Career Discovery
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What do you want to do when you grow up?
How many times have you been asked, “What do you want to do when you grow up?” Or “What in the world are you going to do with that degree?” Career discovery and exploration is crucial for individuals to discover their passions, strengths, and professional aspirations. By exploring various industries, roles, and opportunities, individuals gain insight into potential career paths and make informed strategic decisions about their future. Career Services can help you explore careers, identify your strengths, and build a career strategy unique for you!
Your Career Journey
Everyone has a unique career journey that includes many twists and turns along the way. Believe it or not, your first job – even if it was all the way back in high school – has probably helped prepare you for your career. Experiences unrelated to employment can also contribute to your career journey. Volunteer opportunities, clubs, and hobbies can collaboratively contribute to your overall skillset that will lead you down your unique path on your career journey. How do we know that? Because God sovereignly has planned each of our experiences to prepare us to do the work He is calling us to do.
When entering college, many students have either an idea of their dream career many years down the road or they know exactly what they want to do right after college but aren’t sure where that would lead later on. Strategically planning your career journey using the resources at Career Services can help you make sure you’re involved in the right things and gain the right type of experience to help you succeed in your long-term goals. This could be through appointments or workshops hosted by Career Services. Career discovery is often a large part of your career journey. It allows you to make the best decisions for your future by exposing you to all the possibilities that exist for someone with your interests, skills, and experiences.
Career Exploration
Our Career Explorer assessment offers valuable insights by evaluating your interests as they relate to different careers. We have a shorter, 6-question survey that helps you get started as you identify areas you may want to explore and can give you an idea of what jobs lie within that area. The 60-question questionnaire goes more in-depth to give a more precise connection between your interests and related careers. They both help provide clarity and direction in navigating career choices, help you align your strengths with suitable occupations, and prepare you for asking great questions to your Career Coach. This assessment can uncover career paths in your area of study and assist you in making informed decisions about education and training for the future.
In addition to Career Explorer our industry career coaches have assembled Career Guides to outline what you can do with specific majors. Check those out to give you a little insight into the different careers that utilize a specific majors and get some tips for how to get started in your career journey.
Meet with Your Industry Career Coach
Our industry specific Career Coaches are trained in coaching and have a depth of industry experience to help you navigate your career questions and develop a strategic individualized career plan. Even if you don’t know what you want to do when you grow up, our career coaches work with you to identify your God given strengths, outline where God may be directing you, and then start developing a plan from there. Our Career Coaches understand each of their industry’s hiring practices, what will make a candidate successful in the industry, as well as the traditional pathways to different careers in that industry. This knowledge informs how they will coach you to address your needs and help you identify your next steps.
You can meet with your coach to discuss career planning, resume tailoring, interview preparation, how to network, and more! You can set up an appointment through Handshake. We also recommend watching Resume 101 and having a resume prepared for the meeting prior to its occurrence. To get you ready you can access our industry-specific resume resources!
Career Fairs & Employer Events
Career fairs are great for exploring career opportunities and offering access to a diverse range of companies and industries in one location. They provide opportunities to interact with recruiters, learn about company cultures, and discover available positions.
When considering which career fair to attend, consider what industries you may want to work within and attend all of those fairs. Don’t let the name of a career fair discourage you from going! If you are a business/IT student go to the Nursing and Healthcare Fair and Ministry Fair as well as the Business Fair. Employers at each are looking for your skill sets. Overall, career fairs offer a comprehensive platform for career exploration, networking, and gaining valuable industry knowledge. Check out all our upcoming fairs [link to events] and then prepare to attend by attending our Navigating a Career Fair Workshop!
Attending workshops and seminars hosted by employers either in person or virtually can also offer insights into industry trends and skill requirements. We host over 2,000 employer events (virtually and in-person) through Handshake that are free for you to attend! Check out the listing of all the upcoming events by logging into Handshake and going to Events.