Career Resource Library

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Transitions: Classroom to Career

Funded by a Centennial Grant from the Alumnae Association
of Simmons College

Additional Resources for New Graduates

Websites
Books available in the Simmons Career Resource Library
Other books of interest

Websites

Simmons College Career Resource Library
The homepage of Simmons College's Miller/Knopf Career Resource Library, this site has employment-related news, as well as links to tons of valuable resources to guide you in the process of discerning a career path. Some of the resources linked from this page include career information related to each Simmons major and program, undergraduate and graduate resources, news articles, etc. The news articles on this page often contain links to other full-text articles which may be of use to the searcher. All-in-all, this site is a great source for general information on the job-search process. Taking some time to look at all of the resources Simmons offers can be a great way to begin thinking about and planning your life after college.
http://my.simmons.edu/library/collections/career/

The Quarterlife Qrisis
The self-proclaimed "Official, Original & Award-Winning Site" is the companion site to Quarterlifer's Companion, by Abby Wilner and Cathy Stocker. This site has a lot of helpful information that can be used by anyone, but is geared towards those people who are experiencing a "quarter-life crisis" (defined as the stage of worry and anxiety one goes through upon graduating from college and entering "the real world"). Articles about various aspects of life, work, and play provide the newly-graduated with some helpful tips to guide them through the college-to-life transition.
http://www.quarterlifecrisis.com
NOTE: Wilner and Stocker's book is available in the Simmons Career Resource Library!

The Riley Guide
Many jobseekers turn to such internet job sites as www.monster.com (see below) as a starting point. However, the Riley Guide should be your first stop. This website contains a lot of "how-to" information about searching for work on the internet and gives someone just starting-out some great advice. One of the goals of a graduate is obviously to find a job, and given the plethora of sources on the internet, this can be a confusing task. The Riley Guide can help sort through the vast sea of job-finding websites and lead you to find your first post-graduate job.
http://www.rileyguide.com

BostonWorks
This site, created and maintained by the Boston Globe, is a searchable database of classified job advertisements in and around the Boston-area. The site also features a sidebar with links to help users find jobs and job fairs, post their resumes, learn more about various aspects of "the Job Hunt," and conduct research on organizations they are applying to. If you want to know more about how to look for a job in the Boston area, this can be a good place to start. Going into your job interview armed with knowledge of the organization you are applying to work for can mean the difference between "I just don't think you fit-in here," and "You're hired!"
http://bostonworks.boston.com/

Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission
This government site is the home to the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, an agency that works to secure employment for people who have diagnosed disabilities. According to the Vision and Mission statement of the MRC, as stated on the website, "MRC promotes equality, empowerment and independence of individuals with disabilities." Because the transition from college to work can be especially difficult for people with disabilities, this site can assist them in finding the support that they may need.
http://www.mass.gov/, then do a search for "MRC."

Monster
Aside from its massive list of job-postings, this popular commercial site actually contains a lot of practical information pertaining to the process of the job search. Monster has useful features such as a job searching database that looks for employers who are "actively seeking qualified diversity candidates." Also helpful is Monster's Resume Center (http://resume.monster.com/), which contains dozens of great resume-writing tips. The Random Interview Question Generator, which displays common interview questions and offers links to articles that address how to handle each question, can be useful in preparing for job interviews.
http://www.monster.com

Boston College's Graduate Survival Guide
This graduate survival guide, created by Boston University graduate students, contains some helpful reference sources, as well as general information about how to find affordable housing, budgeting, transportation, healthcare, and more in the Boston area.
http://people.bu.edu/sage/survival/

Michigan State University's "Quick Guide List"
The Career Services and Placement office at Michigan State University has developed a "Quick Guide List" of hints and tips for cover/thank you letters, career-related magazines, deciding on a career path, and how to dress appropriately. This site links to a page of web resources that could prove extremely helpful for anyone looking for a job. Also look at the page on writing your resume, as it has tons of good advice, including a webpage listing effective action verbs.
http://studentlife.unlv.edu/career/pubs/B2B%202005.pdf

University of Nevada Las Vegas' "Backpacks to Briefcases
Developed by the University of Nevada Las Vegas, this handbook, "Backpacks to Briefcases," offers a complete guide to making the transition from college-life to work-life. This handy guide touches upon just about everything, including internships, resume-writing, business etiquette, cover-letter writing, and the proper way to handle a job offer. This guide, although geared towards UNLV students, can be a useful resource for anyone who has graduated and is making the transitioning to the working world.
http://hire.unlv.edu/pubs/B2B%202005.pdf

Andrea Kay's "Changing Careers"
Andrea Kay, one of the leading career experts, gives some helpful guidance to anyone who may be considering a change of career. Aimed specifically at those people who are considering a change of scenery in their work-lives, Kay offers some sensible advice to help you after you make the decision to change your career focus.
http://www.andreakay.com/main_changing.htm

The Occupational Outlook Handbook
The Occupational Outlook Handbook is created by the US Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. This handbook projects into the future to give you an idea of what the up-and-coming careers are going to be. This resource can be useful in determining the direction that your current career path is heading in.
http://www.bls.gov/oco/

Books available in the Simmons Career Resource Library

Bolles, Richard N. (1998). How to create a picture of your ideal job or next career : the quick job-hunting (and career-changing) map. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed.
This book serves as a guide to thinking about your ideal job. The "Flower model" that the reader creates uses the ideas presented in Bolles's What Color is Your Parachute? This title can help to get you started on thinking about your career path after school. Readers may want to check out Bolles's first book (also available in the Career Resource Library) before this one, as it would help to provide context for this material.

Haines, Stephen. (2000). Successful career and life planning : the systems thinking approach. Menlo Park, CA: Crisp.
A business will rely heavily on a "business plan"as a means of achieving its objectives and financial goals. Similarly, jobseekers can benefit from career and life plans in order to achieve their goals. Successful Career and Life Planning can aide the job-seeker in creating such a plan, which can then be used as a guide towards achieving their goals. The author theorizes that it is best to formulate a plan for your life because once you have an idea of where you want to go in life, you can start figuring out how to get there. This type of planning can be very useful in the weeks leading up to and just-after graduation.

Knox, Deborah L. and Sandra S. Butzel. (2000). Life work transitions.com : putting your spirit online. Boston, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann.
This extremely structured-approach to finding a job online is written in a theoretical tone, which is both spiritual and practical. The authors present the reader with many self-assessment exercises and Internet resources, giving plenty of food-for-thought, and helping the reader to more easily make the transition from school to work. (Note that some of the web links in this title are now outdated.)

Linn, Linda. (1996). Landing your first real job. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Written by a job-recruiter, this "insider's guide"to landing your first job can really be used by anyone searching for a new job. The author stresses the importance of looking not at the positions one has held, but rather at the skills that have been developed in those positions. In fact, he touches upon many aspects of the job-search process, including planning ahead, taking a personal inventory, and almost every aspect of the interview process. Written with a sense of humor, this easy to read, yet useful guide can serve as a great reference source for the newly-graduated. It also offers advice on how to successfully shift your focus from learning in school to learning on the job.

Luscher, Keith F. (1998). Don't wait until you graduate! : How to "jump-start" your career while still in school. Far Hills, NJ: New Horizon Press.
This unique take on the transition from college to work can help you to decide if you should consider beginning to make the transition while you are still in school. Although several of the concepts discussed in this book may seem as though they are common sense, Luscher does a fantastic job explaining the reasons why it is vitally important for your job-search to begin as soon as possible. He also stresses the importance of volunteering, participating in service opportunities, internships, summer employment, and networking. Several helpful appendices list local nonprofit organizations and different types of campus organizations, as well as a bibliography. (Appendix III: Media Resources is worth a look.)

Richardson, Bradley G. (1995). Jobsmarts for twentysomethings : a street-smart script for career success. New York: Viking.
Richardson touches upon many great topics in this guide to the job-search, which is intended for college graduates. Topics include: "how to play office politics without having to hate yourself; why the hot careers aren't so hot anymore; why you should avoid the newspaper want ads; how to come off as a professional in an interview; how to avoid permanently revolving in the personnel message carousel; and how to turn your lack of experience into a selling point." Richardson's practical tips can prove to be very beneficial to those newly-initiated members of the working-world.

Wallace, Peter C (2005). Life 101: Real World Skills for Graduating College Seniors. Lincoln, NE : iUniverse Incorporated.
Written at the behest of his students, college professor Peter C. Wallace compiled this wonderful guide to life after college. Some of the topics included are "selecting a career path,"finding a job," "learning how to budget your money," and "investing for the future." A lot of the topics covered in this book are things that don't necessarily cross the minds of students nearing graduation, making this a very helpful volume.

Be sure to visit the Career Resource Library in P304E to check out our display of more than 20 titles for new graduates in the Transitions: Classroom to Career area!

Other books of interest

Avdul, Derek and Steve Avdul (2003). Real Life 101: A Guide to Stuff That Actually Matters.
The two brothers who authored this book vowed that once they had navigated the tricky path from college and "the Real World," they were going to write a book to help guide others from making the same mistakes they did. This book is the result of that vow, and it serves as a wonderful and, at times, humorous guide of how to make it through this difficult transition.

Nimetz, Alexandra, Emeline Starr and Jason Stanely (1999). The Healthy College Cookbook: Quick, Cheap, Easy. North Adams, MA: Storey Books Publishing.
This cookbook, written by students for students and recent grads, offers up over 200 delectably-delicious recipes that not only taste good, but that are actually healthy. Upon graduation from college, many graduates have a tendency to eat unhealthy foods and can experience a decline in health because of their diets. The authors wrote this book so that students can go from living on a meal plan to planning healthy meals.

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Page updated: March 10, 2007

 

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