Updated Winter 2010

O*NET WORKSHEET

Name: ______

Assignment: This worksheet will guide you through the many aspects of the O*NET system. In Part One you will first be directed to the general database. You will then enter your skills (remember this is a skill-based system) and look through the list of occupations that are generated from the skills you entered. Next, you will research several jobs using O*NET and other federal database systems. Finally, you will look at other resources linked to this system. Answer the following questions on the worksheet. In Part Two you will critique the system. When you are finished, send the worksheet in as an attachment to an e-mail.

PART ONE

Go to the O*NET Online page at the following questions.

  1. In the right hand column of the home page you will see Occupation Search. Enter a word related to an occupation such as “counseling” or “education” or “coaching”. What word did you enter? List a few examples of the occupations that were listed. (Note that you can click on the occupation to access all the information in the database related to that occupation but we will do that in a later step.)
  1. Next, you will complete a Skills Search. Go to the Advanced Search section in the middle of the page and click on Skills Search to identify careers that use the skills you currently possess or plan to acquire. List the skills you selected in your search.
  1. List 2-3 of the occupations generated from the Skills Search that could possibly be of interest to you.

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Updated Winter 2010

  1. Select one of those occupations to research on the O*NET system.

Name of the Occupation to be researched: ______

  1. Click on that occupation and go to the Details Report tab. (Note that this is a template that is used for all occupations so you will see zeroes in some of the categories.) Look at the information listed under all the categories. They include: Tasks, Tools & Technology, Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Work Activities, Work Context, Job Zone, Interests (as measured by Holland Codes), Work Style, Work Values (as measured by the Work Importance Locator), Related Occupations, Education, and Wages & Employment Trends. Summarize what you have found and your reaction to the list. Does it fit what you know about yourself? Is it worthwhile information? (Note: In this system Job Zone refers to the amount of education needed for the occupation.)
  1. As you look at the Details Report, look at the Holland codes listed under Interests. These are the scores obtained from instruments such as the Interest Profiler, the Self-Directed Search, and Career Keys. Are the interests listed the ones that you scored high on? If so, then you will probably have an opportunity to express those interests in that occupation.
  1. Look at the Work Values listed. These are the values obtained from the Work Importance Locator. Do the values obtained from that instrument correspond to those listed with a high score? If not, this probably means that you won’t be able to express those values in that occupation.
  1. Look at the Related Occupations at the bottom of the report. Is there a related occupation that is worth pursuing? If so, what is it? If not, can you summarize why the list is not of interest?
  1. Go to the Wages & Employment Trends link at the very bottom of the page. Select a State from the State & National dropdown menu and check out the wage report. (Note: You are now in the Career InfoNet database.) What did you find?

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Updated Winter 2010

  1. While on the wage page in CareerInfo Net, look at the top left corner and you will see the term Explore Careers. Click on that button and check out at least two of the items listed. What did you find of interest?
  1. Go back to the O*NET home page (online.onetcenter.org/). Go to the bottom of the page and put your mouse on the Help button. Click on Job Accommodations. Explore two of the sites listed under Job Accommodations. What did you find of interest?
  1. Put your mouse on the Help button again and click onRelated Sites. What did you find of interest?
  1. Go back to the home page and click on the dropdown menu under Find Occupations. You will see that you can browse the occupations by a number of occupational characteristics. Click on the dropdown menu and then on O*NET Descriptors. On that dropdown menu click on Interests. Click on your highest Holland code and you will be taken to a screen where you can input your second and third highest interests if you would like. Were you able to find occupations of interest when sorting by your Holland Code? (Note that these occupations are listed by Job Zone.) You can click directly on these titles to get more information about each of them.

PART TWO

It is now time to critique your experience on O*NET. Was it satisfying? If so, why? If not, why not?

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