Lesson 1 of 13 | Orientation
Learn what this course will help you accomplish.
Expand a section to read it. Follow the sections in order, or reopen any section you want to review.
You do not need to have your career figured out before you begin. This course helps you use Career Navigator to explore possibilities, select meaningful goals, and decide what to do next.
This is a free, read-only course. There are no course accounts, graded quizzes, or required submissions. Keep reflections in your own notes.
A useful starting plan, not a permanent career decision. The tool supplies personalized resources; this course helps you understand and apply them.
You understand the purpose of the course and have a place to keep your notes.
Have a place for your notes, then explore the course navigation.
Read the action stepsLesson 2 of 13 | Framework
Understand how the factors in your career plan influence one another.
Expand a section to read it. Follow the sections in order, or reopen any section you want to review.
Explore the dedicated ConsultaPedia Career Framework page.
Your interests, education, experience, skills, goals, relationships and actions form a continuous development cycle. Begin where you are now, whether you are studying, working, transitioning, seeking advancement or considering entrepreneurship.
Public resources: You can read this framework and use its public resource links without logging in.
Institutional features: Saved results, campus peer networking, campus-expert referrals and applicable faculty management require login and access through a subscribing institution. Open the institutional login page.
If you are not logged in, you can still develop a portfolio and maintain networking records using public resources and your own documents.
Select a component to open its explanation and automatically go to its heading.
Your career-development activities influence one another. Your interests and life circumstances help guide your career choices, while education and experience build your skills, specializations, and accomplishments. Career exploration and reliable occupational information help you compare options, and employer research helps you identify preparation needs and relevant contributions you can make. Career Navigator and action planning connect your long-term direction with practical short-term goals. Your accomplishment portfolio supports applications, interviews, and direct employer outreach, while networking, mentors, and appropriate support services provide information, feedback, and connections. You can also apply these foundations to freelancing or business ownership. New experiences and outcomes help you reassess your goals and adjust your next steps
Use Component Interrelationships below to understand these connections. Each bullet explains how one part of the framework relates to the others. Select Show details for practical actions, examples, and ConsultaPedia resource links, or select a component in the diagram to open its explanation and go directly to that bullet. You do not need to work through every component at once.
What this includes: Your interests, values, strengths, work preferences, location, finances, caregiving responsibilities and accessibility needs help you judge whether a direction fits your life. Interest assessment suggests possibilities, but does not evaluate every personal circumstance.
How the components interrelate: Experience can reveal new interests. Your circumstances shape training choices and realistic goals. Occupational research tests whether appealing work also fits your practical needs.
Actions and guidance: Compare what you enjoy with the time, money and preparation each option requires. Discuss uncertainties with a mentor or appropriate specialist.
Example and practical connection: If you enjoy solving operational problems but cannot attend daytime classes, explore related roles and flexible training.
ConsultaPedia resources: Careers Test; Career Development Guide.
What this includes: Degrees, majors, certificates, licenses, courses, apprenticeships, employer training and ongoing learning build knowledge and abilities.
How the components interrelate: Research identifies preparation needs; long-term goals provide direction; short-term goals organize learning. Practical experience tests and strengthens what you learn.
Actions and guidance: Compare existing qualifications with target-role requirements before committing to another degree. Verify program and licensing requirements with the relevant provider.
Example and practical connection: A supervisor may need targeted finance training and a stretch assignment rather than an entirely new degree.
ConsultaPedia resources: Academic Majors; Education Experience; Guided Pathway; Career Development Guide.
What this includes: Employment, military service, internships, projects, volunteering, leadership, research and business activity provide practical experience. Accomplishments document your contribution and results.
How the components interrelate: Experience reveals skills and interests, informs goals and supplies evidence for your accomplishment portfolio. New opportunities generate additional experience that restarts the cycle.
Actions and guidance: Record the situation, your action, observed result and supporting evidence. Separate your contribution from team results and protect confidential information.
Example and practical connection: An employee who improves onboarding can describe that result for operations, training or supervisory opportunities without changing the facts.
ConsultaPedia resources: Qualifications Brief and Cover Letter; Career Change; Military-to-Civilian Match; Career Development Guide.
What this includes: Coworkers, supervisors, clients, suppliers, peers, faculty, alumni, mentors, recruiters and associations can share information, feedback and opportunities.
How the components interrelate: Contacts help interpret research, assess training options and review goals. Your networking practice determines how relationships grow and remain useful to both parties.
Actions and guidance: Identify people with relevant experience and prepare focused questions. Offer appropriate help rather than treating every contact as a referral request.
Example and practical connection: A former colleague may explain a new industry and introduce you to someone who can assess transferable skills.
ConsultaPedia resources: Networking Skills Playbook and Action Plan; Relationship Roadmap; Career Navigator.
What this includes: Begin with interests, a major, educational attainment, military background, work history, a pathway, keywords, broad categories or occupational codes.
How the components interrelate: Exploration produces candidate occupations for deeper research. Research may lead you back to broaden or narrow your search before setting goals.
Actions and guidance: Use the entry method that matches what you know now. Compare several occupations rather than treating one match as a final decision.
Example and practical connection: A career changer can begin with a current title, compare related roles and investigate their preparation requirements.
ConsultaPedia resources: Careers Test; Academic Majors; Education Experience; Military-to-Civilian Match; Career Change; Guided Pathway; Keyword Search; Broad Category; SOC Selection; Virtual or Work-from-home Careers.
What this includes: Specialization combines knowledge, technical skills, software proficiency, credentials and experience. Transferable skills may support multiple roles.
How the components interrelate: Education develops abilities; accomplishments demonstrate them. Research identifies gaps; goals determine which gaps deserve attention.
Actions and guidance: Compare documented evidence with target-role expectations. A related-occupation match is an exploration lead, not proof of qualification.
Example and practical connection: Military logistics experience may support inventory or operations work, but each employer may require additional credentials or software experience.
ConsultaPedia resources: Career Change; Military-to-Civilian Match; Keyword Search; Qualifications Brief and Cover Letter.
What this includes: Research duties, activities, knowledge, software, preparation, wages, outlook, certifications and related occupations. Employer research adds company priorities, customers and competitive differences.
How the components interrelate: Research informs skills, goals and application materials. Informational interviews help clarify findings; portfolio evidence helps determine which employer needs you can credibly address.
Actions and guidance: Distinguish occupational summaries from employer requirements. Verify inferred company needs and location-specific licensing requirements.
Example and practical connection: Comparing job postings and professional interviews may reveal that a software skill is more urgent than another academic credential.
ConsultaPedia resources: Keyword Search; Broad Category; SOC Selection; Qualifications Brief and Cover Letter; Career Development Guide.
What this includes: Immediate milestones include courses, credentials, projects, accomplishment statements, informational interviews, applications and follow-up.
How the components interrelate: Short-term goals build toward long-term direction. Completing a milestone creates evidence, experience or relationships that can change your next priority.
Actions and guidance: Choose a specific action, intended result and review date. Consider available time and resources when sequencing tasks.
Example and practical connection: Replace “change careers” with “compare three related occupations and speak with one professional this month.”
ConsultaPedia resources: Career Navigator; Career Development Guide; Networking Skills Playbook and Action Plan.
What this includes: Your direction may involve an occupation, income, responsibility, leadership, advanced education, transition, consulting or business ownership.
How the components interrelate: Long-term goals guide learning, specialization, experience and networking. Short-term milestones provide progress; new evidence can justify changing the destination.
Actions and guidance: Treat a long-term goal as a direction to investigate, not a guarantee. Review feasibility and personal fit as circumstances evolve.
Example and practical connection: A management goal may require supervisory experience and financial knowledge, acquired through several smaller milestones.
ConsultaPedia resources: Career Navigator; Education Experience; ConsultaPedia Mentor Business Tools.
What this includes: Your Profile Folder can hold accomplishment blurbs, work samples, credentials, feedback and short challenge-action-result stories from work, military, education or personal activities.
How the components interrelate: It converts experience into evidence for resumes, qualifications briefs, interviews and mentoring. Employer research determines which evidence to emphasize.
Actions and guidance: Build blurbs incrementally and update them regularly. Tailor emphasis to the opportunity without exaggerating results or exposing confidential material.
Example and practical connection: The same training accomplishment can emphasize sales support for one employer and employee development for another.
ConsultaPedia resources: Qualifications Brief and Cover Letter; Career Development Guide.
What this includes: Practice introductions, personalized outreach, informational interviews, contribution, thank-you messages, contact tracking and respectful follow-up.
How the components interrelate: Goals give conversations purpose; research improves questions; accomplishment stories explain your background. Contact feedback can reshape goals and preparation.
Actions and guidance: Record useful context and an appropriate next action. Respect communication preferences and avoid assuming every relationship leads to employment.
Example and practical connection: After acting on a mentor’s suggestion, send a short progress update and acknowledge how the advice helped.
ConsultaPedia resources: Networking Skills Playbook and Action Plan; Relationship Roadmap; Career Navigator.
What this includes: Prepare resumes, qualifications briefs, cover letters, LinkedIn materials and interview responses for advertised openings or appropriate direct outreach.
How the components interrelate: Research identifies relevant needs; your portfolio supplies evidence; contacts may review positioning. Employer responses feed reassessment.
Actions and guidance: Follow employer submission instructions. Explain your contribution, why the organization interests you and a reasonable next step.
Example and practical connection: Adapt a documented process-improvement blurb for a specific employer while preserving accurate job titles and results.
ConsultaPedia resources: Qualifications Brief and Cover Letter; Career Development Guide; Job Search; Relationship Roadmap.
What this includes: Entrepreneurship includes freelancing, consulting, starting a business or improving an enterprise. It is optional, not a required stage.
How the components interrelate: Skills, experience, relationships and research inform an offering. Customer feedback, operations and financing decisions can change goals, staffing, preparation and strategy.
Actions and guidance: Use Business Model Innovation, Customer Analysis, CRM, Sustainable Competitive Advantage, Web Segmentation and HR Opportunity Review for foundations. Use SWOT, Business Change & Strategy Planner and Advanced Positioning for periodic alignment; Change Analysis for improvement. Legal Structure, Job Analysis, HR Qualifications, Precedence Matrix, Scenario Planning, Negotiating Style and Loan Amortization support particular decisions.
Example and practical connection: Discuss tool findings with business mentors, SBDC advisors, accountants, attorneys or lenders when specialized advice is needed. Customer Analysis is semiannual; other tools follow their listed cadence or decision need.
ConsultaPedia resources: ConsultaPedia Mentor Business Tools.
What this includes: Pursue employment, internships, apprenticeships, promotion, internal assignments, freelance work or a business launch.
How the components interrelate: Application preparation communicates your evidence; networks offer insight and introductions; goals help select opportunities. Outcomes create new experience and feedback.
Actions and guidance: Use relevant titles and locations in job searches, verify vacancies and track applications or proposals. The tools do not guarantee placement.
Example and practical connection: An interview without an offer can still clarify missing evidence or preparation and improve the next application.
ConsultaPedia resources: Job Search; Virtual or Work-from-home Careers; Qualifications Brief and Cover Letter; ConsultaPedia Mentor Business Tools.
What this includes: Review new experience, feedback, changing interests, life circumstances, market conditions and progress toward goals.
How the components interrelate: Reflection updates self-assessment, skills, research, portfolio evidence, networking priorities and both goal sets. It closes the feedback loop.
Actions and guidance: At a planned checkpoint or major change, identify what worked, what remains uncertain and one concrete adjustment. You do not need to restart every tool.
Example and practical connection: A new assignment may reveal a leadership interest, while customer feedback may change an entrepreneur’s service offering.
ConsultaPedia resources: Career Navigator; Career Development Guide; Relationship Roadmap.
What this includes: O*NET, BLS, CareerOneStop, job-search links and curated career resources support exploration and preparation. Resource categories include videos, resumes, job descriptions, interviews, step-by-step guidance and LinkedIn.
How the components interrelate: Videos help picture work; job descriptions clarify expectations; resume and interview resources support communication; networking materials support relationships. Evidence informs every planning stage.
Actions and guidance: Check relevance, dates and source limitations. Wage estimates are not offers, occupational requirements are not identical across employers, and search links do not guarantee active vacancies.
Example and practical connection: A librarian, mentor or career professional can help interpret conflicting information before you commit to training.
ConsultaPedia resources: Career Resources and Data Sources; Keyword Search; Career Development Guide.
What this includes: Institutional Dashboard features include saved tool results, reusable exploration pages, peer networking, email templates, campus-expert guidance, referral workflows and applicable faculty management. Login and access through a subscribing institution are required.
How the components interrelate: Saved results support focused guidance requests. Advisors connect goals with programs; instructors and tutors support skills; librarians support research; career staff assist applications; accessibility, financial-aid and veterans specialists address their respective needs.
Actions and guidance: If you are not logged in, you can still use public tools and your own documents with independent mentors or community services. Login alone does not establish institutional entitlement. Referral email generation does not mean an appointment or service has been delivered.
Example and practical connection: Complete a tool, organize its results, identify an appropriate specialist and send a specific guidance request through the available Dashboard workflow.
ConsultaPedia resources: Institutional Dashboard Login.
Career Development Guide: Identify interests and skills; explore and prepare; gain experience; network; continue professional development. These five practical steps support the whole framework. Read the complete guide.
If you are interested in operations management, you might identify spreadsheet skills as a useful area to develop. 'Skill Enhancement' might become a short-term goal. Speaking with an operations professional can help you further understand how the skills are used. What you learn may change the education or experience you pursue next.
As your education, experience, career preferences, and goals change, reconsider your career-development tasks. You do not need to understand every relationship at once. The remaining lessons work through them in manageable steps.
You can explain one connection between your background, a goal, and an action that might support it.
Trace one connection between your background, a goal, and an action that could support it.
Read the action stepsLesson 3 of 13 | Orientation
See how your selections connect to your results.
Expand a section to read it. Follow the sections in order, or reopen any section you want to review.
| Stage | Your task | Question to consider |
|---|---|---|
| Background | Select education, experience, and current networking activities. | Where am I starting? |
| Careers | Select broad career categories. | Which areas interest me? |
| Jobs | Search and select specific job titles. | Which roles should I investigate? |
| Goals | Select short-term and long-term goals. | What would I like to accomplish? |
| Results | Review resources, goals, and networking guidance. | What can I do next? |
The course has more lessons than the tool has stages because some decisions deserve their own explanation. Follow the tool's prompts and continuation controls as you work.
Leave this course open for instructions and open Career Navigator in another tab. Changing lessons in this course does not enter or change information in Career Navigator.
You recognize the five stages and understand how to use the course alongside the tool.
Open Career Navigator and locate Background, Careers, Jobs, Goals, and Results. Then return to this lesson.
Read the action stepsLesson 4 of 13 | Background
Choose education and experience that describe your current situation.
Expand a section to read it. Follow the sections in order, or reopen any section you want to review.
Use your current background, not the credentials or work level you hope to attain later. The tool uses education and experience to generate goal recommendations.
The choices range from High School Diploma (or less) through Doctoral Degree (or more), including certification and degree options. Select the level that accurately represents your educational achievement.
The choices are No Prior Work Experience, Internship/Apprenticeship, Entry-Level, Mid-Level, Senior-Level, and Executive-Level. Read the expandable Help before choosing your level.
If you have no prior work experience, select the available option. You do not need to invent experience to explore career possibilities.
The page also includes a Name field. Review that field as you complete your background; the sample results report includes a personalized “Prepared for” heading.
Your education and work experience selections accurately describe your starting point.
In Career Navigator, select the education and work experience that describe your current situation.
Read the action stepsLesson 5 of 13 | Background
Identify what you already do and learn about unfamiliar activities.
Expand a section to read it. Follow the sections in order, or reopen any section you want to review.
The prompt asks for current networking activities. Do not select something only because you would like to try it later.
Each activity has a “Why Do This?” explanation. Use those explanations to understand what the activity involves. If you do not currently network, use the available option.
Networking supports both short-term and long-term goals. For now, describe your current activities. Later, consider which activities could help with a goal you choose to pursue.
Your selections describe your current networking activities, not simply your future intentions.
Review the networking list and select activities you currently participate in.
Read the action stepsLesson 6 of 13 | Careers
Identify broad areas worth exploring without forcing a final decision.
Expand a section to read it. Follow the sections in order, or reopen any section you want to review.
The tool asks you to select all categories that reflect your interests and/or background. A category is a broad area of work, not a single job title.
Business and Financial Operations Careers is a category. The Jobs stage helps you search for specific roles you want to investigate.
Expand category details rather than choosing only by the category name. If you have not identified career preferences, “I Do Not Have Career Preference(s) Yet” is available. Follow the tool's response and prompts for that choice.
Connect your exploration to the framework: interests can suggest areas for specialization, while later research may help you identify education or experience to pursue.
You have identified broad areas to explore or indicated that you have not yet developed a preference.
Review career categories and expand details before choosing areas to explore.
Read the action stepsLesson 7 of 13 | Jobs
Understand the difference between searching and saving job selections.
Expand a section to read it. Follow the sections in order, or reopen any section you want to review.
Your job-interest list is not an employment history. The page allows you to easily make multiple selections that differ from jobs you have held. Focus on your interests, education, and experience.
If you were, for example, to search for “general manager” you will see 13 different job titles. Select the one that fits your needs the best. You do not need to choose every result.
There are two different keyword uses: the initial keyword finds matching titles, and the filter narrows the displayed results. Clicking “Show Results” does not by itself save your selected titles.
You have searched for titles and confirmed that your chosen titles were added to the selected list.
Search for job titles, select relevant results, and click “Make Your Selection(s).”
Read the action stepsLesson 8 of 13 | Jobs
Build a deliberate list that represents your interests.
Expand a section to read it. Follow the sections in order, or reopen any section you want to review.
One keyword may not represent all your interests. Repeat the search-and-selection loop to add different possibilities.
Use “Remove This Job” for an individual title. “Remove All Selections” starts the list over, so use it only when that is your intention.
You do not need to add every related title. Keep titles because you can explain why they are worth investigating.
Your list represents possibilities you can explain and want to investigate.
Review your selected titles, add missing interests, and remove unwanted choices.
Read the action stepsLesson 9 of 13 | Goals
Choose goals that connect your current situation with a desired direction.
Expand a section to read it. Follow the sections in order, or reopen any section you want to review.
Short-term goals focus on immediate actions. Long-term goals require sustained effort and development over time.
Skill Enhancement could be a short-term goal. Leadership Position could be a longer-term direction. Developing a relevant skill can be one step toward that direction, depending on your situation.
Read “Why Do This?” before selecting unfamiliar goals. Use “I Do Not Have Short-Term Goals” or “I Do Not Have Long-Term Goals” when appropriate, then follow the tool's prompts.
Your report will include recommendations based on your education and experience. Review these goals and focus on the ones that best fit your current priorities. Recommendations are options to consider, not requirements to pursue.
Connect this to the framework: a long-term goal can help you identify education, specialization, or experience to explore, while short-term goals give you immediate milestones.
Your selected goals reflect your interests and priorities, rather than a desire to check every option.
Read the goal explanations and select goals that fit your priorities.
Read the action stepsLesson 10 of 13 | Results
Understand the four report sections before reading all the details.
Expand a section to read it. Follow the sections in order, or reopen any section you want to review.
| Section | What to look for |
|---|---|
| 1. Specific Job-Level Resources | Resources associated with selected job titles and further job exploration. |
| 2. Specific Career-Level Resources | Selected career categories and broader exploration resources. |
| 3. Specific Goal Resources | Recommended goals, additional selected goals, reasons, actions, and supporting networking activities. |
| 4. Networking Activity Selection(s) | Selected networking activities, reasons to pursue them, and action steps. |
Your report is based on your selections regarding education, experience, networking activities, career preferences, job title interests, short-term and long-term goals.
First locate the sections. Then choose a useful resource or goal to examine. You can return to other guidance later.
You can locate the four sections and have a copy available for later review.
Locate the four report sections and use the available download control to keep a copy.
Read the action stepsLesson 11 of 13 | Results: Sections 1 and 2
Investigate work and preparation rather than judging a role by its title.
Expand a section to read it. Follow the sections in order, or reopen any section you want to review.
The report directs you to resources for selected jobs and careers and encourages examining education, experience, duties, responsibilities, compensation, and skills.
Your report will include additional resources such as Career Search by Job Title, Job Search & Title Explorer, Career Category Explorer, Career by Education, and Career Change Portal. Use those that match your needs.
| Research question | Notes to keep |
|---|---|
| What does the work involve? | Duties or responsibilities that interest you. |
| What preparation is relevant? | Education, skills, or experience to investigate. |
| What do employers expect? | Requirements found in current listings you examine. |
| What remains unclear? | Questions for further research or a professional conversation. |
Connect this to the framework: what you learn may suggest a specialization or change the education, experience, or goals you want to pursue.
You have learned something about a role beyond its title and identified a next research question.
Investigate one job resource and record what interests you and what you still need to learn.
Read the action stepsLesson 12 of 13 | Results: Sections 3 and 4
Understand how networking can support a specific goal.
Expand a section to read it. Follow the sections in order, or reopen any section you want to review.
Section 3 explains goals through “Reasons to Pursue” and “Actions to Take.” Each goal includes three supporting networking activities and explanations of their connection to the goal.
This short-term goal connects to Attend Industry Events, Join Professional Associations, and Use Mentorship Programs. Consider which route could most help with the skill(s) you want to develop.
Section 3 connects networking activities to a particular goal. Section 4 describes the networking activities you selected earlier. An activity may appear more than once because it supports different goals.
Choose activities that fit your circumstances, availability, and resources. Consider any membership, event, or training costs before committing. You do not need to complete every suggestion.
Connect this to the framework: networking is not a separate task added after career planning. It can support the steps you take toward both short-term and long-term goals.
You can explain a connection between one goal, a practical action, and a supporting networking activity.
Choose one goal and identify an action and networking activity that could support it.
Read the action stepsLesson 13 of 13 | Apply and revisit
Turn your report into a focused plan you can start using.
Expand a section to read it. Follow the sections in order, or reopen any section you want to review.
Choose a manageable starting point. You do not need to pursue every goal at once.
| Planning item | Write your response in your own notes |
|---|---|
| Job or career direction | One possibility to investigate. |
| Priority goal | One goal to begin working toward. |
| Reason | Why this goal matters to you. |
| First action | A specific task you can realistically begin. |
| Networking support | An activity or conversation that can help. |
| Target date | When you intend to take the action. |
| Evidence of progress | How you will know you took the step. |
| Review date | When you will reconsider your plan. |
Goal: Skill Enhancement. Action: identify a suitable spreadsheet course and complete a practice exercise. Networking support: ask an instructor or professional contact which spreadsheet tasks are useful in their work. Review: consider what you learned and what to do next.
Did research change your interests? Did a conversation suggest new preparation? Did experience change your goals? Revisit Career Navigator when your background, preferences, or priorities change. Keep earlier reports if you want to compare how your thinking develops.
Your report is a starting point. Choose a useful action, take it, reflect on what you learn, and adjust your direction.
You have a goal, a first action, supporting networking activity, and a date to review your plan.
Write a focused plan with a goal, first action, networking support, and review date.
Read the action steps
© 2026 - Disclaimer - Privacy