Human Performance Consultant Teresa Davenport has used O*NET for the past seven years. When it was new, she developed courses and short tutorials, training workforce professionals and the public how to use O*NET and its complimentary Career Exploration Tools, such as the Work Interest Profiler and the Work Importance Locator. She also contributes content for O*NET-related Websites such as http://www.onetknowledgesite.com and http://www.onetacademy.com.
"Two of the roles I have particularly enjoyed are hosting podcasts featuring O*NET users, and facilitating Webinars on various O*NET topics," shares Teresa. She also uses O*NET to structure jobs, creating job descriptions, compensation plans, and performance evaluations for corporate and governmental clients. She goes from her home office in Dothan, Alabama, to where the assignment is, whenever necessary.
"Especially in the Spring, I spend a good bit of time working with college-bound youth. I work with community college people, and I work with the clients of a women's crisis center in town. My task is to help women who are in a tough spot. Perhaps they have recently had a child, or suddenly find themselves living alone and having to make it on their own. They need to find employment or discern a career path. "When I work with students or older people, whether individuals or groups, I take them through the Career Exploration Tools and drill down through O*NET to explore occupations, and then to the local level to find jobs," Teresa continues. "We also work on building resumes and practicing interviews."
Teresa was a pioneer in using O*NET with WorkKeys. WorkKeys is a job skills assessment system that measures real-world skills. Employers engage Teresa to quantify a job in terms of precisely what skills are used to perform the job, and to what level the worker must be able to perform. Teresa explains, "When I get an assignment to do a WorkKeys profile—say, a profile for a Production Supervisor in a manufacturing plant, I first go to O*NET and query for the description of the occupation that job is within. When I find a close match, I take the occupation report with me during my onsite visit to observe/interview the incumbent Production Supervisors. I then basically use it as a checklist. If I see the employee performing a specific task, I check it. If the worker doesn't do the task, I cross it off. I might edit some tasks to make a clearer description. So that is my starting point. Then I have to focus on measuring the levels of performance needed in each skill area to perform the job successfully.
"Sometimes I return to O*NET at the end of a job analysis, if the client wants to do a salary comparison." Teresa uses O*NET in compensation analysis. "Yes, I do. I recall particularly, one project for a county agency and another for a manufacturer. For those assignments, I coded each of the positions to a SOC code. I went to O*NET for occupation descriptions and wage ranges. I noted competitor salaries and normal salary ranges in like occupations, across industry lines. I learned that the manufacturer was losing people to a nearby nuclear plant, and the county was losing people to the city! I was able to use my study, based in part on information accessed through O*NET, to make proposals to the manufacturer and to the County Board."
Those are tales about the significant value of using O*NET to find solutions to employer challenges. Teresa is quick to also relate an individual O*NET success story: "We have had a young man work on our farm the last few years, doing odd jobs outdoors. He loves being outdoors! He's an Eagle Scout, graduated from high school last year, now attends college. He has been at a loss as to what he wants to do. I showed him how to use O*NET and the Career Exploration Tools. This has opened up a whole world of possibilities for him. For example, he knew he liked working outdoors, but not necessarily with animals. He likes working alone and managing his own time. We were able to create a profile of his interests and work preferences. He identified several occupations with potential, possibilities he was totally unaware of—Environmental Protection, jobs with the Bureau of Land Management, forester positions, positions with the State Marine Resources Division, land conservancy, geospatial jobs like surveying, land appraisal—lots of options."
For Teresa any minute not taken up with work is devoted to family and community. Gone are the days of traveling with her husband, reading, bird and animal watching—and singing opera. Yes, she was a voice major in college and loves bluegrass and opera. While such pursuits might reign another day, that time is far in the future. With a nine-year-old and two four-year-olds, home schooling, kids' softball, and so many community activities on her plate, Teresa is tightly scheduled. If Teresa had a moment to herself, reading or singing probably wouldn't be resulting interest or activity. Sleep sounds more likely. For Consultant Teresa Davenport, being "over-occupied" isn't so much an occupational hazard. It's simply a given.
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