Navigate Your Own Career

Know Yourself

• Self Assessment Tools

  There are a variety of self-assessment tools you can use:

  • CliftonStrengths - discover a complete profile of your strengths
  • ITP Metrics - Gain insight about your personality at work. We recommend the Personality, Conflict Styles, or Peer Feedback assessments.
  • 16 Personalities - a free tool to help you dive deeper into your personality
  • CareerLeader - a business career self-assessment to uncover your potential interests, motivators, and skills.
  • What Color Is Your Parachute? - Discover your strengths, explore career options, and chart a path through the world of work with eParachute

  We want to provide a comprehensive list. Some of these resources are free, and some of them require a financial commitment. Use your own discretion.

• Articles
  • Questions to ask yourself at every point in your career
  • Personal SWOT Analysis: Making the Most of Your Talents and Opportunities
  • What is Your Mindset?
  • Career path: How to find yours and why it matters
• Videos
  • Ted talk - How to find and do work you love

Build Your Skills

• Course Offerings

  The University offers multiple ways to boost your knowledge and skills:

  • Access the Professional Development page to find short course offerings aimed at boosting your workplace skills and personal knowledge.
  • Did you know that OPSEU members and full-time continuing employees are eligible for tuition reimbursement programs? Check out the Benefits page for more details!

   

• Articles
  • To Go from Employee to Manager, You Need to Adopt These 5 Attitudes
  • How to Decide What Skill to Work On Next
• Videos
  • TED Talk - Why some of us don't have one true calling

Finding Your Next Opportunity

• Explore University Opportunities
  • Internal careers site
• Articles
  • How to Write a Resumeé That Will Actually Get a Recruiter's Attention
  • Simple Tips to Nail Job Interviews, Even if You're Shy or Introverted
  • Fake it until you make it is not a good plan for job interviews
• Videos

  You want work that makes you feel happy, challenged, and appreciated. These talks might help you find that elusive combination, as you define your working life on your own terms.

  • Playlist - TED Talks to help you find the right job

  
  

   

• Career Pivots

  Simply put, a pivot is a shift in direction, but a pivot cannot be achieved successfully unless you have a strong foundation. Consider that foundation to be a blend of your values, accumulated experiences and achievements, providing balance and strength as you move into a new area. When you pivot in your career, you are not throwing away what you have accumulated in skills and experiences - they are the foundations that help you shift in a new direction.

  • Strategy 1 - Know what you want and ask for it
  • Strategy 2 - Build your knowledge base
  • Strategy 3 - Leverage your strengths
  • Strategy 4 - Market your skills
  • Strategy 5 - Avoid common mistakes
  • Full video: 5 Strategies for Surviving a Career Pivot

Networking

• Articles
  • How to Practice Feedback-Seeking and Take Your Career to the Next Level
  • Networking 101: Build Relationships and Advance in Your Career

Support and Counselling