Decisions, decisions, decisions
You may not realize that your interests, values and skills fit with a wide variety of careers and industries — but they do. Before you start making significant career decisions, it’s important to reflect on your experiences and professional traits.
Reflecting means taking the time to get to know your skills, career interests and goals. This will set you on the right track so that you can explore your career options and discover your next move.
Career Planning Essentials is a free, self-paced online program
This online program is designed to help you build more self-awareness, reflect on what is important for you and explore your career options. At the end, we’ll help you pull together everything you’ve learned and develop an action plan.
Modules cover the following topics:
- Career planning and values
- SkillScan assessment: Discover your skills and connect to the workplace
- Personality assessment: Discover your personality and careers that fit
- Interest inventory, Digital Challenge Cards: Discover your areas of interest
- Recap and action planning
- Career and further education exploration resources
Registration
You can register any time and work through the modules at your own pace. Register for the course on OSCARplus > Student Success Centre > Events. Then, find the most recent registration link (posted on the first week of each month) on the calendar.
One-on-one support
Book an appointment on OSCARplus > Student Success Centre > Appointments > Career Counselling and Job Search Coaching.
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: A personality assessment that will help you learn about your natural preferences and strengths. An individual debrief with a career counsellor is required.
Strong Interest Inventory: An interest assessment that gives you a detailed report on your interest themes, and offers career suggestions. An individual debrief with a career counsellor is required.
SkillScan Drive Report: A self-directed skills assessment tool that features a comprehensive profile of your transferrable skills and preferences. Your report will include detailed information about your strengths, practical ideas for developing skills and suggested career and education options. An individual debrief with a career counsellor is recommended.
Digital Challenge Cards: A career discovery and assessment tool that can help you consider your career options based on what has purpose and meaning for you. All you have to do is think about which challenges you want to explore. Learn more and get started with Digital Challenge Cards.
Have questions about career assessments?
Book a career counselling appointment to access our career assessments and tools. Register on OSCARplus > Student Success Centre > Appointments > Career Counselling and Job Search Coaching.
Our career counsellors can help support your career decision-making. Book an appointment on OSCARplus > Student Success Centre > Appointments > Careers.
Have just a few quick questions?
Career drop-in
Tuesday and Thursday, 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET
The Student Success Centre’s career team offers drop-in services, no appointment required, every Tuesday and Thursday, between 1:30 and 4:00 p.m. ET. Drop-ins are offered on a first-come, first-serve basis.
- In-person drop-ins (20 minutes): Visit us in the Student Success Centre in Gilmour Hall 110. Check-in at the front desk.
Go beyond Google with your research
Making informed career decisions requires research. During this process, you may find out that the realities of certain industries or positions differ from your expectations or assumptions. Here are some recommended resources to help you go beyond Google in your research.
Here are some tip sheets, prepared by our team of careers experts, to help you explore the possibilities of your career.
- ALIS: Alberta occupations database
- BC Career Trek: Videos of people in various career fields and industries
- Career Cruising: Canadian career and education database
- ConnectEd: Day in the life video series
- O*Net: U.S. national occupational database
- Ontario Labour Market: Job market information on more than 500 occupations
- U.S. Bureau of Labour: Occupational information and labour trends
The SSC career counsellors have curated these resources to help you connect your major options to career possibilities.
Have a career conversation
Often, the easiest way to learn the truth about a specific industry or position is to chat with someone who’s been there through a career conversation or informational interview. Informational interviews aren’t as intimidating as they may sound. They’re usually an informal conversation with a professional who can answer questions and offer advice related to their career field.
Getting comfortable with informational interviews is an important skill that can support your career decision-making and job search.
Did you know you can find a mentor and sign up for career conversations through OSCARplus? Opportunities exist for one-on-one career conversations or long-term mentorship programs. To sign up for a career conversation or register for a mentorship program, visit OSCARplus > Student Success Centre > Mentorship and Career Conversations.
The Alumni and Partners Advisor Network is a database of McMaster alumni who are interested in helping members of the McMaster community succeed. Explore alumni profiles and easily set up an informational interview.
Your online presence matters in your job search. LinkedIn is an effective tool that can help you connect with professionals, search for jobs, conduct job market research and more.
Learn more about Alumni’s career and education paths. Use the “alumni” search option to explore the various career and education pathways alumni have taken. You can also use it to find alumni and build connections for conducting informational interviews.
Want to learn more about how to build a LinkedIn profile and use it effectively for your career development?