Career Planning & Exploration

Let us help you explore majors and careers, show you how to enhance your skills, teach you how to engage in new opportunities, and challenge you to excel as you move forward through Career Planning.

Starting your first semester, you can take steps to help you through the process. If you need help along the way, the Career Center is here!

Stage 1: Understanding Self

Resource guides for each career stage are provided below. Explore and complete the appropriate guide prior to your appointment. The guides are designed to increase general career awareness and may be required as part of the scheduling process.

Schedule a meeting with our Career Advisor to:

Take career assessments
Interpret assessments results
Explore careers
Learn what careers are associated with your major
RSVP for Group Advising Sessions

Career Assessments

Career assessments are important tools in helping individuals make career and educational choices. Please be aware that these tools WILL NOT make a decision for you, nor are they perfect instruments. Utilized in conjunction with a professional interpretation by a career counselor, these tools can help to clarify the decision-making process.

If you decide to take an assessment, please contact us to schedule a meeting to guide you through the interpretation of your results and answer any questions you may have.

O’net Interest Profiler

A Free Online Assessment. The O*NET Interest Profiler helps you decide what kinds of careers you might want to explore.

Cost: Free

Career Coach

These Career Assessments will help you learn about yourself and Career Coach will give you career suggestions based on your interests. They offer two Career Assessments. First is a quick six question assessment and the other is a 60 question detailed assessment.

Cost: Free – Career Coach

How to Navigate Career Coach (Video)

Strong Interest Inventory (SII)

The Strong Interest Inventory (SII) is a research-validated instrument designed to assist adults with career decisions. By comparing your interests to the interests of people who enjoy their jobs, the SSI will help you to discover your true interests so that you can better identify, understand, and expand your career options. The report is based on the concept that if people like their jobs, and you share the same interests, you’ll likely find similar work enjoyable. This assessment takes about 30 - 45 minutes to complete.

Cost: $11

Procedure for Administration:

Visit the Career Center to get an invoice form then take the invoice to the Business Office to pay for the assessment. Once the SII has been paid, you will take the invoice with the receipt to the Career Center where you will receive instructions for taking it online.

At the same time, you will make a follow-up appointment with a Career Advisor for a 1 hour interpretation where you will receive a professional interpretation and the profile of your results. You must take the assessment no later than 24 hours before the interpretation appointment so that the Career Advisor can have the profile of results in hand.

How to Choose a Career based on Interest (Video)

Knowdell Career Values Card Sort

The Knowdell Career Values Card Sort, invented by Dick Knowdell, is one of the easiest and most fun ways to discover what is most important to you in your life.

The Knowdell™ Career Values Card Sort Will Help You:

Decide between two different jobs or two different career paths.
Identify and understand what's most important to you in your life (what are your values).
Prioritize and get clarity on your top 8 values.
Evaluate different career and job opportunities based on your top 8 values.
Make better career decisions by knowing what is really important to you.
Become more self-aware.

Cost: $5

Procedure for Administration:

Visit the Career Center to get an invoice form then take the invoice to the Business Office to pay for the assessment. Once the Career Values have been paid, take receipt to the Career Center where we will schedule an assessment appointment with a Career Advisor for a 45-minute in-person Career Sort session and interpretation.

Stage 2: Exploring Careers & Majors

Learn more about potential career fields that best fit your interests, skills, values, and personality by conducting research. Exposure, self-awareness, and understanding the world of work are key components to identifying "best fit" career options.

Learn what careers are associated with your major:

Learn more about potential career fields that best fit your interests, skills, values, and personality by conducting research. Exposure, self-awareness and understanding the world of work are key components to identifying "best fit" career options.

Career Exploration self-paced class

The self-paced course provides students with the basic information about the targeted industry and sectors they are focused on for their career; including essential facts, key institutions, history, career pathways and trends. This course provides students with the basic research and networking skills to become well-informed job seekers so they can effectively prepare for their career and become employed.

Explore careers:

California CareerZone

Click here to access the California CareerZone which can help you:

Learn which careers are a fit for you
Discover the next steps to pursuing a job, college or opportunity
Organize your activities to keep you on track

Occupation Profile by CareerOneStop

Click here to learn details about any occupation including what you might do on the job, how much you might earn, and how much education or training you might need.

Stage 3: Decide & Plan

Career development and management is a continuous, lifelong process that requires a clear understanding of self and goal setting. Once an individual has identified potential "best fit" career options, please review and complete the Stage 3: Decide and Plan Worksheet to create a career action plan.

Stage 4: Employment Preparation

Employment preparation begins with the identification of suitable job leads. Once a job has been found, a resume is written to connect the job seeker's background and skills to the specific job opening. Employment leads can be found by searching for relevant employers and positions within WLAC's Symplicity Job Portal. This feature should be included within Symplicity.

Activate your Symplicity Job Portal account for:

Research Jobs Target Companies
Write Your Resume
Write Your Cover Letter
Apply for Jobs/Internships
Preparation for interviews (Mock interview feature)
Learn How To Negotiate Offer
Book an appointment for job search assistance, mock interview practice, and resume review

Career Planning & Exploration

Stage 1: Understanding Self

Schedule a meeting with our Career Advisor to: