Tutorials

This video tutorial will demonstrate how to find career information through the library database Ferguson's Career Guidance Center.

To access library databases, click the gray Databases button on the library website.

To access Ferguson's Career Guidance Center, change the subject drop-down to Career & Vocational Guidance. Alternatively, you may scroll down on the main A-Z Databases page to find it alphabetically. To access this database, click its title.

To log in, your username is your SF ID number @sfcollege.edu. On the next screen, enter your college password.

Ferguson's Career Guidance Center supports many aspects of career research, from exploration to preparation, with extensive articles and videos. The search box at the top of the screen allows you to directly search for a career, industry, article, or video.

There are four main areas to explore from the front page: Explore Careers, Plan Your Education, Prepare for Your Career, and Find a Career. Each area has several sections.

First, let's examine the options under Explore Careers.

The Research Industries link provides industry profiles. The default page is Featured Industries, but you may expand to All Industries.

Industry overviews are a broad, high-level approach to career prospects and outlooks within an industry. The first page of an industry profile is the overview. You may click to see other pages within the industry profile, such as the background, structure, and industry outlook.

Click the Cite button to cite this source. There are generated citations in MLA, APA, and Chicago style, although you will need to double-check all citations for accuracy and formatting.

The Browse Professions option provides featured careers, usually in categories, and an option to expand to all professions.

These professional profiles provide an in-depth look at a career, including history, work environment, requirements, prospects, and more. Just like with the industry profiles, you may use the Cite button to cite the information.

The Related Professions option lists other professions related to the one you chose, along with a quick snapshot of their salary, outlook, education levels, and skills.

The Find a Job option searches for jobs posted on Indeed.com matching that career. By default, the search is limited geographically, but you may change that if desired.

The Career Assessment section is useful if you are not yet sure what careers you are interested in. This assessment asks about your interests and provides some possible careers based on your answers.

Finally, the Find a Career Path section provides a variety of articles and videos about how to start planning your future and considering what careers to pursue.

The next area in this database is Plan Your Education. There are three sections within this area.

The School Search section lists more than 4,000 colleges and universities. You may filter these results to different locations and types. The Areas of Study filter might be useful if you are looking for a school that offers a particular degree or major.

The Financial Aid section provides articles on a variety of methods for funding your studies. You may also click the Institutional Aid or Private Aid links to explore scholarships and other specific funding.

Finally, the Education Opportunities section provides articles to help you plan your college experience.

The third area of the database is entitled Prepare for Your Career, and it includes a wealth of useful articles and videos. Simply click one of the topics of interest: resume, cover letter, interviewing, networking, or workplace skills.

The Resume section, for instance, has useful guides and videos, as well as Sample Resumes.

These sample resumes are specialized for different industries and experience levels.

The other sections within the Prepare for Your Career area similarly include helpful videos and articles.

The final area of the database, Find a Career, provides information and allows you to search for internships, apprenticeships and jobs.

The Internships page, for instance, has a mix of videos and articles, along with an Internship Search.

At any point, you may click the three-line icon to see all sections of the database. There is also an additional section of resources for women, minorities, people with disabilities, and by industry.

This concludes the video tutorial on using Ferguson's Career Guidance Center. If you have any questions, please contact a librarian.

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