As you are well aware, there are various types of libraries you can utilize. The best bet for any college graduate is the library at the career planning center of your alma mater. The larger libraries usually offer multiple resources. They have copies of numerous books on the job search. They have booklets on occupational information, prepared by the staff. Some have audiotape interviews where alumni and members of the community who have interesting jobs talk about what they do.
Others have videotape collections in which they have recorded Career Day seminars or panels on different occupations or industries. Some have computer programmed instruction; others have microfiche information on careers. The best libraries will also have annual reports, 10-K reports, and company brochures.
If you're not living near the university from which you graduated, see if you can use the resources of a local university or community college.
Many times, their career libraries are available for the asking. Another possibility is your public library or the business school library of a local university. It's a good idea to check out all your options so that you can utilize the best available resources.
Once you've found a good library, the research process is not that different than research you've done for college courses. What makes it easier is that there are essentially only three topics you will need to research: occupations, industries, and companies. What makes it more difficult is that, surprisingly enough, the kind of information you will want is not readily available in a few standard resource books. If you're interested in a career in business, there are directories that list corporations. If the field of arts and communications is what you want, there are specialized publications for that. In short, wherever your interests lie, you will have to familiarize yourself with the publications that specifically relate to that area.
OCCUPATIONAL RESEARCH
For those of you who are not sure what you want to do, you should start with occupational research. You will need to learn about jobs. You will want to search out information about job descriptions, employment figures, education and training requirements, earnings, and job outlook.
You might want to begin by looking at the following resources:
Occupational Outlook Handbook, published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. This publication provides information on about 250 occupations. The occupations are grouped into twenty clusters of related jobs. The information on each job includes a job description, employment figures, education and training requirements, earnings, and job outlook.
Occupational Outlook for College Graduates, also published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. This hand book is organized slightly differently. Jobs are not categorized in clusters of related jobs; they are listed alphabetically. There are about 120 occupations included. In the introduction, it states that these occupations are those of greatest interest to college students and graduates, and are those for which a college degree is preferred or desired. The information in each occupation includes a job description, employment figures, education and training requirements, earnings, and job outlook. In addition, there is a section on Related Occupations in which they list jobs that may require similar aptitudes, interests, education, and training to the occupation you're interested in. There is also a section entitled Sources of Additional Information which lists the professional associations related to each occupational field. Associations are a valuable source of additional career information.
The American Almanac of Jobs and Salaries, by John W. Wright, published by Avon Books in 1982, is another excellent resource book on occupations. Whether you're interested in a specialized field like sales, public relations, or teaching, or in a particular industry like finance, the airlines, or the computer industry, you will find job descriptions and an evaluation of growth potential as well as a full range of salaries for most levels and positions.
INDUSTRY RESEARCH
For those of you who are not sure where you want to work, there are two elements you should consider. The first element is: what industry do you want to work in? Although this is a very broad classification, if you can focus on an industry, it will make the research that much easier.
And some of you already have a good idea of what industry interests you. You know you have always been interested in the aerospace industry, or the finance industry, or the agriculture industry, or the retail industry, and that is an advantage.
If you don't know which industry interests you and you need to learn more about different industries before you can make a decision, it must be admitted that this kind of information is not easy to find in general books on the subject. There are a few publications recommended, although with reservations. They are:
The U.S. Industrial Outlook, which is published by the U.S. Department of Commerce, and which discusses 200 industries. The information here may be too technical. It includes industry profiles, trends and projection tables, trade data, sources and references, and employment information. If it is too technical, just skim through it to see if any industries look interesting to you. You can research them elsewhere.
Another somewhat common reference book is Standard & Poor's Industry Surveys, published by Standard and Poor's Corporation. Once again, it may be too technical in nature, but it does provide a great deal of industry information, including an analysis of trends and problems, background information, an examination of the prospects for that particular industry, and similar information. Whatever you can get out of it is worthwhile.
For the most part, however, industry information is easiest to get from professional associations like those listed under the Sources of Additional Information section of the Occupational Outlook for College Graduates. Another resource for finding out about professional associations is The Gale Research Company Encyclopedia of American Associations, which has a comprehensive list. If you contact those associations, they should be able to send you some general industry information, or at least be able to recommend books or trade publications on the subject.
For those of you who are not familiar with the term ‘trade publication’, it refers to those magazines, newspapers, and journals that are devoted to information about a specific field or industry. Another source in which to find out about trade publications is Standard Rate and Data, a directory that lists all the trade magazines, newspapers, and journals in each industry.
