Job Seeking: How to Start When You Don’t Know Where to Begin

If you have spent any time looking for work, you know that it can be an overwhelming experience. Between resumés, cover letters, online job boards and leveraging social media, where should you start? A great place is our Job Seekers page, where you will discover a wealth of information to set your job search in motion.

Job Seekers connects you to several online resources, including Alberta Learning and Information Service (ALIS), where you will find helpful guides for all aspects of employment. One of their best guides is Work Search Basics, which walks you through each stage of the job seeking process, and provides a list of things you will need to get started in your journey.

But first, do you know what career path you want to take? At ALIS, you will also find OCCinfo, where you can explore the duties, working conditions, and educational needs of more than 550 occupations.

Do you want to know what jobs are in the highest demand right now? Want to explore career choices based on your education? OCCinfo has all the labour market research you need to help you make informed career path decisions.

Career planning is a process that involves lots of reflection. Thinking about your interests, your education and experience, your skills and your dreams. ALIS’s CAREERinsite is a comprehensive career planning resource, which features a series of exercises to help you learn more about yourself and plan your learning.

We also have several online resources with tools to help you think about and decide what career path you want to follow:

  • Career Cruising uses quizzes to help you discover your learning styles and find careers to match your interests. Create an account to use their helpful Employment Guide that will show you every step of your job seeking process.
  • Brainfuse JobNow connects you to career assessments and aptitude tests, and is your link to eParachute, the planner inspired by the classic career guide, What Colour is your Parachute? If you prefer to speak with a real person about your employment concerns, Brainfuse JobNow has you covered! Every day between 2 p.m. and 11 p.m., you can access to Live Resumé, Interview, and Job Coaches.
  • LinkedIn Learning is an online learning library that helps you learn business, software, technology and creative skills with just your library card and PIN. LinkedIn Learning's new catalogue offers over 16,000 new courses in English, French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Mandarin and Portuguese.
  • If you have narrowed down your choices and want to know more about specific careers, Gale Courses has several “Explore a Career as a …” classes that may be of interest to you!
  • EPL frequently holds classes for job seekers, so check What’s On frequently for classes that fit your needs. We also offer Life Skills Program series online that might of relevance which include topics such as financial and digital literacy, home economics and more.

You have to start your career planning somewhere—let our resources guide your way! Let us help you with your next career move and take advantage of the free resources available to you with your library card.

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