- To identify important characteristics for jobs that were of interest to at least one JSC member;
- To learn how to research important characteristics for any job.
To accomplish our two goals, I asked the Club members to write on a file card the title of any business job that was of interest to them. All the file cards were put into a hat. Each member pulled out one card and was assigned to research that business job, whether or not it was of personal interest. At the end of the exercise, all the research was to be placed in a binder for the rest of the Club's benefit.
The process for researching most business jobs would be the same for each Club member. Only the details would change.
Research Sources
I asked the JSC members what sources they might want to use in their research. This is a summary of what they suggested:
- SIGI PLUS--Computerized Career-Planning Software Program
- Recruiting literature
- Career literature
- Professional associations
- Professionals in the field
SIGI PLUS
SIGI (System of Interactive Guidance and Information) PLUS is a computerized career-planning program produced by the Educational Testing Service of Princeton, New Jersey. It is available in over 1,000 colleges across the United States and in many non-college libraries.
The SIGI PLUS program is an extremely useful tool because it lets the individual interact with it at his or her own pace. SIGI PLUS has eight core sections plus an introduction, but, for the purpose of this exercise, the JSC members used primarily the section called 'Skills.' This section helps users to learn what skills are needed in an occupation and to assess whether they have those skills. Thus, among other benefits, 'Skills' gives users a list of the skills and attributes (similar to what we call Positive Characteristics) that are important in each of over 200 occupations.
One of the many useful features of the SIGI PLUS program is that it provides examples of the attributes it identifies. For example, if the skill is Analyzing, SIGI PLUS will give examples of how analyzing would be useful in the profession being researched. SIGI PLUS also gives examples of how the skill of analyzing might be used in various other aspects of life.
Although it was not a formal part of this exercise, the SIGI PLUS program was used by the JSC members to construct a generic job description for each profession they researched. They did this by compiling the SIGI PLUS descriptions of how each desirable skill for a given profession might be used.
SIGI PLUS and the SIGI PLUS logo are registered trademarks of Educational Testing Service. The SIGI PLUS system is the proprietary software program of Educational Testing Service, Princeton, NJ 08541, and is available only under license from ETS.
For the purpose of this exercise, 'Skills' was the most important section in SIGI PLUS. However, in general, I recommend spending time with all eight core sections.
Recruiting Literature
Many firms, particularly those that recruit actively among forthcoming college graduates, produce literature designed to attract student interest. 'Why You'll Be Happy Working for Us' brochures are, in some measure, advertisements and should be taken with a grain of salt. However, they often contain information about specific skills that are useful to a particular profession or firm. The rest of the information in these brochures can be very handy in preparing for interviews.
Career Literature
Knowledgeable authors have written about many careers, both business and non-business. We will review some of the literature the JSC members used for this exercise.
Professional Associations: The publications of professional organizations can be good sources for information about an occupation: the needed skills, desirable training, and job outlook. A very complete guide to these groups is Gale's Encyclopedia of Organizations. JSC members found that the quality of literature about professions varies from organization to organization.
Professionals in the Field: Practicing professionals are a terrific source. We dedicated a special meeting of the JSC to this subject.
Hector's Exploration of Market Research
Hector's research assignment was a career in market research. His personal interest was in finance, so Hector wasn't thrilled with his topic. 'Some things we do in life aren't fun,' Hector thought, 'but they're still worth doing.'
Hector's first stop was at the SIGI PLUS computer. Choosing the 'Skills' section from the SIGI PLUS menu, Hector typed in '165/ the SIGI PLUS code for market research analyst. The SIGI PLUS program gave Hector this summary of skills:
Advising
Supervising, directing
Making presentations
Writing
Keeping records, cataloging
Gathering information, conducting research
Analyzing, interpreting, evaluating
Making diagrams
Analyzing numerical data
Working with computer
Hector was curious about the role of 'analyzing, interpreting, evaluating' in market research. When the skill was keyed for more details, SIGI PLUS gave Hector a partial answer by showing this information on his screen:
Analyzing, Interpreting, Evaluating
In this occupation you might use this skill for tasks like these: Evaluate effectiveness of company's advertising campaign; conduct survey designed to find reasons behind recent plunge of product's sales figures; spot trends in consumer buying habits.
Hector realized that the same skills of analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating that he would need in finance had applications in market research as well. 'Similar skills; different context and application,* Hector noted.
Hector was right. Later, he used the SIGI PLUS program to do some research into financial analysis. Under "analyzing, interpreting, evaluating," Hector found this information: "Study set of new tax laws to determine whether company is eligible for tax breaks; check efficiency of company's inventory control system; study impact of proposed merger on company's standing in financial markets."
When Lauren researched the actuary profession through SIGI PLUS, she found these uses for "analyzing" in that profession: "Determine which factors influence frequency of car accidents among young adults; assess impact of work force layoffs in workers' contribution to union health insurance plan."
Our JSC members learned an important lesson: Many of the same skills are used in a number of professions, although with different applications.
Hector also noticed that a market research analyst would need some 'soft' skills (advising, supervising) and communication skills. He made a mental note to research the relative balance between interpersonal and analytical skills in this profession.
- The SIGI PLUS program is self-guided and easy to use. We were able to look at what Hector found without going through a step-by-step analysis of which buttons to push to access SIGI information.
- If your college or library doesn't have SIGI PLUS, it may utilize another helpful computerized career-planning program or other career-planning tools.
The first thing Hector discovered was that economists and market research analysts were discussed in the same few pages of the OOH. 'I'll bet those two jobs have a lot in common,' Hector thought.
Hector read through the text. The first sentence told him concisely that 'Market research analysts are concerned with the design, promotion, price, and distribution of a product or service. 'How do they do that?' Hector said to himself. By carefully reading the text, Hector identified some Positive Characteristics similar to those he had learned from the SIGI PLUS program-collect data, code, evaluate, recommend (SIGI PLUS said 'advising'), tabulate (SIGI PLUS said 'analyzing numerical data') --and an additional skill: determining the advisability of potential courses of action.
Hector began to see the market research analyst as a major contributor to strategy, not just a numbers cruncher.
The OOH is not the only career literature to utilize, but it is thorough and concise--two important virtues to consider when you are doing research.
Hector didn't end his research with the OOH. He found Getting into Advertising: A Career Guide by David Laskin to be interesting. 'I know that it can be helpful to look into related fields,' Hector reasoned, 'and advertising must rely a lot on market research.' Hector was right. Getting into Advertising contained a whole article on market research. Two sentences especially struck Hector:
Yes, you must know about statistics, but you bring to it an element of humanity. If we are really and truly to respect the consumer, we have to have knowledge of what people are all about and why they are motivated to do certain things.
These sentences gave Hector a better understanding of what the SIGI PLUS program said about the need to 'find reasons' and "spot trends in consumer buying habits." "There is a human element, not just numbers," Hector reminded himself. The article went on to describe how the market researcher operates in an advertising agency. This piece of research took less than 30 minutes and yielded two key sentences that were helpful to Hector's JSC research.
There were three lessons in Hector's effort:
- Sometimes a few lines that put a subject in a better perspective can be as valuable as several articles of facts and figures.
- It often pays to think broadly about the resources that might be helpful to you.
- Articles about careers will often tell a good deal more about a particular profession, career paths, and industry projections than about Positive Characteristics. Even though that information is not part of a JSC assignment, it is useful in deciding about careers and preparing for interviews.
He also found some additional Positive Characteristics--decisiveness, assertiveness, and time management.
In the half-hour it took Hector to read the brochure, he gained an employer's insight into some skills (Positive Characteristics) the SIGI PLUS program had noted. Hector also listed some personality traits he hadn't previously identified. His efforts were certainly bearing fruit.
A Rewarding Effort
Hector had learned a good deal about the Positive Characteristics required to succeed in the career he had researched. His research had taken about
Positive characteristics are important to seven typical business jobs:
Accounting
Advising; supervising, directing, assessing; writing, preparing reports; gathering information, conducting research; analyzing, interpreting, evaluating; computing and applying formulas; analyzing numerical data; attention to detail; working with computers; communication (oral and written); concentration, patience; working with people; responsibility, integrity; self-starting, taking initiatives; teamwork.
Actuary
Analyzing; calculating; applying formulas; using computers; advising; presenting, explaining; evaluating; facility with market statistics; assembling data.
Financial Analyst
Coordinating work with others; supervising, directing, assessing; making presentations; analyzing, interpreting, evaluating; planning, making decisions; computing and applying formulas; analyzing numerical data; attention to detail; advising; working independently.
Market Research
Advising; supervising, directing; making presentations; writing; keeping records, cataloging; gathering information, research; making diagrams; time management; analyzing numerical data; decisiveness; assertiveness.
Personnel
Training, instructing; advising, counseling, interviewing; coordinating work with others; supervising, directing, assessing; making presentations; writing, preparing reports; analyzing, interpreting, evaluating; planning.
Retail Management
Time management; courtesy; patience; communication; training, instructing; persuading, negotiating, selling; keeping records, cataloging; planning, making decisions; developing budgets; analyzing numerical data.
Sales Representative
Presenting; managing personnel; writing responsive reports; analyzing data; having knowledge of product; persuading, negotiating, selling; competitive spirit; developing ideas; handling paperwork, keeping records; resilience; gathering information, conducting research.
Some of the Positive Characteristics Hector had found were associated with perhaps one but not all of the subfields of marketing research. Hector included all of them in his JSC report. Anyone using the report to construct a resume would probably be referring to marketing research in a broad sense, not to a specific subfield. However, because interview preparation should be more specific, anyone interviewing for a particular job would read the sources Hector had cited (and others) to identify the Positive Characteristics most relevant to that particular job or subfield.
The yield in understanding had certainly been worth the time Hector had invested.
The other six members of the Job Search Club also had fruitful research investments. Their research summarizes what the JSC found out about the importance of Positive Characteristics for employment in seven typical business jobs.
Same Boat, Different Oars
The Job Search Club met to discuss what they had learned from researching the Characteristics that were important to the typical business jobs. This is a summary of the conclusions they reached:
- Most jobs utilized more skills, and played a bigger role in adding value to a firm's business, than the Club members had realized.
- Some skills (Positive Characteristics) seemed to be important to most of the jobs the JSC had researched. These included advising, analyzing, communicating, interpersonal skills, and time management.
- A few hours of research could provide a good basis for learning about the skills needed in various professions and how they would be applied.
- To go beyond the basics about professions that were available in articles, we would need to meet with professionals in the field.
