Decisions, decisions: employer, occupation, industry

Dear Coach:


I’m graduating soon with a degree in economics and I want to begin my job search. Now what?

Starting out and confused

Dear Starting:

Before you start looking, it helps to be aware of the three decisions you should make before looking for your first job: occupation, industry and employer.

Everyone understands the employer part of this trilogy. This is what students tend to focus on. Diploma in hand, they start searching job sites and reading newspapers for any company that is willing to hire them.

But by taking a look at the occupations your training and temperament are suitable for, and researching the industries that are growing you get two advantages. Your job search is more focused and you know you’re looking for jobs with the best potential.

Let’s start with occupation.

Occupation refers to what you do on the job. Examples are accountant, chemist, writer, and marketer.

You’ve gotten a degree in economics, but haven’t indicated what you might like to do with it. Do you want to be an analyst, for example? Do you want to be a researcher? If you don’t know for sure, try some of the online career aptitude tests. You’ll find links for a variety of these on the Canadian government site www.JobsEtc.ca and on other jobsites including CareerOwl.

Set a target date for choosing a short list of occupations you’re interested in. Now, it’s time to research each occupation on your list, storing what you learn about each in a separate folder.

To research your shortlist, go to an online job site and read the ads for each occupation on your short list. Carefully note the descriptions of what each job entails. Start a key word list for each occupation on your short list.

Another way of learning more about your occupations is professional associations. Associations often have information on their web sites about the requirements for jobs in their areas. Sometimes they have job postings too. If you can, attend a meeting and see if you click with the people who are working in your chosen occupation. After all you will be spending much of your waking days in their company.

Next, try to learn growth trends for the occupations on your list. For instance, check out what the Government of Canada job market experts think will happen by going to JobFutures at http://www.jobfutures.ca/noc/browse-occupations-work-prospects.shtml.

Consider industry

Industry is determined by what an employer produces. Most occupations can be pursued in more than one industry. An economist could work for a telecommunications company or a government department or a university, for example.

Which industries interest you? Which do you dislike? Select one or more industries you’d like to work in for each of the occupations you’ve short listed. Within the folder for each short listed occupation, create a folder for each chosen industry for that occupation.

Now, check which of the industries on your list is growing in terms of employment. You might select an occupation that is hot, but lose your job because the industry you’re in suffers a downturn. When a software company or a fish plant closes, all employees lose their jobs.

Doing a good job choosing growing industries can greatly improve your lifetime earnings.