1. [ ] Start with the first job title on your printed Career Possibilities List.  Visit the Occupational Outlook Handbook website.  Search the OOH to find the profile on your job title.  Note that the OOH provides three means of searching for occupational profiles:

• alphabetical by job title (see the "A-Z Index" link) Note, what you call a job may not be how its listed in the OOH, so try several different titles if necessary.
   

• by keyword (see the "A-Z Index" link) Note, you may have to use several different keywords to find your profile.
   

• by career cluster (see right hand margin menu: Management, Professional, etc.)

Start with the alphabetical job title search option.  If you can't find your profile using this option, try the other two search options.

Please keep in mind...

• As you roam through the OOH, you may come across job titles that appear to be as interesting or more interesting than those on your Career Possibilities List. If this happens, add these job titles to your list and then profile them!

• If you can't find a profile in the OOH, use any of the following additional occupation resources:

Chronicle Occupational Briefs
Vocational Biographies

Username: spc
Password: careers

College Board: Majors and Career Profiles

• If necessary, contact us for suggestions regarding other sources of occupational information.

2. [ ] Read the profile carefully to understand the overall nature of the job.

3. [ ] When you finish reading about the occupation, print out a copy of the Occupational Evaluation Form: HTML version   Word version.  Write in your job title.  Click here for a sample of what your form might look like when completed.

4. [ ] On your Occupational Evaluation Form, rate your preference for each of the following work factors as described in the occupational profile that you just read:

• Nature of the work

• Working conditions

• Employment

• Training

• Qualifications

• Advancement

• Job outlook

• Earnings

Use the following rating scale:

• If you Strongly Like a factor, enter a 10 under the Preference column.

• If you Moderately Like a factor, enter a 5 under the Preference column.

• If you Dislike a factor, enter a -10 under the Preference column.

• If you are Neutral about a factor, enter a 0 under the Preference column.  Example:

Work factors:	Preference:
Nature of the work	10
Working conditions	10

5. [ ] Based upon your understanding of the occupation, check the "Conclusion" (Yes or No) that best describes your feeling about the occupation as a possible career option.  Example:

[Ö ]  Yes - I will continue to consider this occupation as a possible career goal.

[  ]  No - I no longer will consider this occupation as a possible career goal.

6. [ ] Using additional printed copies of the Occupational Evaluation Form, profile (read) and then evaluate all remaining job titles on your Career Possibilities List.

7. [ ] After you have profiled all your job titles on your Career Possibilities List, and after you've given each occupation a "Yes" or "No" rating, your next task is to decide (from the following possible 3 outcomes) which outcome best describes your thinking at this point in the program.  Please review each possible outcome below and then select the option that best describes your current state of mind, and then follow the directions associated with your choice.

Possible Outcome 1:  You've checked only one occupation with the Conclusion of "Yes."

By virtue of the process of elimination, you've narrowed down your career options to one.  Therefore, are you ready to make this occupation your career goal?

• If your answer is "yes," then you've completed this step and are ready to move on to Step 5.  You do not have to complete Step 4 of this program!

• If your answer is "no," then return to Step 2 and create a new list of job titles to explore and then repeat Step 3.

Possible Outcome 2:  You've checked at least two occupations with the Conclusion of "Yes."

You've narrowed down your career options to at least two (or more) occupations.  Please move on to Step 4 to narrow your options to a single choice.

Possible Outcome 3:  You've rated all your occupations with the Conclusion of "No."

It looks as if this first round of career exploration has not produced any viable career options.  Take heart, this is normal and often expected.  Return to Step 2 and produce a new list of job titles to profile.  Then, repeat Step 3.