How long is your timeline? Joyce’s Career Tip of the Week

How close (or far) are you from graduation? How many summers are there in between now and the day you walk across the stage to get your diploma?

In addition to the classes required to earn your degree, there are many other things that you must do to identify, apply to and secure the job you want after graduation.

It’s easiest to work through the list of job seeking activities slowly. The best way to do that is to work with the Fulton Schools Career Center starting early in your college career.

No matter where you are in your degree program, take a few minutes to do the following:

  1. Count out how many semesters and summers you will have between now and your graduation.
  2. Look over the list below and check off the items you have completed.
  3. Make a schedule of the remaining items, putting them into your remaining semesters and summers.

Reflection:

  • What are my skills, abilities, interests and values?

Research:

  • How much do I know about the various kinds of work related to my chosen major?
  • Which of these interest me the most?
  • Which organizations offer those positions?
  • Do these companies recruit on campus?

Opportunities for learning:

  • In person and online workshops:
    • Writing your technical resume
    • Preparing for the Career Fair
    • Demystifying the Behavioral Interview
    • Networking
    • Evaluating job offers and salary negotiation
  • Employer panels
  • Intern panels
  • Company information sessions

Opportunities to practice:

  • Networking
  • Meeting with a peer career coach
  • Rapid resume reviews with employers
  • Mock interviews
  • Coding interviews with peer career coaches

Opportunities to perform:

  • Networking
  • Fulton and ASU Career Fairs
  • Company Interviews
  • Internships (ideally, more than one)

Have you discovered that you have checks in the performance areas, but not in the preparation activities? If career fairs and interviews haven’t given you the results you desire, better preparation could be the solution.

Have you realized that graduation is getting really close and there are many things on this list that are still unchecked? Don’t panic! Fitting in the many steps of job seeking along with the academic demands of your final semesters can be challenging — but not impossible. You do not have to do this alone. Job seeking is not a solo sport, but a team sport, and the bigger your team the better. Finally, remember that the Fulton Schools Career Center is here to help you!

 

Joyce Donahue is a Career Counselor in the Fulton Schools Career Center. She is a nationally certified career counselor and holds Master Career Counselor membership status in the National Career Development Association.