Changing Careers?

If you are looking for a new career direction, the Evanston Public Library can help you discover and develop new skills.  You can also find books to help build your resume and write cover letters.   We offer career counseling, resume and cover letter books, word processing help, and more. 

Career Counseling

Meet with an experienced career counselor for a half-hour session on the second Monday or the last Thursday of every month.  Get help with your resume or cover letters, find out what you can do to improve your interviewing skills, or ask any questions you have about the job search process.  Call the Reference Desk, at 847-448-8630, to schedule your appointment, or send an Instant Message whenever the library is open.

Find a New Direction

The Evanston Public Library has resources that will help you discover what your new path might be.  What Color is Your Parachute?, by Richard Bolles, remains the most popular book for helping people to choose the work they love.  You may also want to try some of these resources to help you make the right career decision.

 Learn about careers

Once you know what career path interests you, search the Evanston Public Library catalog for |Vocational Guidance AND <your career choice >| We have books on fields from accounting to zookeeping.  A one-stop guide to occupations is the Encyclopedia of Careers and Vocational Guidance, a five-volume set that can be found in the Reference Department. This set provides  snapshots of occupations, including job descriptions, salary ranges, educational requirements and working conditions.  The U.S. Government's site, O*Net Online, is also a good source for information about thousands of occupations. 

 Create Resumes and Cover Letters 

Evanston Public Library has hundreds of books that can help you create the perfect resume for your job search.   Also, there are many useful websites for resume creation, including the Riley Guide, CareerOneStop's resume page, and more.  Here are some resume writing resources that you can try.

"Cover letters provide opportunities that résumés don't to inject your personality," says Katharine Hansen, Ph.D., author of Dynamic cover letters : how to write the letter that gets you the job.   Websites like the Riley Guide, CareerOneStop, and JobStar also have advice and templates for cover letter writing. 

You can also find resume and cover letter writing help in the Job Search and Workplace Skills section of Learning Express Library.  Use Learning Express from home if you have an Evanston Public Library card, or use it any any internet station in the library if you are not a card holder.

Online Resume/Job Application Help

If you need help with word processing your resume or cover letter, the Evanston Public Library also offers a Drop-in Computer Lab every Wednesday and Thursday, from 6 to 7 pm.  Tutors are available to help you use Microsoft Word and email.  Call the Reference Desk at 847-448-8630 for more information.  (Please

note: tutors are not career counselors and are not qualified to create or critique your resume/cover letter.)