Making a List of Your Favorite Career-Focused Resources
Because there is so much information out there, your collection of favorite career-related resources can quickly become disorganized. So maintaining and organizing your favorite career resources is important to effectively keep track of all the great information you come across.
I suspect that many will have a list of mostly online resources, with a bunch of websites and particular web pages conveniently bookmarked. But I urge you to be comprehensive in your career exploration and research by mindfully and proactively seeking out other types of resources as well, such as:
- Books
- Other types of publications (e.g., trade magazines and e-journals, e-newsletters, etc.)
- Professional associations
- Other types of organizations (e.g., campus clubs, etc.)
- Particular individuals with whom you’ve conducted informational interviews and/or networked previously (e.g., family members, friends, teachers/instructors, acquaintances, etc.)
The following illustrates one way to create, organize and maintain your favorite career resources list.
- Create a simple document and give it an obvious title like, “Favorite Nursing Career Resources.”
- Start compiling your list of favorite career-related resources.
- Rank each of your resources and put your #1 favorite at the top of the list, #2 next, and so forth.
- For each resource, provide the basic information first, like book title and author, website address, etc., and when you discovered and/or accessed this resource
- For each resource, provide a general description and overview
- For each resource, provide an explanation of why the resource is a favorite
- As you identify new top-notch career resources, just add them to your list accordingly.
The number of resources to keep track of really is up to you. Some can manage many resources, while others might be more comfortable with a “Top 10” list.
Regardless of the number of career resources on your list of favorites, creating a list like the one outlined above not only helps you keep track of all your resources but can also increase the overall effectiveness and efficiency regarding how you utilize your resources. Such a list is especially handy if you are exploring and researching more than one career topic.