The following components of the career exploration process are essential to making more informed decisions about pursuing a career. These components are not necessarily linear in nature, but all contribute to building students鈥 confidence and clarity in career decision making.
Research You: Build self-awareness
The first step in the career exploration process is answering the question 鈥淲ho Am I?鈥. This means students learn to identify their likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses and Values, Interests, Personality and Skills (VIPS). In our fast-paced society, it鈥檚 easy to overlook the importance of self-reflection, which is a fundamental career skill that requires practice. All other steps in the career exploration process will be assessed based on this foundational step of understanding 鈥渟elf鈥.
Encourage students to:
- Reflect on their Values, Interests, Personality and Skills by incorporating the following assignment in your course.
- for deeper self-reflection using the .
- on campus through clubs and student organizations and reflect on what they like and dislike about these experiences.
- Begin thinking about their past experiences and identify what to include on their resume.
- Register for a 2-credit .
- Have informal conversations or 鈥渋nformational interviews鈥 with faculty, staff and peers about how they鈥檝e navigated their career path. Or consider connecting with alumni through Mentor Match and learn from professionals in careers of interest.
Guided Exploration: Gather facts about careers
The next step is for students to gather facts and information about different careers and assess how they align with their Values, Interests, Personality and Skills (VIPS). This is an important step because it allows students to make more informed choices based on facts, rather than on assumptions about various careers and encourages students to think more broadly than just the careers they are currently aware of. As students learn about careers that are out there, they will assess how they relate and narrow down their options to a select few.
Encourage Students to:
- to take our tool and gather facts about careers that may align with their VIPS.
- Network with employers through the CONNECT Program. Connect is a series of employer treks and networking events designed to help students build connections and develop professionally for their eventual career success.
- Gather facts about individual careers using , or the , both sites funded by the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics..
- Sign up for one or more of our and receive weekly newsletters including industry related jobs, internships, events, blog posts, advice and more!
- Meet with a career consultant to complete a
- View thousands of short video interviews featuring professionals from a variety of industries using . Or, consider incorporating or adapting our in your course or student program
- Conduct an informational interview with alumni who share students鈥 career interests using .
- Prepare for and attend a Job and Internship Fair to learn more about specific employers of interest, meet with recruiters to explore and learn about specific positions that are available.
Expand and Reflect: Test it out! Gain experience
At this stage, students expand career knowledge by testing it out and gain relevant experience. Encourage students to gain experience through class assignments and team projects, relevant clubs and student organizations, volunteering/community engagement, internships, research or study abroad. Ideally, students at this stage would actively engage in one or more of these opportunities and reflect on their experiences.
Encourage students to:
- to plan their internship, volunteer or shadowing search, or practice articulating their skills in a tailored resume, cover letter and mock interview.
- Attend a Job and Internship Fair to learn about career opportunities offered by our employer partners
- Attend a Skills Lab and learn industry relevant skills facilitated by alumni and employers in fields of interest.
- Complete an internship for academic credit and have a built-in process for reflecting on their experience in an asynchronous or synchronous course in tandem with the internship. The Fleishman Career Center also administers Internship Funding to overcome financial barriers to internships!
- Engage in volunteering through the Center for Civic Engagement and high impact practices such as: Research, Study Abroad, Community-Engaged Learning.
- Gain leadership experience by pursuing a leadership position in a club or organization.
- Analyze their ideal job or internship description and assess their skills and interest in the role by incorporating our in your course or program.
- Search for Student Employment and on and off-campus jobs and internships by creating an account on , currently posting over 100,000 positions.
- to practice skill articulation and develop a resume and cover letter.
- Take part in virtual work experiences using . These 5-6 hour self-paced modules are offered by top companies with tasks similar to those in a traditional internship.
Plan and dive deeper
Now that students have gained self-awareness, gathered facts and information about careers and tested out their career interests, they can dive deeper and refine their brand, skills and career goals.
Encourage students to:
- to tailor a resume and cover letter to a specific job.
- to develop a personal brand .
- Seek out advanced skill development opportunities based on their ideal job.
- Identify related fellowships and scholarships that could help launch their career and expand their brand, credentials and network.
- Use to practice interview questions specific to a student鈥檚 industry.