Career, Major and Vocation Exploration
Finding Purpose in Your Career at Saint Xavier University
At Saint Xavier University, rooted in the Mercy tradition and committed to fostering
lives of purpose and service, we believe your career journey should reflect more than
just a resume—it should reflect who you are and what you stand for.
VOCATION
The Career Development Center champions (in addition to finding a profession) finding
a vocation— a personal calling to live and work with intention, integrity, and meaning. Vocation
is who you are called to be and what you are called to do across all the parts of
your life – not only in professional work, but also in your family and friendships,
community engagements, relationship with the earth, search for meaning, and pursuit
of justice. It’s living your life on purpose, directed toward both your personal
flourishing and the common good.
Key Questions to Ask Yourself when considering your Profession and Vocation:
What issues or challenges in the world move me to take action?
When have I felt most alive, motivated, or proud of my work?
How does my major help me serve or improve the lives of others?
What do I want my work to say about me?
How do I define a “successful” life?
IKIGAI
One way to discover your purpose or calling is to use the Japanese concept of Ikigai, meaning "a reason for being."
To identify their Ikigai, we ask the following four questions:
- What do you love?
- What does the world need?
- What are you good at?
- What can you get paid for?
NetVUE: Callings Podcast
Looking for answers to where you fit in the world? Saint Xavier University partner
NetVue offers a series of insightful, engaging podcasts that discuss meaning and belonging
in the workforce. Feel free to check those out below.
TED Talks for thoughtful moments
Have a minute? Here is an inspiring list to get your ideas going!
Exploratory Resources
Use the My Next Move Interest Profiler assessment to determine your top three occupational themes and explore occupations within six categories, e.g. Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional.
The Four-Year SUCCESS Plan outlines academic and career development initiatives that students can complete while in school to make themselves stand out to peers both on their resume and in interviews.
16 Personalities is a free online assessment that will provide you with an accurate description of who you are and why you do the things you do. These results may be helpful in understanding major and career fit based on personality.
The CliftonStrengths assessment helps individuals identify their strengths and connect these to a possible major or career. There is a fee ($19.99) associated with this assessment.
O*NET (Occupational Information Network) is a free online database that can be used to explore information about careers, industry, and positions including the skills and knowledge needed as well as job outlook.
The Occupational Outlook Handbook by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics details information about specific careers and industries including salary information.
CareerMatch contains resources for nearly all career development needs including job search, networking, resume writing, and industry information.
Job Shadow contains information and videos which allow individuals to shadow professionals in a variety of career pathways.
The Illinois Career Information System is an internet site that provides individuals with tools for career planning. There are several components to this free site including career assessments as well as information regarding occupations, employment, education and training. User ID = Illinois | Password = careers
Saint Xavier University partnered with CareerSpring to provide our first-generation college students with career information and resources, a network of professional contacts across various industries, and access to employment opportunities.
My Next Move is an exploratory tool for students to learn about potential careers and industries. Undecided students might find this tool helpful when narrowing down a major.
Additional Help
For more information about major and career exploration, please refer to the Career Readiness Guide. You can also schedule an appointment with a career advisor through Navigate to help you navigate various career pathways, choose a major, or change your major.