When you’re confused about your career, it’s tough to know how to explore your options without actually getting a bunch of jobs you might hate. That’s why I love these 4 job research websites!
These sites give SO much info on any career change ideas you might have! From updated salary stats, categories like “highest paying careers,” and even personality breakdowns for each career option- these job research sites will make your career change a breeze!
Before starting your career research, it’s always a good idea to look inward and journal a few thoughts on what’ll vibe best with your amazing personality! I always recommend thinking through your values, skills, and passions when you’re looking for career change ideas.
Here are my fav 6 questions for career research:
- What’s the impact you want to have?
- If you were offered all the money in the world, which jobs would you still absolutely never take? Why?
- What are your favorite skills to use? Which skills do you dislike (even if you’re good at them)
- What are your best skills? Which skills would you like to improve?
- When you picture your future, what does happiness look like? What does success look like?
- In a perfect world, what would you be doing? Why?
Once you have a clear idea of your internal career needs, it’s time to start exploring! Let’s dive into the 4 best job research websites!
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Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH)
First is the Occupational Outlook Handbook: this is the best career research website to start with, because it has detailed overviews for each career. You can search through “occupation groups” like Arts and Design, Business and Financial, Media and Communication, Construction and Extraction, Computer and Information Technology, and many more.
If none of the career groups are speaking to you, you can also search jobs by categories like Highest Paying, Fastest Growing, and Most New Jobs. It’s actually pretty fun to explore the groups!!
Once you’ve found a specific job to research, the OOH dives deep into entry level education required, on the job training, the number of positions, job outlook, the work environment, data by states, average pay, and similar occupations.
PS If you’re feeling overwhelmed already (#relatable), check out these 17 career affirmations to help you stay motivated!
The Occupational Outlook Handbook makes starting your job research super easy, because it gives you the perfect snapshot of careers. Once you’re ready for more specific info about salary (bc ya gotta make that money honey), it’s time to move on to the next career search website!
80% OF JOBS ARE ON THE HIDDEN MARKET—
LEARN HOW TO FIND THEM IN THIS FREE WORKSHOP
Are online job apps making your career sour? The key to candy coating your career is networking!
In this FREE workshop, I’ll teach you how to ditch your resume & grow the best resource you have as a job seeker: your network!
Occupational Employment and Wages
Okay if you love numbers, this is the career research website for you! Occupational Employment and Wages gives you pretty much every piece of data you can think of on the salary and employment growth for a variety of careers. They even have maps showing employment and wages by state and county!
My favorite stats—as a non-numbers person who, yes, gets totally overwhelmed by the amount of info on this site—are the National Estimates, Percentile Wage Estimates, and the Industry Breakdowns. I also think the maps are super interesting!
The website can be kind of confusing when you first hop on, so here’s a shortcut: choose an occupation from this list and you’ll see all the data I talked about!
This next career research website is my absolute favorite, because it’ll help you make sure the jobs you’re exploring align with your personality! This is where those questions from the beginning will definitely come in handy!!
Have an irl bestie who just landed a new gig? Check out these fun & unique new job gift ideas!
My Favorite Job Research Website: O*NET OnLine
Okay, break out your journal, grab your answers to my questions from before, and let’s get into the most important part of a career change: YOU.
Here’s the thing- the most essential parts of successfully creating your dream career are:
- Knowing who you are now and who you want to grow to be
- Aligning your career with your growth and updating it as often as you need to
Like the poet Mary Oliver says, “what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” Bestie, you have just one wild, precious life, so I’m begging you to prioritize yourself and all your wonderful gifts during your entire career journey
Now, what does all of that have to do with O*NET OnLine?
Each of their career breakdowns has in-depth personality based info, including:
- Interests
- Skills
- Abilities
- Knowledges
- Work contexts
- Values
- Activities
- Work styles
Aka it’s super easy to make sure any jobs you’re researching are aligned with who YOU are- inside and out.
For example, the interests you can look for are: realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional. There’s a ton of super enlightening personality info on this site, so grab your journal, a cuppa coffee, and get deep for a couple hours!
Looking for the perfect all-in-one planner with places to journal AND plan out your career goals with a gorgeous cover to match your beautiful self??? Same- until I found Ivory Paper Co and discovered my DREAM planner/ journal! Find your perfect planner here!!!
YOU are the most important part of your career change, so definitely check out O*NET and the final- most important- job research website…
80% OF JOBS ARE ON THE HIDDEN MARKET—
LEARN HOW TO FIND THEM IN THIS FREE WORKSHOP
Are online job apps making your career sour? The key to candy coating your career is networking!
In this FREE workshop, I’ll teach you how to ditch your resume & grow the best resource you have as a job seeker: your network!
The Best Career Research Website: LinkedIn
Okay, I know what you’re thinking,
Everybody knows about LinkedIn, Olivia.
But hear me out…
Here’s how I want you to use LinkedIn as a career research website:
- Make a list of every career you could possibly be interested in- no matter how realistic/ unrealistic you think it is
- Search each career on LinkedIn and look through profiles of people working in the industry
- Compare your connections and find a mutual connection or, if you don’t have one, research them further and find a mutual interest
- Email them, introduce yourself, and ask for an informational interview!
Wanna know exactly what to say in that email and interview? Watch my FREE networking workshop here!
Exploring careers is more than taking a few jobs until you find one good enough to settle for; it’s about getting to know yourself, researching stats on wages & employment trends, and aligning your next steps with your soul. When you’re doing job research, make sure you’re looking at the full picture of YOU, not just one short-term piece. I’m rooting for you and here to help you create your dream career!!! For my best kept career secrets, sign up for my free workshop: The Secret To The Job Search: 3 Insider Strategies To Reclaim Your Career With Networking