Four-Year Timeline for College Students Getting Ready for New Careers
Post Views 3Freshman and Sophomore Years:
- Seek out interesting and useful learning and work opportunities.
- Find out about internships, independent study opportunities, facilities and programs affiliated with your school and other work opportunities.
- Already on a professional track? Prepare now to keep on top of pre-graduate course requirements.
- Keep records of your jobs and responsibilities.
- Draft a resume.
Junior Year:
- Same as above, plus…
- Start compiling lists of interests, values and skills.
- Start thinking about soliciting references from professors and employers.
- Rework and update your résumé.
Summer after Junior Year:
- Think you’re interested in applying to graduate school? Find out about graduate admissions test requirements, upcoming test schedules and preparatory courses.
- Compile information about potential graduate programs and request graduate school applications.
- Write a list of what you think you want to do.
- Rework and update your résumé, (i.e. add your summer experience and your expected major)
- Start compiling a list of networking contacts.
Senior Year:
- Discuss your options and your interests list with a professor, parent, or trusted advisor.
- Visit your school’s career center.
- You may want to take a self-diagnostic test.
- Learn how to match your personal skills with the world of work.
- Begin researching occupations, industries, job alternatives and companies.
- Develop contact list, including how to reach people.
- Get on-campus recruiting schedule.
- Network and informational interview,
- Keep track of business cards, contacts, phone numbers (include how/where you met people).
- Fine-tune your résumé.
- Interview for jobs.
- Take graduate school admissions test(s).
- Apply to graduate school.