement you can expect, and what the work environment is like.