Career Exploration
Entering the Workforce
Some students may consider directly entering a career after graduation. Your counselor is here to help you in the process and can assist you by reviewing your resume and cover letter, providing you with a mock interview and interview tips and serving as a reference for employers.
Students may wish to review the Sophomore Career Presentation that school counselors deliver to sophomore students each January. All Ridge sophomore students will complete the Career Interest Inventory in Naviance which can also be reset by your counselor if you would like to retake it. The inventory results provide students with a profile and ideas about how their profile matches with certain types of careers.
Using Naviance for Career Exploration
Naviance is a powerful tool not only for college searching, but also for career exploration. Students have access to information related to career, federal career clusters, and pathways. To aid in using these tools, students have access to various inventories and surveys to help discover their interests and searches.
Careers Tab: Students should click on the top portion of their Naviance Student screen and select "Careers" to research specific careers. You can filter careers by field, education level, national and median salaries, etc. Students can also click on "Clusters and Pathways" to explores careers by federal cluster, and related pathways within each.
Self-Discovery Tab: By clicking on this tab, students have access to surveys and inventories to help with their career searches. Examples of inventories are the Career Interest Inventory, Achieve Works (Intelligencies, Work & Productivity, and Personality), Career Cluster Finder, and Strengths Explorer.
Somerset County Vo-Tech
Several Ridge High School students participate in academic programming via shared or full time status with the Somerset County Vocational Technical High School. For more information about their programs, please visit their website:
School counselors are available to assist students with programming questions related to Vo-Tech. Students are also encourage dto explore informational sessions and contact vo-tech directly with any questions. Programs for students are held during 8th grade and the annual RHS Academic Planning Night sessions for families, during which Vo-Tech is regularly in attendance to meet with students and parents.
Additional Resources
Additional resource considerations for students who are thinking about careers after high school:
College Board RoadTrip Nation Career Finder: Explore careers and/or potential majors based on your personal interests.
The Princeton Review Career Quiz: Create a profile of career styles and interests
Creating a Resume:
Tips for Creating Cover Letters:
Interviewing: