Choosing Your Career Path

CAREER PLANNING            

WHAT IS CAREER PLANNING?

Career Planning is a process designed to help you create a strategy for achieving your career goals with the support and guidance of a Career Specialist. We can help you learn more about the areas listed below to get you started! Make an appointment or walk in to our Center and begin a conversation that can lead to a realistic, systematic career plan.    

Career Planning includes:

• self-development and self-branding
• knowledge of the academic institution
• researching career paths
• defining and setting goals
• understanding the NACE Career Competencies
• creating an Individualized Career Plan (ICP)
• experiential activities such as finding mentors, conducting informational interviews, and shadowing professionals in your field of interest

HOW DO I DECIDE ON A MAJOR OR CAREER?

Deciding on a major or career can be a challenging process for students – one that involves reflecting on your professional and personal goals and matching those goals with your educational interests, your ideas for career choices, and knowing enough about yourself to make an informed and realistic decision.

Answering these questions may help:

• How much do I know about myself? my skills? my talents? What I do better than others? What beliefs are important to me? What do I have to offer?  
• What do I know about the career fields that interest me?
• What do I know about the wide variety of academic majors offered at the College?

To start:

• Learn more about yourself, your interests, skills, personality, and values so that you can begin to develop your Self-Brand.
• Conduct research and gather information about career fields that interest you including the nature of the work, necessary qualifications, and employment outlook/trends. Talk to professionals in those fields and get firsthand information! Get a mentor! Or ask some employers if you can meet with them and do an informational interview. By integrating information about yourself and learning more about careers from those working in those career fields, you can begin to see the process unfold.
• Explore the many majors offered at the College and talk to faculty and your advisors so you can consider all possibilities for your choice of a major. 
• And take your time! This is an important decision and should be made with lots of self-reflection, discussion with those you trust, and exploration and research.      

Here is a great “formula” for finding the career you have always wanted.

Knowledge of Self + Knowledge of Academic Majors + Knowledge of Careers = Informed Choice

HOW CAN I GET HELP WITH MY CAREER PLANNING? 

Career Specialists at our Center are available to assist you with understanding the process of career exploration and decision making as described above and in helping you follow the above “formula” for making an informed career choice. Let us help you begin to develop your personal brand and come up with a four-year Individualized Career Plan (ICP). Your Personal Brand and ICP will follow you for four years, each year delivering step-by-step goals such as resume and cover letter development, internship placement, virtual work experience, leadership and service learning that will help you build your career potential. We may recommend career assessment surveys if you need or want additional help in formulating your career goals. These surveys are short, easy to take, and can really jump start your thinking about careers!  Look for them below. We also recommend networking with professionals in the fields that interest you by getting a mentor, attending employer presentations on campus or online, shadowing an employer at their job site, or asking to conduct an informational interview with a professional in a field that you are considering. Finally, as you are doing all that, stay in touch by visiting us often at the Career Center or around campus! 

A word about Academic Major choice and Career choice.
Even though these two areas are related, they are still two separate processes.
Visit the Center for Advising and Academic Success (CAAS) or your faculty advisor for help in choosing and declaring your academic major.
Come to the Career Center for help with choosing careers that interest you.