Career Search Memo Assignment

This assignment relies on both experience and research. Your task is to write a memo that explores different aspects of your future career, or the type of work you think you would like to do after graduation. Complete the Memo template below, recalling your experiences and using your research skills to answer the prompts related to your career/discipline/industry.

Be sure to:

• Write in complete sentences and cohesive paragraphs
• Provide clear, specific details.

MEMO

(Insert complete heading here)

Re: Career Search Memo

Introduction (10 points)

• Explain your short-term and/or long-term career goals. What have you done to work towards achieving your goals (education, work experience, self-study, research, networking, etc.)?

Experience: What do you know? (20 pts)

• What do you think it takes for someone to be successful in your future career? What have you learned or heard from family, friends, or others about the workplace culture in this industry?

• What abilities and attributes do you think are valued in your target job/industry?

• What else have you learned or heard about working in this type of job/industry? Specify where you learned or heard this information.

Research: What might you want/need to know? (20 pts)

Visit the Occupational Outlook Handbook (also linked on Bb): https://www.bls.gov/ooh/

In the search bar on the top right, type in keywords related to your future career or title. If you aren’t sure, you can try a few keywords related to your discipline or major. Click on whichever result seems closest to your interests. The page that appears includes a Summary table and a link that explains the common job responsibilities performed by people in those positions. For example, if I type "Accountant" in the Search bar, I could click on the result “Accountants and Auditors” to learn the pay, training and education requirements, and job outlook, as well as a link named “What Accountants and Auditors Do.”

When answering the questions below, refer to the source in your paragraph. For example, say, “As I read in the Occupational Outlook Handbook (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2019), . . .” or “According to, ‘What Accountants and Auditors Do’ . . .”

• On the Summary Quick Facts table, what is the most useful or surprising piece of information? Explain why.

• On the “What ____ Do” page, identify two job responsibilities for which you feel you are especially competent and competitive. What would you say in an interview to highlight those attributes or abilities? Write a paragraph for each job responsibility.

Conclusion (10 pts)

• Brainstorm at least one question you have related to your future career field AND one potential source for that information. Explain why the source is a good one for answering your question.