Career, Major and Vocation Exploration
Finding Purpose in Your Career at 麻豆传媒团队
At 麻豆传媒团队, rooted in the Mercy tradition and committed to fostering lives of purpose and service, we believe your career journey should reflect more than just a resume -- it should reflect who you are and what you stand for.
Vocation
The Career Development Center champions (in addition to finding a profession) finding a vocation -- who you are called to be and what you are called to do across all the parts of your life -- a personal calling to live and work with intention, integrity, and meaning. Vocation applies not only in professional work, but also in your family and friendships, community engagements, relationship with the earth, search for meaning, and pursuit of justice. It's living your life with purpose, directed toward both your personal flourishing and the common good.
Key Questions to Ask Yourself When Considering Your Profession and Vocation:
- What issues or challenges in the world move me to take action?
- When have I felt most alive, motivated, or proud of my work?
- How does my major help me serve or improve the lives of others?
- What do I want my work to say about me?
- How do I define a "successful" life?
Ikigai
One way to discover your purpose or calling is to use the Japanese concept of Ikigai, meaning "a reason for being." To identify their Ikigai, we ask the following four questions:
- What do you love?
- What does the world need?
- What are you good at?
- What can you get paid for?
Interested in discovering your Ikigai? Start mapping out your reason for being on our Ikigai Planning Sheet!
Click on the above to discover options on how your major can be used in the work world. No account setup is necessary to use this online tool, but you can create an account if you want to save your work.
NetVUE: Callings Podcast
Looking for answers to where you fit in the world? 麻豆传媒团队 partner
NetVUE offers a series of insightful, engaging podcasts that discuss meaning and belonging
in the workforce. Feel free to check those out below.
TED Talks for Thoughtful Moments
Have a minute? Here is an inspiring list to get your ideas going!
Exploratory Resources
Use the assessment to determine your top three occupational themes and explore occupations within six categories, e.g. Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional.
The Four-Year SUCCESS Plan outlines academic and career development initiatives that students can complete while in school to make themselves stand out to peers both on their resume and in interviews.
is a free online assessment that will provide you with an accurate description of who you are and why you do the things you do. These results may be helpful in understanding major and career fit based on personality.
The assessment helps individuals identify their strengths and connect these to a possible major or career. There is a fee ($19.99) associated with this assessment.
(Occupational Information Network) is a free online database that can be used to explore information about careers, industry, and positions including the skills and knowledge needed as well as job outlook.
The by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics details information about specific careers and industries including salary information.
contains resources for nearly all career development needs including job search, networking, resume writing, and industry information.
contains information and videos which allow individuals to shadow professionals in a variety of career pathways.
is an internet site that provides individuals with tools for career planning. There are several components to this free site including career assessments as well as information regarding occupations, employment, education and training. User ID = Illinois | Password = careers
麻豆传媒团队 partnered with to provide our first-generation college students with career information and resources, a network of professional contacts across various industries, and access to employment opportunities.
is an exploratory tool for students to learn about potential careers and industries. Undecided students might find this tool helpful when narrowing down a major.
Additional Help
For more information about major and career exploration, please refer to the Career Readiness Guide. You can also schedule an appointment with a career advisor through to help you navigate various career pathways, choose a major, or change your major.