How do you know what job to look for?

Many people searching for work do not have one job title in mind. This post covers how to narrow the field using public career tools from England and the US, and how to turn the result into applications. It does not predict what any employer will want.

What job should I apply for if I have no clear idea?

Begin with your own record, not with the job market. Write down the tasks you have done in past jobs, studies and volunteering, then mark the ones you would like more of and the ones you would like to stop. That gives you a short list of activities, which is easier to match to occupations than a vague wish for something different.

Then test that list against outside tools. Two kinds help: interest assessments, which give you options, and job profiles, which tell you what each option involves.

How do interest assessments help me choose a career?

They give you a list of occupations to look at, nothing more. You answer questions about activities you like, and the tool maps the answers to occupations or sectors.

In England, the National Careers Service has a skills assessment for people who are unsure where to start. It asks about your interests and suggests sectors that may suit you.

In the US, the ONET Interest Profiler measures six interest types (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising and Conventional). The web version has 30 questions and the paper version 60, and either takes roughly 10 to 20 minutes. Results link to more than 900 occupations in ONET OnLine and My Next Move. A Career Starter version exists for people without work experience.

Treat the output as a starting list. None of these tools knows your finances, location or family situation.

Where can I check what a job actually involves?

Use an official occupation profile before you invest time in a field. In England, each National Careers Service job profile gives the qualifications needed, salary, progression opportunities and a description of daily tasks. You can browse all profiles alphabetically or by category.

In the US, the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes the Occupational Outlook Handbook, with a profile page for each occupation. Its home page lets you filter occupations by median pay, entry-level education, on-the-job training, projected new jobs and projected growth rate. That is useful when two options look equal and you want to compare them on facts.

These pages describe a country as a whole. Pay and demand differ by region, so read a few current ads in the place where you plan to work.

How do I choose between two or three options?

Compare them on the same short list of questions:

1. Do you already have most of the skills, or would you need a course or qualification first?
2. Does the typical pay cover your costs?
3. Are there open ads near you, and how many ask for experience you lack?
4. Would you do the daily tasks, as written in the profile, for the next few years?

Read ten real job ads for each option. The ads show the wording employers use, which is also the wording your CV will need.

When should I start applying?

Start once you have a shortlist of two or three roles, not after you feel certain. Applying shows you which ads you can answer honestly and which you cannot. A role where you meet most of the listed requirements is a better first target than one where you meet few.

Each application then needs its own CV. Our guide How to tailor your CV to a job description explains how to match your experience to an ad. If you are changing field, the opening of your CV matters more, and How to write a CV summary covers it.

What to do next

1. Write down the tasks you want more and less of.
2. Run one interest assessment and note the occupations it lists.
3. Read the official profile for each and cross out the ones that fail your pay, qualification or location test.
4. Keep two or three and read ten ads for each.
5. Apply, with a separate CV for each ad.