By
Andrea Zielke
One
of the most difficult aspects of job hunting or changing careers is figuring
out how to begin. The whole process can seem overwhelming. When I
moved to Nashville and started looking for a job, I forgot how long a job
search could take and I had no idea what resources were available to help me. I
went to my local library and found that they had free resources to help with my
job hunt. The resources covered the whole job hunting process: doing a
career assessment, creating resumes and cover letters, and even practice
interviews! Who would have guessed that the resources I used to start my
career in Nashville would help me land a job where I am responsible for those
same resources! The Tennessee Electronic Library (www.tntel.info) and your local public library
offer many free tools to help get your job search off on the ground!
Online
Resources
Career
Transitions is a very intuitive, user friendly database that can guide anyone
through the major steps of the employment process including choosing a career,
job searching, applying and interviewing. If you have previous professional
or military experience, you can match those skills with potential careers.
Career Transitions also includes sample resume and cover letters based on
experience and industry which is always helpful when you do not know quite how
to begin. The goal is to improve the user’s chance of getting a new job
and this tool is very helpful.
Users
are not required to sign up for an account to use the resources provided in
this database but it is recommended to sign up for an account if you use Career
Transitions to track and manage your job search, resumes and cover letters.
Based
on the name, you may think that Testing and Education Reference Center is only
for high school and college students, but there are many useful tools in the
database for all ages. Testing and Education Reference Center has many
professional practice exams, online courses and ebooks for many careers
including cosmetology, nursing, civil service and many more. If you are going
back to school, there are practice entrance exams for community colleges,
undergraduate and graduate programs. It also includes undergrad and grad
school program searches and a scholarship search! There are great articles and
checklists for getting ready to go back to school.
Like
Career Transitions, Testing and Education Reference Center also includes a
resume builder where you can create and manage multiple resumes during your job
search. It also has a Virtual Career Library with tutorials to walk you
through the career-seeking process - from searching for jobs, to preparing
resumes and cover letters, and negotiating job conditions. Learn how to find a
new career, land the job, and thrive in your new position.
Users
are required to sign up for an account to use the resources provided in this
database to track and manage your college search, testing scores and resumes.
TEL
also provides access to a number of magazines, trade publications and
newspapers to help you keep up to date in your current or potential field
through the Vocations
and Career Collection on TEL. The database offers hundreds of current
and applicable periodicals, from general career guides to highly specialized
industry journals.
Computers
and WiFi
If
you need computers or WiFi to create resumes and apply for jobs, you can find
resources at your local public
library (link to: https://tnsos.net/TSLA/PLD/index.php).
Computers for public use and WiFi access are available in Tennessee public
libraries. You can print from these public computers. Laptops and WiFi hotspots can often be borrowed from
your public library. If you need help learning how to use computers, many
public libraries offer many computers classes or web-based training tutorials.
The
Tennessee Electronic Library is excited to offer these resources for free to
Tennessean! Happy job hunting!
The
Tennessee State Library and Archives is a division of the Office of Tennessee
Secretary of State Tre Hargett
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