Careers Research Guide
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Note: Off-campus access to most online sources is restricted to current UCF students, faculty,
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Career Planning and Networking
General Collection HF 5381 .W558 2002
An overview of the steps in the career planning process, focusing in on the importance
of building and maintaining a strong, effective network of support within any career
and assessing one's personality and interests.
Joyce Lain Kennedy's Career Book
Includes insights on every career-management issue, including: discovering interests
and aptitudes, setting goals, researching careers and companies, finding help, predicting
trends, keeping a positive attitude, getting experience and training, and planning for
college and beyond.
What Color is Your Parachute?
General Collection HF 5382.7 .B64
A classic in the field of vocational guidance, this was one of the first books to emphasize
matching personal characteristics and interests with career options. Updated frequently.
Career Services Department
Ferrell Commons
Room 185
(407) 823-2361
Experiential Learning Department
Ferrell Commons Suite 203
(407) 823-2667
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The following sources are good starting points for finding basic information about specific
careers: nature of the work, educational and certification requirements, job duties, and projected
growth.
General Sources
Career Information Center
Reference HF 5382.5 .U5C32
A 13-volume set of nearly 600 occupational profiles in which more than 2,000 jobs are
described and organized under twelve major job clusters (e.g., Vol. 2: Agribusiness,
Environment, and Natural Resources). Profiles describe work characteristics, job entry
levels, education and training requirements, advancement and employment outlook, earnings,
benefits, and major trends in a given occupational field. Volume 13 is the Master Index
to the set.
Reference HF 5382 .D5
Offers standardized descriptions of job content and structure for about 20,000 occupations.
Grouped by occupations to emphasize similarities and variations. Detailed classed arrangement
indexed alphabetically by occupation and industry group. The
Dictionary of Occupational
Titles (DOT) has now largely been superseded by the
Standard Occupational Classification
Manual (SOC) (below).
Encyclopedia of Careers and Vocational Guidance
Reference HF 5381 .E52
Designed specifically to meet the special needs of the vocational guidance field and
to help solve career planning problems. Volume 1 evaluates job prospects in 74 major
industries and career fields. Volumes 2-4 cover individual job descriptions; index is
in Volume 4.
http://www.bls.gov/oco/
Reference Desk HF 5381 .O25
Published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor, this handbook
covers 250 occupations. Provides information about job duties, working conditions, level
and places of employment, education and training requirements, advancement possibilities,
and job outlook. Also includes information about the effects of business cycles, defense
spending, energy development, and other economic factors that affect employment. Updated
by the
Occupational Outlook Quarterly
(below).
http://online.onetcenter.org
A free, online database sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor that includes information
on skills, abilities, education, work activities, and interests associated with occupations.
Information in O*NET is available for over 950 occupations. Each occupational title
and code is based on the most current version of the
Standard Occupational Classification
system (below).
Specialty Occupational Outlook: Professions
Reference Desk HF 5382 .S632 1995
Supplements the
Occupational Outlook Handbook
(above) by providing data on 150 job titles selected for popularity, growth potential,
and technological advances.
http://stats.bls.gov/soc/
Reference HB 2595 .S7 2000
Offers standardized descriptions of job content and structure for about 820 occupations
according to their occupational definition. To facilitate classification, occupations
are combined to form 23 major groups, 96 minor groups, and 449 broad occupations. Each
broad occupation includes detailed occupation(s) requiring similar job duties, skills,
education, or experience. The
SOC now supersedes the
Dictionary of Occupational Titles
(DOT) (above). See also
O*NET Online: Occupational
Information Network (above), which is another version of the
Standard Occupational
Classification Manual (SOC) that allows the user to match
SOC and
DOT occupational classification systems
VGM's Careers Encyclopedia
Reference HF 5382.5 .U5 C337 2002
Career descriptions are presented in an easy to use A to Z format. Each listing begins
with a general description of the job, followed by detailed information on: job outlook,
qualifications, education and training requirements, income potential, work settings,
opportunities for advancement, and sources for further information.
Specialized Sources
For detailed information on specific careers, search the following series TITLES
in the UCF Library Catalog. Look at the
call number of each individual title to determine location:
- Career Advisor Series
- VGM Careers for You Series
- VGM Opportunities Series
- VGM Professional Careers Series
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America's Top Jobs for College Graduates
Reference HD 6278 .U5 F37
Gives descriptions for 127 major jobs, most often held by college graduates. Also includes
articles on labor market trends and a section with results-oriented career planning
and job search advice.
American Salaries and Wages Survey
Reference HD 4973 .A67
A compilation of occupations and their corresponding salaries obtained from hundreds
of federal and state government sources and from various trade associations and journals.
Appendixes include a salary conversion table and employment statistics by occupation
projected through 2008.
http://www.bls.gov/oco/cg/
U.S. Documents L2.3/4-3:
Presents background career information and statistics for the 40 industries that account
for 70 percent of wage and salary jobs in the United States. Includes nature of the
industry, employment data, working conditions, training, earnings, rate of job growth,
and outlook.
Employment Outlook, 1996-2006: A Summary of BLS Projections
U.S. Documents L2.3:2502
Provides information on where future job growth is expected by industry and occupation
and the likely composition of the work force pursuing those jobs.
Jobs Rated Almanac: The Best and Worst Jobs--250 in All--Ranked by More than a Dozen
Vital Factors Including Salary, Stress, Benefits, and More
Reference HF 5382.5 .U5 K72 1999
Ranks 250 jobs by 12 criteria, including work environment, income, outlook, stress,
physical demands, extra, job security, and where the jobs are. Within each section,
jobs are listed alphabetically. A final section contains an overall ranking of jobs.
OECD Employment Outlook
Reference HD 5706 .O35
Provides an annual assessment of labor market developments and prospects in member countries.
Each issue contains an overall analysis of the latest job market trends and short-term
forecasts, and examines, through a series of lengthy essays, key market developments.
http://stats.bls.gov/bls/wages.htm
Statistics compiled by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics include current employment numbers
by state and metropolitan area; information on employee benefits in private, small,
medium, and large companies; the average cost of wages per hour for major occupational
and industry group; wages for specific levels of work for 450 occupations on an hourly
and annual basis available on national, state and metropolitan level; and average earnings
of employees on an hourly and annual basis for 750 occupations available by state and
metropolitan areas.
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Directories
Use these directories to find basic background information about companies and industries
and the types of skill sets they are seeking, as well as listings of the largest employers
in a certain industry or locale.
Reference HF 5382.75 .U6 A45
Lists 500 major U.S. corporations, including information on growth, financial stability,
salaries, benefits, and hiring. Contains index of companies for specific types of job-seekers
(e.g., liberal arts, sales/marketing).
Career Guide: Dun's Employment Opportunities Directory
Reference HF 5382.5 .U5 D86
An alphabetical directory of leading U.S. companies with at least 1,000 employees. Describes
the nature of the business, prospective employment, types of available positions, and
personnel contact. Indexed geographically and by industrial classification. Also lists
employers offering work-study or internship programs.
Florida Job Bank
Reference HF 5382.5.U6 F6
Contains employer profiles in major cities, including
Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and all other areas. Entries
list standard contact information (and, where possible, also the contact person by name
and title) and a description of the company's products and/or services.
Job Hunter's Sourcebook: Where to Find Employment Leads and Other Job Search Resources
Reference HF 5382.7 .J62 2002
The main section profiles 206 high-interest professional and vocational occupations.
Each occupational profile lists a variety of job-opportunity information specific to
that occupation, organized into seven categories: sources of help-wanted ads, placement
and job referral services, employer directories and networking lists, handbooks and
manuals, employment agencies and search firms, online job sources and services, and
other sources (e.g., job hotlines, internships).
The National Job Bank
Reference HF 5382.5 .U5 N34
Contains over 20,000 employer profiles, including standard contact information (and,
where possible, also the contact person by name and title) and a description of the
company's products and/or services. Many listings also include jobs commonly filled,
headquarters location, e-mail and World Wide Web addresses, and internships information.
Indexes list companies by state and by industry.
Orlando Business Journal Book of Lists
Reference Desk HC 108 .O7 B4
Issued annually, gives essential information on the leading businesses and employers
in over 60 industries. Also provides a helpful snapshot of the condition of the local
economy.
Plunkett's Companion
to The Almanac of American Employers
: Mid-Size Firms
Reference HF 5549.5.C67 P585
Periodical Articles
Use the following sources to find periodical articles about careers, vocational guidance,
employment trends, companies, industries, and related topics. Once you have found the articles
you want, in some instances you will need to check the
UCF Library Catalog to determine if we own
the periodicals you need.
Articles on advertising, marketing, economics, human resources, finance, taxation, computers,
and over 60,000 companies. Includes business conditions, trends, corporate strategies
and tactics, management techniques, competitive and product information, company histories
and new product development.
Database that abstracts and indexes over 3,200 periodicals (magazines, journals, newspapers),
and offers full text (often dating back to 1990) for over 1,000 journals.
Provides indexing to sources in business, management, economics, finance, banking, investment,
and much more. Full text included for nearly 260 journals.
Indexes over 4,000 periodical titles in a wide variety of disciplines including the
social sciences, humanities, science and technology, national news periodicals, general
interest magazines, and newswires. Includes many full text articles.
Indexes over 800 journal titles including business, management, and trade journals;
some 80 regional and local journals and newspapers. Provides access to full text of
some articles.
Provides indexed and abstracted references, many with accompanying full-text periodical
articles, from about 1,400 English-language periodicals in science, humanities, education,
and business.
Key Periodicals
The following periodicals contain relevant articles about careers, vocational guidance,
employment trends, and related topics. Please note, however, that many other periodicals
not listed here undoubtedly contain articles pertaining to these topics; thus, the need
to consult a periodical database or
index. Current print issues of periodicals to which the
Libraries subscribe are arranged by title on the third floor; print back issues are shelved
in the general collection by call number, while microform back issues are arranged by call
number on the third floor. Current issues are arranged alphabetically by title on the third
floor.
CPC Salary Survey
Current Periodicals (last 2 years)
Published quarterly by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), each
issue provides national starting salary offers by discipline, degree level, job function,
and industry group, and provides the average offer as well as ranges. Salary Survey
covers more than 70 major fields of study, over 50 employer categories, and over 70
job functions for the bachelor’s degree level. Also provides starting salary information
for 57 master’s and 22 doctoral fields of study.
Compensation and Working
Conditions: CWC
General Collection HD 5723 .C26 (1991+)
Published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, this title presents information and
data on compensation and workplace issues. It contains analytical articles, news items,
summary information presented as single page charts or tables, and statistical data
on: occupational pay, employment cost index, employee benefits, occupational injuries
and illnesses, and major work stoppages.
NACE Journal
General Collection LB 2343.5 .A15 (1985+)
Formerly titled the Journal of Career Planning and Employment. Focuses on major
trends in the human relations and employee recruitment field. Articles cover such topics
as internships, campus recruitment, employment markets, and industries and companies.
It also features news about upcoming career fairs.
Microfilm HF 5382 .U5 O3 (1958-1966/67)
General Collection HF 5382 .U5 O3 (1967/68+)
At least one major article in each issue focuses on a specific career, while other pieces
cover various aspects of the labor market or feature jobs with strong potential for
growth. Updates the
Occupational Outlook
Handbook (above).
Work and Occupations
General Collection HT 675 .S6 (1982+)
Explores current and historical issues relating to the sociological analysis of work
and occupations. Areas covered include labor force trends, workplace diversity, and
work group dynamics.
Working Woman
Microfilm HQ 1101 .W78 (1979-1983)
Microfiche HQ 1101 .W78 (1984+)
This title is known for its annual "Hottest Careers" and salary survey issues. Articles
emphasize career development, business trends, and policy issues.
Books and Multimedia
The following SUBJECT HEADINGS in the UCF Library
Catalog may be helpful in locating other specialized sources of information, both books
and multimedia (videocassettes, CDs, DVDs):
- Americans--Employment--Foreign countries
- Career changes
- Career development
- Employment in foreign countries
- Employment interviewing
- Internship programs
- Job hunting
- Occupations
- Resumes (Employment)
- Summer employment
- Vocational guidance
- Vocational interests
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Overseas Summer Jobs
Reference HF 5382.5 .G7 D54
Describes more than 30,000 volunteer and paid positions in more than 50 countries.
Summer Jobs in the USA
Reference HF 5382.5 .U5 S76
Describes more than 45,000 positions from nearly 650 different employers in the U.S.,
Canada, and overseas.
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America's Top Internships
Reference LC 1072 .I58 A44
Features detailed profiles of the 107 "very best internships," with company information
and firsthand insight from former interns, thorough portraits of day-to-day responsibilities,
and a guide to applying.
The Internship Bible
Reference LC 1072 .I58 I46
Information on more than 100,000 internships. Includes chapters on letter writing and
interviewing, as well as interviews with prominent former interns such as Jodie Foster
and George Stephanopoulos.
Peterson's Internships
Reference L 901 .I66
Profiles nearly 50,000 paid and unpaid internship opportunities at thousands of corporations
and organizations all over the world, including positions in business, government, the
United Nations, and nonprofit voluntary groups. Field of interest indexes.
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There are hundreds, if not thousands, of resume writing and job interviewing books. The titles
listed below are some of the more frequently cited by vocational guidance professionals.
The Adams Cover Letter Almanac
General Collection HF 5383 .A263 1996
Includes examples of 600 cover letters, with samples for a wide range of occupations.
Includes responses to help-wanted ads, unsolicited letters, and follow-ups.
Asher's Bible of Executive Resumes and How to Write Them
Reference HF 5383 .A834 1997
Contains more than 100 examples of executive resumes.
The Five-Minute Interview
General Collection HF 5549.5 .I6 B39 1998
Provides a step-by-step approach to preparing for interviews. Includes practical exercises
and 444 commonly asked questions, with chapters on types of interviews and interview
techniques.
High Impact Resumes and Cover Letters: How to Communicate Your Qualifications to Employers
General Collection HF 5383 .K7 1998
Treats resumes and cover letters as key communication products for promoting the career
planning process of skills, objectives, research, networking, interviews, and negotiations.
Includes examples of resumes and cover letters.
How to Prepare Your Curriculum
Vitae
Reference HF 5383 .J24 1997
"The curriculum vitae, long in use among professionals in higher education, is gaining
currency among undergraduates applying for admission to graduate and professional schools
as well as for selected areas of employment" (Introduction). This book provides guidelines
for creating a curriculum vitae.
How to Say It in Your Job Search: Choice Words, Phrases, Sentences, and Paragraphs for
Resumes, Cover Letters, and Interviews
Reference HF 5383 .K364 2002
Shows how to communicate skills, strengths, and qualifications quickly and distinctively
in resumes, cover letters, and interviews.
Job Interview Almanac and CD-ROM
Reference HF 5549.5 .I6 J6 1997
Ask for CD-ROM at Circulation Desk
Features 1,800 job interviews with examples of responses. The sample interviews are
arranged by broad occupational fields. The CD-ROM has over 300 video and 200 audio clips
on interviewing techniques and advice.
The Perfect Cover Letter
General Collection HF 5383 .B325 1989
Gives examples of cover letters, including general broadcast and targeted letters; characteristics
of both good and bad cover letters; and specific components of good cover letters and
their mechanics.
The Resume Kit
General Collection HF 5383 .B33 1995
Addresses questions that commonly plague resume writers, such as: How long should the
resume be? Should there be a job objective statement? What is the best resume format?
Should references be listed on the resume?
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There are now many Internet sites listing job announcements. The list below is highly selective.
For a more comprehensive list, see the links at the
UCF Career Services and Experiential Learning
site, <http://www.crc.ucf.edu>.
http://www.careerbuilder.com
Allows the user to search for jobs by industry, company, type, and location. Also includes
links to career fairs and an online resume "launcher."
http://chronicle.com/jobs
Published weekly, the Chronicle is academe's source for news and information
and also includes the Career Network, which lists hundreds of jobs in higher education
(and some in the nonprofit, non-academe sector).
http://www.jobweb.com
A site maintained by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) that
allows searching for prospective employers as well as many links to job hunting advice.
http://www.myflorida.com
Has a link to search Florida government job vacancies by region, agency, or salary for
participating agencies, as well as job search links at the national, state, and local
government levels, as well as Florida university job listings. Look for the shortcut
"Working in Florida."
http://www.usajobs.opm.gov
Maintained by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, USAJOBS is the federal government's
official one-stop source for federal jobs and employment information. See also
FedWorld (http://www.fedword.gov), operated by
the U.S. Department of Commerce, which has a link to "federal jobs"; however, the FedWorld
site warns that many federal job announcements don't make into the FedWorld database
and that many agencies have their own job Internet sites.
http://dir.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy/Employment_and_Work
Lists several hundred links to job postings on the Internet.
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In addition to the resources cited in this research guide, UCF students may obtain further
career information and guidance through the following agencies:
http://www.csel.ucf.edu/home/
Professional staff are available at the Career Services Department to assist students
in a number of ways, from planning majors to finding jobs upon graduation. The Center's
Internet pages include a wealth of links to online job search and career planning sites.
The Experiential Learning Department supports and advises students who are enrolled
in, or are thinking about participating in, cooperative education programs, internships,
or service-learning courses.
http://www.counseling.sdes.ucf.edu/services.html
Student Resource Center, Building 7-G
Room 203
(407) 823-2811
Administers a variety of career, interest, and personality assessment inventories to
assist you in understanding yourself and how you might best fit into a particular career
or academic major.
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Ask a Librarian
If you have questions or need additional assistance, Ask a Librarian,
call the Reference Department at (407) 823-2562, or e-mail the Department at
askalibrarian@mail.ucf.edu.
Last Updated:
February 20, 2008
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