Take Advantage of All O*NET Has to Offer

By Kristen Carter
Contributor, Career Services

As a career coach, I use numerous career-related resources on a daily basis; unfortunately, I rarely have the opportunity to take a deep dive into all the features and benefits of any one in particular. I often find myself in a pattern of using the same feature each time I visit sites like O*NET OnLine, a resource I visit daily and direct a majority of my clients to, but there’s so much more to it!

O*NET OnLine is administered by the U.S. Department of Labor and details various career paths, including the necessary skills and education required to become employed in each capacity. The most commonly used feature is the Occupation Quick Search, which provides job seekers with useful information pertaining to a variety of careers. Additional features of the Quick Search include the “bright outlook” or “green” indicators, helping job seekers identify the job projection, ranging from economic growth to employment by industry and occupation, as well as whether particular jobs are environmentally friendly.

Aside from the occupation search, here are some key aspects of the site of which job seekers can take advantage:

• O*Net Interest Profiler– Helps you identify your interests and connect them to career fields, as well as providing you with your RIASEC code, a three-letter code referring to John Holland’s six personality types: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional, which matches your personality to careers and education programs.
• Skills Search– Helps you analyze your abilities and link those skills to related occupations. The search focuses on basic, complex problem solving, resource management, social, system, and technical skills, among others. For help interpreting your results, go to the help page.
• Crosswalk Search– Assists job seekers connect a code or title from another classification (i.e., Military Occupational Classification) to O*NET’s-SOC occupation. This feature is especially helpful for military personnel since they can easily connect their SOC code to civilian roles.

While O*NET OnLine is the main resource, there are additional websites that fall under the O*NET umbrella.

• My Next Move– To me, this is a prettier version of O*NET, but basically provides the user with mainly the same content available on O*NET OnLine.
• My Next Move for Veterans– Geared toward veterans, this website highlights the key features of the O*NET site that are most beneficial for this population.
• Mi Proximo Paso– This website enables Spanish-speaking job seekers to complete a thorough career search.

This resource breakdown only covers a fraction of the site, so I would encourage you to set aside some time to take full advantage of what O*NET has to offer. I’ll do the same!