California Libraries Offer Career Transitions Resource to Help Citizens Find New Careers

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich., Nov. 16, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to help California's citizens find new career opportunities, and unemployed and displaced workers find new jobs, nearly 800 library locations in the state are now using  Career Transitions, an advanced career service tool purchased by libraries and offered free to patrons. Career Transitions, developed by Gale, part of Cengage Learning, is a complete, guided, self-paced program that walks individuals through the five major steps of the employment process, and aims to improve the user's chance of getting a new job. Importantly, Career Transitions is designed to help everyone, even those with no experience using technology.

"Career research is the number one use of public libraries today, and Career Transitions was created to help library patrons find the career information they need in one complete, guided package," said David Forman, business products publisher of Gale, Cengage Learning. "By leveraging our Gale resources, we have been able to create a program that goes beyond just helping people redo a resume; it also includes helpful statistics and trends to help people make smart, educated career moves into thriving job markets."

Career Transitions users begin by creating a personal account, which will keep track of their activities and progress as they access Career Transitions from the library or their homes. They are then guided through the following five categories of activities: Discover My Interests matches occupational interests with career paths; Explore Careers provides detailed information on the fastest growing careers and industries in a location and around the country; Prepare Resume helps build resumes and cover letters, and apply for jobs; Improve My Chances offers targeted tips and advice on topics such as networking, interviewing and applying, and offers access to educational programs to brush up on skills; and Find Jobs helps users focus their job search to find opportunities from across the country that meet their criteria. The activities within these five categories are tailored to fit each individual's career interests and training needs. Further, Career Transitions is equipped with easy-to-use integrated tools and features including, but not limited to:

• Step-by-step guidance for users of all levels of experience and technical savvy
• Comprehensive job search that covers all of the major job boards and the hidden job market
• Resume builder, cover letter creator and job application wizard
• Assessment engine that identifies career interests and employment requirements
• Tool for exploring, comparing and targeting careers, industries and locations
• Interviewing, networking and job application tips
• Information on related associations, companies and news for each career and industry
• Opportunities to identify and take adult education distance learning classes to enhance employment prospects
• Access to information on unemployment services, health benefits and other social services
• A tool for libraries to add information on events and education opportunities in their communities

In addition to being free of charge in these California libraries, Career Transitions offers localized content specific to the state. This includes information on, and access to, the state websites for unemployment insurance, social services, and Medicaid; details on current state employment levels and projected state growth for approximately 1,000 careers and 1,200 industries; and job searching targeted to California.  

"California's economy was hit hard across the state, and as a result, our libraries have seen a constant stream of community members looking for help and guidance as they search for a new job or career," said Rosario Garza, Executive Director, Southern California Library Cooperative. "We chose to use our recent government grant to offer patrons the Career Transitions resource, which guides them through the entire career transition process – from resume preparation to career guidance. This type of one-on-one help is often the missing piece that many job seekers need when they are looking to change industries or make a major career switch."  

Because Career Transitions leverages Cengage Learning's Gale resources, the program is also able to include important information on companies, associations and latest news for each career and industry. This can include statistics on employment trends, which careers and industries are flourishing or declining, best employment prospects for a particular market, statistics on earnings for a particular field, and more.  Everything in Career Transitions is organized around simple-to-navigate portals that combine overviews with statistical information and Web tools to help patrons make well-planned career choices.

For more information on Career Transitions please visit: http://www.gale.cengage.com/careertransitions/public.htm

About Cengage Learning and Gale

Cengage Learning is a leading provider of innovative teaching, learning and research solutions for the academic, professional and library markets worldwide. Gale, part of Cengage Learning, serves the world's information and education needs through its vast and dynamic content pools, which are used by students and consumers in their libraries, schools and on the Internet. It is best known for the accuracy, breadth and convenience of its data, addressing all types of information needs – from homework help to health questions to business profiles – in a variety of formats. For more information, visit www.cengage.com or www.gale.com.

SOURCE Cengage Learning