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CAP Job Search Tutorial: Occupational Research

This tutorial is for CAP students completing the Job Search Assignment at Seneca College.

What is Occupational Research?

An important step in preparing to enter the workforce is to identify and understand the job position and the job that you are targeting. Once you identify your occupation, you will need to conduct occupational research. The more you understand an occupation the more informed your career decision will be. Learning about the career you have chosen can help you decide if the job is a good match for you, including whether or not you have the ideal skills and experience for it.  Conducting occupational research consists of exploring your occupation and gathering information about it, including:

  • Job description
  • Experience and skills, e.g. personal qualifications, abilities
  • Education and training
  • Employment outlook and prospects, such as employment demand, projected job openings, proportion of full time work and part-time work, future trends, etc.
  • Wage or salary range

Selected Resources:

National Occupational Classification (NOC) — provides job titles and NOC codes; describes duties and educational requirements.

Ontario's Labour Market — provides information about main duties, employment prospects and more.

►Government of Canada Job Bank — provides information on job postings, occupation wages, current and future labour market conditions (also called projections, or “outlook and prospects”), educational requirements, and more.

Career Cruising — this is a Seneca Libraries database which provides Canadian career information on over 450 careers; provides job descriptions, working conditions, main duties, interviews, and more. You will need to sign in with your username and password to access this database.