Five Digital Resources to Expand Career Search Possibilities

The Princeton Review offers a short quiz to help determine your best fit for a career. This engaging 'either/or' style quiz presents approximately 25 questions, then outlines your strengths, skill sets, and possible career matches based on your answers. The tool is free to use and requires the quick process of creating an account using your email address.

Another resource by The Princeton Review provides detailed information on various occupations through career searches. This includes day-in-the-life depictions of jobs, required training and education, and career outlook information for both early and later stages of each occupation, helping users understand what different careers actually entail.

O*Net OnLine offers an extensive list of occupations based on interest, personality, and work style. The comprehensive job descriptions allow searching based on six strength categories: realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional. Users can input their first, second, and third interest options, with results including job titles, necessary skills, occupation-specific tasks, job environment details, and strengths information that may inspire thinking beyond traditional career paths.

The Job Accommodation Network provides many in-depth resources for job seekers on their website. One comprehensive search tool allows searching by disabilities/conditions, work-related functions, limitations, and accommodations. For example, searching 'ADHD' reveals new workplace accommodation ideas such as using a job coach, adjusting supervision methods, or reinforcing creativity. Considering job tasks and responsibilities from these new angles might spark ideas about previously unconsidered career possibilities.

Exploring LinkedIn can generate new job possibilities by examining admired organizations, colleagues in adjacent fields, and professionals connected to your connections. This approach makes LinkedIn an innovative tool for learning about positions not previously considered, expanding career search horizons through professional networking and organizational research.

These five resources collectively provide job seekers with multiple approaches to expand their career search, from personality-based matching and occupational research to accommodation considerations and professional networking. Each tool offers unique perspectives that can help individuals discover career paths aligned with their strengths, interests, and needs while considering practical workplace factors and emerging opportunities in various fields.