Toolkit P3-MEDIA TREND AND DESK RESEARCH

Mapping trends shaping jobs,
employment, and labour market needs.

Εκπαιδευτικό Πρόγραμμα

45-60 minutes / non-specified as it can last one week or be ongoing, with 1–2 hours per month or one hour per month.

A computer with internet access
Different sources of media, including newspapers and social media.
A notebook
A whiteboard
Shared notes space (OneNote, Google Docs or Notion), spreadsheet and bookmarks.
Pens
A camera or smartphone
Sticky notes in different colours

What is this tool and what is its purpose and benefit?

This media-trend and desk research tool is used to investigate the various factors that influence people's career planning, such as information, environments, situations and topics. It can be used to scan trends in the labour market and professions, work-life requirements, such as skills, and identify early signs of change, emerging professions and roles, new sectors, general societal trends, cultural environments and habits, and educational opportunities.

STEP 1

STEP 2

STEP 3

STEP 4

STEP 5

STEP 6

Define the purpose of your media‑trend and desk research and plan your investigation process. Identify the sources of information, such as online and printed media, literature, social media, and other sources. Also decide the keywords that will guide your investigation. These should align with your purpose and help you locate the most relevant information. Examples of useful keywords include: occupations, technologies, sectors, regions, and competencies.

Begin the investigation process. Select the most relevant sources for your case. Look at what has been written in the media, on social media, job boards, in blogs and magazines, reports and future foresight sources, as well as in journals and proceedings from labour market observatories, and CEDEFOP Skills intelligence Online mapping.

Take written and visual notes of your findings, such as photos, screenshots and images. Create your own media library and organise it into categories.

Once you have gathered all the information you need, look for patterns in your material. These will give you an overview of your topic of investigation. You can organise the data visually on a large sheet of paper or a whiteboard. This is a more insightful way to organise information, allowing you to see all the data at once. Alternatively, you can use a computer file, such as a spreadsheet or word processing document, but this is more limiting and less insightful.

Categorise your data and patterns. If you are using paper or a whiteboard, either write the data on sticky notes that can be moved around and re-categorised easily, or write it directly on the board. Alternatively, you can enter the data into an electronic file. The categories should align with the purpose of your investigation.

Provide a brief summary of your findings, including the opportunities you have identified. This should be no longer than one A4 page and use bullet points. You can use this list in other Career Compass tools.