At Work

Information competency skills are very useful in most work environments. For instance, you may find yourself in situations similar to those below, where your information competency skills will help you to excel:

• Your supervisor asks you to research a solution to a company problem and write or report or make a presentation.
• You are repairing a vehicle that is new to you and you need to find information on how to properly repair it.
• You are working in a healthcare environment and you need to check the detail on a medication or treatment before you administer it or you need to check it for your supervisor.
• You are a realtor and need to keep on top of home values, mortgage lenders, etc.

Remember, when you need to find reliable information quickly, use library databases (public libraries have them, too) or high quality internet sites (use your evaluation skills).

If you need to make a written or oral presentation for your employer, remember to follow the research strategy, organizing and synthesizing tips discussed in this tutorial. Also remember to cite your sources! Even though it is a work environment rather than an academic environment, you still must always give credit for sources of information you have found, quoted, or borrowed from. Besides, it strengthens your case by showing that you used reliable resources.