by Ethan Paquet
With so many different industries offering a wide variety of jobs on PEI, students may find it overwhelming to choose just one to pursue. There are free resources to help put students on a path to a career that suits their skills, interests, and personality.
A great starting point is the Government of Canada’s Job Bank, where students can find career quizzes and tests designed to help them create or change their career plan.
The website offers three tests to help students gain a better understanding of how they think and learn and how to identify the values that will matter to them. These insights will help look beyond the paycheque and other benefits to consider whether a job will bring them personal satisfaction and overall enjoyment.
With this information, students can go on to take the Job Bank’s three career quizzes, which bring attention to their values, interests, strengths and skills and match them to jobs that best suit each person.
Career Development Services (CDS) is a confidential and welcoming place which provides help to those searching for work on PEI. When a person decides on a career direction, CDS can help explore the labour market to see what jobs are available in that field, what the duties and work conditions are, and what the salary might be.
CDS can support individuals from career exploration all the way through to informational meetings with employers, writing resumés and cover letters, preparing for interviews, and getting ready to enter the workplace.
“Each person has a unique story and set of experiences that make up their lifelong career path,” says Rosemond MacDougall, Client Services Coordinator.
If an individual is having difficulty putting their interests, skills and abilities into words, a career assessment is a good starting point, says Rosemond. “If a person wants to work but is not sure what training to take, these assessments can play a key role.”
CDS offers a free tool called Career Cruising. Available online, students can access this service to achieve their full potential in school, career and their life through age-appropriate career development assessments, planners, and additional resources.
In the My Plan section, students can save their assessment results, information about careers, schools of interest, work, volunteer and extracurricular experiences, and any relevant documents.
Margo Curley, CDS Site Manager/Career Counsellor, says these resources can help enhance a person’s awareness of their personality type, skill sets, career values and interests.
“Career Cruising was accurate in the list of suitable careers it suggested for me,” says Margo. “SkillScan is focused on strengths and skills, and it helped me identify my leadership skills. In my experience, each assessment brought a different dimension of career exploration to the surface.”
While career testing can be extremely helpful to improve your employability and give you insights into yourself, not all assessments have been tested for reliability and validity, Margo says.
“CDS has access to a suite of specialized career assessments which are provided free of charge to CDS clients. Our career counsellors explore career options through careful questions and discussion. Clients have the answers within themselves, but sometimes they need a little support to help bring that inner knowledge to the surface.”
Explore your career possibilities online through the Government of Canada’s Job Bank by visiting www.jobbank.gc.ca/career-planning/quizzes
For more information about Career Development Services, call
Montague | 902-838-5453
Souris | 902-687-1526
Charlottetown | 902-626-2014
O’Leary | 902-859-2776
Summerside | 902-436-0706
Visit www.cdspei.ca