O*NET® in Action

Employers, HR professionals, and job seekers can take advantage of O*NET products and research to achieve their goals. Learn more from the resources below.

The O*NET Toolkit for Business provides a wealth of background information on the features of O*NET. It details O*NET's many uses for human resource professionals and employers including:

  • Job Descriptions
  • Human Resource Planning
  • Organizational Structure and Design
  • Job Design and Job Reengineering
  • Organizational Development
  • Succession Planning
  • Training Needs Analysis
  • Career Development
  • Workforce Development

Employers’ Quick Reference Guide to O*NET

An overview of the features of O*NET, giving information on O*NET and how it serves as a resource to assist businesses with everyday needs. This section also provides both graphic and written descriptions of the O*NET Content Model, the conceptual framework that underlies the O*NET database.

Quick Reference Guide (PDF)

OnLine Guided Tour

A guided tour of the features and capabilities of O*NET OnLine, demonstrating the breadth and depth of the information available. It demonstrates how users can navigate through O*NET OnLine and provides real world examples of occupational and skills searches, or specific details of one or more occupations.

OnLine Guided Tour (PDF)

Writing Job Descriptions

A case study providing an overview of how O*NET can be used to write job descriptions.

Need help writing job descriptions? The Job Description Writer is an online tool that uses O*NET data to help employers and human resource specialists write job descriptions.

Writing Job Descriptions (PDF)

HR Planning, Employee Reskilling, and Retention

A step-by-step, detailed guide to demonstrate O*NET’s use in identifying work and worker requirements of future staff needs, identifying future Knowledge, Skill, and Ability needs, and identifying gaps and development opportunities.

HR Planning and Reskilling (PDF)

Employment professionals from around the country use O*NET information to help job seekers and others needing career guidance. Between 2008 and 2011, a collection of these stories were produced as podcasts.

Find all O*NET podcast episodes, along with customer-based training videos and more, at our YouTube channel .

O*NET podcasts on YouTube

Career ladders and lattices are devices that help people visualize and learn about the job options that are available as they progress through a career. Career ladders and lattices consist of a group of related jobs that comprise a career. They often include a pictorial representation of job progression in a career as well as detailed descriptions of the jobs and the experiences that facilitate movement between jobs. Career ladder/lattices are not necessarily organization-specific; they frequently span multiple organizations because movement within one organization may not be possible.

Sample career ladder/lattice

Career ladders display only vertical movement between jobs. In contrast, career lattices contain both vertical and lateral movement between jobs and may reflect more closely the career paths of today's work environment.

Career ladders/lattices may be used in a variety of ways. For example, they may be used to:

  • attract individuals to an industry by showing potential career progression beyond entry points,
  • focus workforce development efforts,
  • show workers how different jobs interconnect within careers in an industry, and
  • inform workers about the training, education, and developmental experiences that would enable them to accomplish their career objectives.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Competency Model Clearinghouse features a tool that enables customers to incorporate O*NET occupations and information within a customized Career Ladder or Lattice. To view examples of Career Ladders/Lattices as well as to access the tool, see the Sample Career Ladders/Lattices page.