Plan Your Career

Values are the core principles that guide your life. Understanding them is crucial in helping identify majors or careers you might find fulfilling. What do you want to get from your education, career and life? Reflect on your answers through the Values Worksheet. 

• Core Values Assessment 

Interests are a key part of what defines us as humans. If you are interested in something, you are more likely to invest time, effort and energy into it. Think about the things that you enjoy in general. What do you love to do? Track your ideas on this Interests Worksheet. 

• The Strong Interest Inventory or the Strong Interest Inventory 244 Career Satisfaction Report 
• Determine your Holland Code
 

You have many skills and talents. It is important to understand your unique skills to find a career that is a fit for those talents. This will result in increased career satisfaction and fulfillment. Use the Strengths Worksheet to get you thinking about your talents. 

Consider completing a StrengthsQuest Formal Assessment with the Centre for Career & Personal Development. This will identify your Top 5 strengths and explore how you can leverage them in your career development. Identifying and developing your strengths will give you a way to better discuss and develop your unique combination. When you identify your talents and develop them into strengths, you'll be more productive, perform better and be more engaged. 

We each have a unique way of relating to others and the world around us. Understanding your personality in terms of your behaviours, emotions, and ways of thinking, can help you find a rewarding career. Use this Traits Worksheet to help you assess your personality. 

• TypeLogic 
• Jung Typology 
• Personality Trait Portraits 
• Myers-Briggs Type Indicator 

Ambitions provide a focus for your goals and career. With a tangible picture of your future, you can create the motivation to navigate the steps and hurdles between where you are now and where you are going. Use the Ambitions Worksheet to get started. 

Some ambitions include: 

• Limiting beliefs 
• Aspiration  
• Resilience (a growth-focused mindset)  

To find out more about your ambitions, TruMotivate can be a useful assessment tool that helps students uncover who they are and how they are motivated. Find out more on our career assessment page.

• Centre for Career & Personal Development Formal Assessments 
• Self-Assessment Introduction 
• Self-Assessment Activities for Grad Students 
• The Serious Job Seeker 
• CAREERinsite 
• Occupational Profiles 
• Human Metrics 

It is important to brainstorm options and identify work possibilities that appeal to you. Online job boards and occupational databases are great starting places. Identify your top choices for further research and create a short list of criteria for what you want out of a career. Identify five to ten industries that most interest you and use the questions to promote reflection  

What did you want to be growing up? 
Who is your career role model? 
What careers have you considered to date? 
 

• Occupational Profiles (Alberta)  
• Industry Profile (Alberta)  
• National Occupational Classification System (NOC) 
• Labour Market Info (Government of Canada)
• Labour Market Information Council
• TalentEgg Industry and Job Search

Throughout university you will often hear the question “What are you going to do with your degree?" To help answer that question, check below for great resources which will give you insight.

Review the UCalgary degree profiles and Future Students pages to view a list of all undergraduate and graduate programs.

A great way to learn more about companies is by doing your research. One way to start is by using job boards and seeing what companies are hiring. The other step you can take is using LinkedIn and following companies that interest you.  Many companies share information about job postings, current projects they are doing and information about their companies values. It can be a great tool to see what their company culture is like and be the first to know about upcoming opportunities.

Conduct information interviews, build relationships and meet people to learn more about an industry or gather information you cannot access on the computer. You can find people to connect with through:

• Student clubs or industry and professional associations
• Conferences, leadership and community involvement
• Networking, LinkedIn and employer events
• Volunteering, community or leisure activities
• Career and job fairs or trade shows
• Personal hobbies and interests

Seek advice from peers, professors, alumni or people you know from previous work or volunteer experience. Explore Social Media such as LinkedIn which provides information on Groups, People and Companies. Who would you like to connect with? Have an inside look at organizations - company salaries, reviews, interview questions, and more - all posted anonymously by employees and job seekers. Build and engage with your professional network. Access knowledge, insights and opportunities.

• LinkedIn
• Glassdoor

Check out our career clip to get more tips on doing Informational Interviews.

Have you considered following a specific career path, but discovered you need more education? For some industries, additional industry-specific education or certification is very common (i.e. accounting, financial planning, engineering and more.)

Graduate school can be a great place to start. Alternatively, pursuing a certificate or diploma in a field can be also useful to transition into a different career path. UCalgary Continuing Education offers a variety of options.

There are other places where you can receive further training without returning to school.

• LinkedIn Learning
• Udemy
• Coursera

Your online presence is key in highlighting your skills and experience, as well as showcasing your professional brand.

The majority of your online presence is composed of social media and other digital mediums, like an online portfolio, email and more. There are many ways you can use social media to your advantage in your job search:

• LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Blogs, Email 

Personal Brand - “Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room.”

Credibility (authenticity & trust) + Visibility (digital & personal) = YOUR BRAND

• Authenticity: By identifying what makes you unique and being yourself you’ll build:
• Trust: Build trust by being consistent in what you do and what you say. It’s your brand promise.
• Digital: What’s ‘out there’ about you? What do you find when you Google yourself and how can you control that?
• Personal: Ask people close to you how they would describe you.

Congratulations, you got an interview! Now, it's time to prepare for that interview to ensure you land the job. A great place to start is preparing for questions the interviewer might ask. Start on the handouts below and be sure to explore all the links and resources. Good luck!

Access our Interview resources

Mock interviews

• Want to practice your interview in a realistic setting? Book a mock interview with Centre for Career & Personal Development to help you prepare and get feedback on your interview strategies

Quick tips

• Know your skills and challenges
• Research the organization and job
• Prepare your accomplishment stories (STARS)
• Create intelligent questions
• Rehearse and get feedback
• Reflect and debrief after each interview

References

References aren't usually included in your resume unless specifically requested. Even having "References available upon request" is not needed, as it's already implied.

Instead, have your references on a separate document listing their name, position, company, phone number, and email. For more details, view our Career Clip on how to ask for references.

A resume is a document that shows a potential employer what relevant skills, education and accomplishments you have that will benefit them. It should demonstrate your talents and abilities for a specific job and shows that you CAN do the job, and WANT to do the job.

Access our resume resources

Your cover letter is one of the most important pieces when you are applying for a job. It introduces you to the employer and acts as your first impression — be sure it's clear, professional and highlights the skills and experience that are relevant to the job you're applying for.

Quick tips

• Use the same font as your resume
• If the address is not provided, find the employer’s address online
• If you do not have a contact name, you can address the letter to Human Resources, the Hiring Manager, or leave it blank
• Unless otherwise directed, your cover letter should be a maximum of one page in length.
• Always have someone else proofread your cover letter to check for errors and get feedback

Access our cover letter resources

There are many ways to gain experience and build your skills and competencies. This can include paid employment, volunteer experience and internships. Gaining real-life experience while you study will launch you along your career path. These experiences will provide opportunities for you to find mentors and network within your industry. Volunteering is a rewarding experience, but it also serves as a great way to build your academic and professional portfolio. Find summer or part-time jobs that are in your industry or your interested career path.

Connecting with professionals will assist you on your career journey. The Centre for Career & Personal Development (CCPD) coordinates employers who visit campus to connect with students and discuss opportunities with their organizations. It's a great place to meet your future employer. CCPD offers a variety of annual career fairs geared towards a variety of faculties. Come prepared and make meaningful connections. CCPD also hosts unique networking events. This will support you and your career success.

Can setting, elaborating and reflecting on goals enhance your academic and career success? You bet! Writing your goals down on paper helps you clarify your priorities, provides direction, increases motivation and helps you celebrate your achievements! Follow the formula below to achieve career success. Where do I want to be? A motivating goal needs to be challenging enough to stimulate you, but not too difficult that it is discouraging. It should be just outside your comfort zone to stretch you. Be precise about what you want to achieve and list the benefits you would gain by achieving your goal. 

• Career Planning & Goal Setting Handout 
• MAPS Method of Goal Setting 

Whereas a goal is where you want to be, a plan is the strategy to get you there. Planning turns goals into tangible "bite-sized" action steps. It organizes your dreams to move you forward with confidence and take charge of your career plan! The following handout will take you through the steps to achieve your goals. Action Planning is a process which will help you to focus your ideas and to decide what steps you need to take to achieve particular goals that you may have. 

• Action Planning Handout 

Knowing how to make good career decisions will help you to achieve a satisfying and productive career. Once you are aware of your various options, it is important to evaluate which fit you best.

Here are two decision-making models to get you started:

• Decision-making handout
• Coping patterns in career decision-making 

• Industry reports generated by professional associations/societies. (A comprehensive list of professional associations can be found in the Associations Canada Directory available via larger public libraries) 
• Deloitte Future of Work reports 
• Municipal or regional economic reports 
• Municipal or regional workforce planning boards 
• Local Chambers of Commerce 

Generally, socioeconomic status refers to an individual's or group's position on the socioeconomic scale that is measured by a combination of social and economic factors including family income. Studies have shown that an individual's socioeconomic status is related to his/her employability at any point in time.

• Employability, the Labor Force, and the Economy
• The Impacts of Socioeconomic Status and Educational Attainment on Youth Success

Another key external factor to your career journey is geography. Keep in mind that occupations are not distributed equally across geography.

Three main reasons for occupation concentration: population density, location of natural resources, and a particular type of work distinct to that location

• Population: Occupation concentration often corresponds to population
• Natural resources or features: Some occupations are limited geographically due to the need to be near the natural resource (e.g. oil and gas is an industry that is concentrated in specific areas)
• Types of work performed: some occupations are highly concentrated because they are associated with industries in that geographic location (e.g. the San Francisco Bay Area has a high concentration of tech workers)

What do you prefer?

The energy of a large metropolitan center or the quiet and scenic countryside? These lifestyle questions are important to ask yourself when entering a career.

1. Consider your career trajectory: Metropolitan area may provide further advancement opportunities. However, though these occupations offer more job openings, you may face more competition.
2. Evaluate the labour market: Consider if you’re willing to remain in a geographic location that offers little room for growth and opportunities