How to Use the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) to Pick the Right Career
The Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) is a free U.S. government resource that helps you research careers, compare salaries, and see which jobs are growing.
If you are a recent university graduate or a new immigrant trying to understand what jobs exist in the U.S. and whether they pay well, the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is one of the best free tools to start with.
Official OOH website (U.S. government):
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
What is the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH)?
The OOH is a government-maintained guide that describes hundreds of U.S. occupations. For every job, it tells you:
- What the job does (day-to-day tasks)
- How to become one (education, certifications, licenses)
- Pay (median salary in the U.S.)
- Job outlook (will this job grow or shrink?)
- Similar occupations (other jobs that are close)
Because it is published by the U.S. government, it is trustworthy and updated regularly.
Why it’s useful for new grads & recent immigrants
- You can search by field — for example “Business and Financial,” “Computer and Information Technology,” or “Arts and Design.”
- You can check salary before choosing a path — helpful if you need a minimum income.
- You can see if the job is growing — useful for long-term work or visa planning.
- You can map your foreign degree to a U.S. occupation — so you use the right U.S. job title.
How to use the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) in 5 steps
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Go to the official site:
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/ -
Pick an interest area. At the top you will see categories like:
“Business and Financial,” “Computer and Information Technology,” “Management,” “Sales,” “Healthcare,” and “Education.” - Open an occupation page. For example: “Management analysts,” “Software developers,” or “Market research analysts.”
-
Look at 3 sections first: “What They Do,” “Pay,” and “Job Outlook.”
If “Job Outlook” says “much faster than average,” that’s a good sign. -
Come back to CareerGain.ai and tailor your resume to that job.
We help you sound professional in English and match keywords from real job descriptions.
Example: You like data or business
In the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH), look at:
- Management analysts (similar to a Business Analyst)
- Operations research analysts
- Market research analysts
- Data scientists
After you find the job in the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH), use one of our role-based resume guides:
- Business Analyst Resume Guide (2025)
- Data Analyst Resume Guide (2025)
- Marketing Specialist Resume Guide (2025)
What to do after you pick a job in the OOH
- Copy the key tasks and responsibilities from the OOH page.
- Search for a real job on LinkedIn or Indeed to see the actual keywords employers use.
- Paste your resume and the job description into CareerGain.ai.
- We’ll fix your grammar and match the job’s keywords (great for non-native speakers).
Tip for non-native English speakers
The OOH text is written in formal U.S. government English. If you don’t know how to convert it into strong resume language, that’s what our tool does — it rewrites it so it sounds natural and professional.
Important
The Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) is an official information source. Always check the most recent version on the official website:
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
How this helps new immigrants and international students
Many people who move to the United States are not sure what the “official” U.S. job title is for the work they did before.
The Occupational Outlook Handbook shows the common U.S. name for the job, the education level that is expected, and the typical pay.
This makes it easier to match your experience to the U.S. market.
After you find the right U.S. job title in the OOH, you can come back to CareerGain.ai and rewrite your resume so it uses the same language as U.S. job descriptions.
This is very useful for non-native English speakers because we fix grammar, tone, and keywords.