Maria José (MJ) Hidalgo Flores, M.S. is an Assistant Director of Undergraduate Career Education & Development at the UCLA Career Center and Founder of Career Confidence. In this episode, MJ unpacks the question of “How do I figure out the right career for me?” From different types of career assessments, how you should evaluate career assessment results, and whether you should turn your passion into a job, MJ shares insights on various topics related to career exploration and career selection. Choosing a career path can be a scary and overwhelming process and with that, I hope this episode can give you some guidance on where to start and what questions you should ask yourself as you embark on your career journey.

📃Resources mentioned in the episode:

Free Career Assessments:

• O*Net Interest Profiler: https://www.mynextmove.org/explore/ip
• 16 Personalities Assessment: https://www.16personalities.com/

Paid Career Assessments:

• Strong Interest Inventory: https://www.themyersbriggs.com/en-US/Products-and-Services/Strong
• Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: https://www.mbtionline.com/?gclid=CjwKCAjwyY6pBhA9EiwAMzmfwVbiD041CnvyBaWJ3zxa0ANDm23-LtRH0Npjgy2cCM7uXe2l7IIQYhoCnG0QAvD_BwE
• Clifton Strengths: https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/252137/home.aspx

Topics we discussed (See below for timestamps):

✔What are the different career assessments available?

✔How should you interpret the results of a career assessment?

✔How to choose a career if you have too many interests

✔Questions to ask yourself to guide you through career exploration

✔Different perceptions of jobs

✔Should you turn your passion into a job?

✔How to create your own career path/journey

✋Have a career question you would like answered? Fill out this survey!

👉Career question form: https://forms.gle/WRue3xxNyuY3oigZ6

📽YouTube: @Career Explorer's Guide

📷Instagram: @career.explorers.guide

😄TikTok: @career.explorers.guide

💼LinkedIn: @Career Explorer’s Guide

✉Email: career.explorers.guide@gmail.com

🎙About the Podcast:

Career Explorer’s Guide is a podcast that guides students through career exploration and professional development. Listen in to various professionals sharing how they chose their career paths along with actionable advice on resume building, career pivoting, choosing a major, interviewing, networking and much more. Let’s embark on this career journey together!

Music: @CAS

Armine Kulikyan, M.S. is an Assistant Director of Undergraduate Career Education & Development at the UCLA Career Center and Founder of CareeRise. In this episode, Armine shares tips on how to best prepare for internship recruiting season. From sharing the benefits of going to a career fair, to how to best market yourself to recruiters at a career fair, to how to effectively build your LinkedIn & Handshake profile, Armine shares numerous insights on applying to internships.

Get more advice from Armine on her website and her Instagram.

Topics we discussed:

• When is the recruiting season?
• Should you apply to internships even if you don’t have that much experience?
• How to manage your time between school and applying to internships
• Benefits of going to a career fair
• How to best market yourself to recruiters through an elevator pitch
• How to effectively build your LinkedIn and Handshake profile
• How to deal with rejections
• Balancing professionalism and showcasing your personality

Have a career question you would like answered? Fill out this survey!

Career question form: https://forms.gle/WRue3xxNyuY3oigZ6

Make sure to check out our other platforms!

YouTube: @Career Explorer's Guide

Instagram: @career.explorers.guide

TikTok: @career.explorers.guide

Email: career.explorers.guide@gmail.com

Music: @CAS

Daisha McDaniel is a diversity, equity, and inclusion talent integration advisor at Activision Blizzard. In this episode, Daisha shares her diverse experiences (interning in the human resources department, doing a marketing rotational program, working at a bank, supporting an entertainment lawyer, and more) and how each step led to where she is today. Throughout her story, Daisha shares the importance of trying out new roles and how to best market yourself to employers.

Resources mentioned in the episode:

• Adfellows marketing rotational program

Topics we discussed:

• Daisha’s undergrad experience (studying communication with a concentration in entertainment studies) and wanting to go into entertainment law
• Pivoting into new career paths through the guidance of mentors
• Challenges of finding a job after receiving her MBA
• What’s a rotational program and do you do in a rotational program?
• How she got into DEI
• The value of trying out different roles even if you think you would not enjoy them
• Importance of learning how to market your experiences and skills to employers

Have a career question you would like answered? Fill out this survey!

Career question form: https://forms.gle/WRue3xxNyuY3oigZ6

Make sure to check out our other platforms!

YouTube: @Career Explorer's Guide

Instagram: @career.explorers.guide

TikTok: @career.explorers.guide

Email: career.explorers.guide@gmail.com

Career question form: https://forms.gle/WRue3xxNyuY3oigZ6

Music: @CAS