Career Module for the Gale® Testing and Education Reference Center (TERC)

Career Module for the Gale® Testing and Education Reference Center (TERC)

The Georgetown Public Library has a number of tools to help you solve your job search problems. One of the newest and most powerful tools is the Testing & Education Reference Center with Career Module from GaleCengage. We refer to it as TERC (pronounced turk).

The Career Module of TERC has four key components: the Research Careers Section; the Resume Builder; the Virtual Careers Library; and the Career Colleges Search.

Research Careers contains a section entitled Career Key Assessment™ which is a multiple-choice questionnaire called the Holland Vocational Preference Inventory. Upon completion of the assessment, the responses are used to determine the individual’s type. This Holland Type is then used to provide the individual with recommendations as to the job categories, industries, and occupations for which he or she is most suited. The Holland Vocational Preference Inventory has been used by the U.S. Department of Labor for categorizing jobs relative to interests and has proven to be a very reliable testing instrument. All results can be collected and stored in user-created Personalized Toolboxes on TERC — allowing users to keep the information they need where it can always be found quickly and easily. Research Careers also contains key information on more than 1,100 occupations.

Resume Builder helps users build resumes based on the stage of their career and type of position they are applying for. It has help tools specific to the various types of users including high school students, those transitioning out of the military, and those looking for internships. And just in case you think you won’t need a resume because you’re looking for work in the trades, listen up! In the past, you didn’t often need a resume to apply for so-called blue collar jobs. But today – well, most employers have come to expect a resume. Don’t worry though; Resume Builder has guidance for creating resumes for all job categories. Even if the employer doesn’t require a resume, having one will make you stand out from the rest of the applicants.

Resume Builder has fourteen distinctive resume templates, which is far more than you will find on ordinary word processing software. All that is required is for you to enter your information (if you get stuck, it has over 1,000 phrases to help you get started), choose a design, and Resume Builder formats your resume for you. As you proceed through each section of the resume, Resume Builder will provide pointers on how to showcase your strengths with strategies and advice tailored to your unique background. When you're finished, you'll have a resume in word document format, so you can print and mail it. You'll also be able to email copies of your resume directly to employers and schools. That alone would be great, but Resume Builder also helps you create a matching web resume with just a click of the mouse.

What is a web resume? A web resume is a document that employers can access on the Internet. A well-designed, expertly written web resume will expand your resume's reach and aid in the job search process. You can email your web resume link to potential employers to demonstrate your technical savvy or place it on networking cards and hand them out at job fairs. Best of all, your resume will be available 24/7.

You can create and host a professionally designed web page version of your resume free of charge at the premium address: www.webresume.com/name.html  Using Resume Builder, you can modify the content and design of your web resume without any knowledge of HTML or computers.

Resume Builder can also help ensure that your resume is scan able. What does that mean? In today’s tight job market there may be hundreds or even thousands of applicants for just one job opening, so employers often use software that is preset to determine applicant skills and qualifications and “weed out” those individuals who don’t match the job criteria.

Therefore, it’s essential that you have a resume that is: (a) in a format that can be read by optical character recognition (OCR) software, if the targeted company is using this tool; and (b) contains essential keywords related to the job opening or industry. Keywords are nouns or noun phrases that the software has been programmed to search for. The more keywords or “hits” the software finds in the resume, the more likely the document will be read by the company’s human resources professional or hiring authority. In fact, for some federal job openings, a resume must have a 95% or higher hit rate if the candidate is to be given serious consideration — that is, a moment of the hiring authority’s time, and perhaps even an interview.

Because your resume is such an important part of your job search, Resume Builder goes one step further and provides access to more than one hundred sample resumes to ensure that you equipped to craft the best possible resume.

The Virtual Careers Library is full of useful information and advice on internships, resumes and cover letters, job interviews, salary negotiation, the entire job search process. There is something for everyone whether you’re a recent graduate and need advice on how to downplay your lack of experience or you’re looking for a job overseas and the potential employer wants you to provide a curriculum vitae.

Career Colleges Search provides access to a database of over 1,000 accredited colleges, universities, and trade schools that offer career-specific education options for students seeking entry into trades, occupations, or professions. This section provides advice and information on such topics as: choosing the right school; checking accreditation; or even, deciding whether or not distance learning is the right option for you.

So how do you access this goldmine? It’s easy – go directly to the catalog homepage at https://georgetown.biblionix.com/atoz/catalog/ , then sign on to your library account using the number on the back of your library card and the phone number that is on your library account. Once you’ve opened your account, just minimize that screen so that you can again view the catalog homepage and scroll to the bottom of the page where you’ll find the icons for the remote access databases. Click on the icon for Testing & Education Reference Center. Once TERC has opened up, locate the Career Tools section on right hand side of the page, under the subsection Other, you’ll find links to all four of the sections, just click on whichever one you want, it’s easy peasy! If you’re using your own computer don’t forget to save your password and ID so that next time you won’t have to dig out that library card. If you need any help with this or any of our databases, call Reference at 930-3627.