Initial Interview

Every person is an individual and the course of action that you follow will be customized to fit your specific reasons for seeking career guidance. The initial interview is probably the core piece of the career development process because your personal action plan will be based on the information gathered at this session.

During the initial interview, we identify your previous accomplishments and explore your career aspirations.  Working together, we establish your strengths and areas that may present challenges. The interview lasts from 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Together we explore your academic background, employment history and identify exactly what it is you need to accomplish to move closer to your career goal(s). The outcome of the initial interview will lay the groundwork for the work that we will do together at CCO.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Strong Interest Inventory Career Reports

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Strong Interest Inventory Profile are two of the oldest and most reliable assessments available today. Both assessments have been used for more than 40 years to help people find rewarding careers in a broad range of occupational areas.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assessment helps you to identify the way that you naturally interact in your environment, process information and make decisions.  It has been used for more than 60 years to help people become more satisfied and successful in their careers.  It is a valuable tool that can help you understand how your personality type affects your career choices and development.

This report can help you:

  • Identify job families or broad occupational categories
  • Choose a specific job or career
  • Select a college major or course of study
  • Identify strengths and potential weaknesses for the career search process
  • Increase your job satisfaction
  • Make a career transition or shift
  • Plan your career development strategy and action steps

The Strong Interest Inventory is a tested assessment that can help you make satisfying decisions about your career and education.  Whether you are just starting out in your career, thinking about a change, or considering educational options for career preparation, you can benefit from the information reflected in your Strong results.  It is important to point out that the Strong measures interests, not skills or abilities, and that the results can help guide you toward rewarding careers, work activities, education programs and leisure activities.

This report will help you identify occupational areas of interest and enable you to:

  • Achieve satisfaction in your work
  • Identify career options consistent with your interests
  • Choose appropriate education and training relevant to your interests
  • Maintain balance between your work and leisure activities
  • Understand aspects of your personality most closely associated with your interests
  • Determine your preferred learning environments
  • Learn about your preferences for leadership, risk taking and teamwork
  • Use interests in shaping your career direction
  • Decide on a focus for your future
  • Direct your own career exploration at various stages of your life.

Both of these assessments are taken online and the results of each assessment will be used to generate a customized Career Report for you. This Career Report is an extremely helpful tool whether you are trying to choose the right college major or transitioning into another occupational field. A CCO Career Specialist will translate the results and help you to understand how to use your Career Report in the Career Planning process, both now and in the future.

Review Results of Career Reports and Categorize Career Options

This session usually takes about 90 minutes and leaves you with a specific assignment to help you achieve the next level. During this session, we thoroughly examine the results of your Career Report. While identifying job families and broad occupational categories, we begin to select career possibilities and specific occupational areas that match your interests, as well as your existing skill levels and abilities.  We will also explore educational and training needs to accomplish your goals, and research where you can find the training you will need to move forward. in your career… Together, we will establish the goals and action steps that are needed to achieve your desired career goals and start to compose an action plan.

Additional Meetings

Additional meetings may be scheduled at the request of the client or at the recommendation of the career specialist.