'Compare Tool' to help people make smart career choices

14 September 2011

'Compare Tool' to help people make smart career choices

Comparing two job options just got a whole lot easier with the development of a new online tool by Careers New Zealand.

Careers New Zealand website content manager Bernie Burrell said young people are often faced with either too many or too few career choices and, as a result, they sometimes struggle with weighing up the options and information that’s out there.

But Ms Burrell said Careers New Zealand’s new online Compare Tool would help young people to make some difficult decisions.

“The new tool will allow people to go to our website and compare two jobs outlines from our job database, which has information on more than 600 job profiles. Previously, you had to go back and forth between job outlines, but now Compare lets you see two jobs side by side on screen.”

Ms Burrell said the new tool would allow a young person to select two jobs alongside each other and make a direct comparison between different aspects, such as tasks, requirements for entry, the chances of finding work and the amount they can earn.

“Visitors to our site are encouraged to think more broadly about their career decision-making, for example, if someone has pinned their hopes on being a graphic designer, get them to compare the role with other jobs to help them discover why being a graphic designer is for them. It’s also helpful for those who want to narrow down diverse options to weigh up two very different career paths.”

Ms Burrell said Careers New Zealand would continue to develop the Compare Tool, adding yet more features that will enable website visitors to link to full job summaries and save results to My Career Space, a personal area on the site specifically set aside for frequent visitors.

“We had more than 3 million New Zealand-based visits to our website in the last year so it’s really important that we develop effective tools and have the right kind of information to help New Zealanders make smart career decisions.”

For more information on Careers New Zealand new online tool, visit www.careers.govt.nz/compare

ENDS