A career search starts before you write a resume and begin applying for jobs. Searching for a career also includes identifying your skills and interests, considering what you value and enjoy doing, and exploring different careers to learn what type of training and education they might require. The resources and tools in this section will help you start to identify possible careers pathways and the ways to enter and advance in them. Whether you are entering the workforce for the first time, shifting to a new career, or reentering the workforce following an extended absence, these tools will help you start exploring your options.
Some resources are specific to El Paso County and Colorado while others are more general.
Choosing a career can feel overwhelming. There are so many careers available, and narrowing it down to just one can be tough. Career assessments are surveys or tests given to see how a person's personality, interests, skills, and values align with certain careers. Essentially, you take a career assessment and it will give you several options of careers that might be good for you.
Are you looking for a short assessment to help you get started for the first time? Do you have time to take a longer, more in-depth assessment?
There are four major types of career assessments: personality tests, interest inventories, skills assessments, and value assessments. Each of the assessments listed below can help you find careers that match your interests or skills.
Learn more about the different types of assessments:
- What is an assessment?
- Interest assessment
- Skills assessment
- Work values
Rate your skills from Beginner to Expert in 40 categories. You'll be able to see occupation titles that match your skills as well as wages, education requirements and employment outlook for each title.
CAREERwise Interest Assessment. Indicate your interest level in a variety of activities. View your Interest Profile and explore a list of related careers and majors.
16 Personalities. Only 10 minutes to get a “freakishly accurate” description of who you are and why you do things the way you do.
Workforce Atlas. Start with the “job interests” assessment, after that, you will unlock other assessments to rate your work, reading, and number skills.
The Colorado Springs Workforce Asset Map (WAM!) is a “one stop,” free, online tool that helps job seekers, employers, and students identify and easily access workforce-related resources within the Colorado Springs region. WAM! has three very clear options for locating resources - Student, Job Seeker, and Employer.
The Pikes Peak Workforce Center is the American Job Center serving El Paso and Teller counties. They connect vital businesses with work-ready job seekers and employer-driven services. Their clients range from entry-level to professional, including youth, adults, people returning to the workforce, and those with barriers to employment. Veterans have priority for all PPWFC services.
**CONTACT THE PPWFC BY PHONE TO DETERMINE THE BEST WAY TO RECEIVE SERVICES**
Directory: https://ppwfc.org/contact-us/
Address: 1675 Garden of the Gods Rd., Colorado Springs, CO 80907
Phone: (719) 667-3700
My Colorado Journey is a free service that connects job seekers and students to careers, education planning and support resources through a guided process that drives action and goal completion. It includes tools like Careers in Colorado (pathways for Colorado's growing industries), Money 101, Interest Surveys, and much more.
My Colorado Journey makes it easy to evaluate career and program options, set goals and take the steps needed to achieve them, whether you’re an adult switching careers, a high school student choosing a next adventure or a military veteran transitioning into civilian life.
This site is supported by Talent Found, Colorado Department of Higher Education, Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Colorado Workforce Development Council, and Colorado Department of Human Services Child Welfare Division.
O*NET OnLine has detailed descriptions of the world of work for use by job seekers, workforce development and HR professionals, students, researchers, and more! O*NET is a great tool for career exploration and job analysis.
The O*NET database includes information on skills, abilities, knowledges, work activities, and interests associated with occupations. This information can be used for career exploration, vocational counseling, and a variety of human resources functions.
Job seekers use O*NET to:
My Next Move is an interactive tool for job seekers and students to learn more about their career options. My Next Move has tasks, skills, salary information, and more for over 900 different careers. Users can find careers through keyword search; by browsing industries that employ different types of workers; or through the O*NET Interest Profiler, a tool that offers personalized career suggestions based on a person's interests and level of work experience.
CareerOneStop is the flagship career, training, and job search website for the U.S. Department of Labor. The website serves job seekers, businesses, students, and career advisors with a variety of free online tools, information and resources. It also connects you to the local American Job Center, the Pikes Peak Workforce Center.
Want a career instead of a job?
Career Boost will get you started in manufacturing, IT, or child development with training classes, even without a High School diploma.
Classes Feature:
What you need to start:
This is a Google Applied Digital Skills video based learning path that will take you through the steps necessary to create and follow through with a job search plan. By the end of the lesson, learners will
Time to complete: 4 - 8 hours