Taking an early and active role in managing your college experience is critical to your future success. Being a proactive planner will keep you on track and will enable you to maximize the various educational opportunities available to you on campus. Experiential Learning offers the following action plans to strengthen your skills, build your professionalism, apply your education and acquire experience.
How to Get Started
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First-yearEXPLORE |
SophomoreCHOOSE |
JuniorEXPERIENCE |
SeniorTRANSITION |
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Affirm or discover who you are and what your best career fit is. |
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Investigate majors and courses that interest you. |
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Plan how to develop important skills, i.e., communication, leadership, and problem-solving, etc., that employers look for in recent graduates. |
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Identify advisors and mentors to help you make choices and discover resources. |
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Choose a major if undeclared and develop an academic and career plan. |
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Identify advisors and mentors to help you make choices and discover resources. |
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Begin planning for study abroad or an internship by meeting with the respective departments. Preparation to study abroad must be done months in advance. |
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Get involved in campus activities such as sports, organizations, clubs, student government, community service and/or leadership roles. |
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Find employment, volunteer, internship and leadership opportunities that fit your interests, and finalize study abroad plans. |
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Update your resume and practice writing a cover letter and a thank-you letter. Examples can be found on Handshake under Resources. Include internship and other relevant experience. |
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Plan how you can develop or enhance important skills to enhance your resume. |
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Do an informational interview to learn about an organization and a specific position. Information on this can be found in the Resources section on Handshake. |
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Take time in September to orient yourself to the services provided in the Career Development Center. |
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Review & evaluate your college experience and determine which areas need further attention. |
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Research industries/organizations that interest you |
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Confirm at least three people to serve as references (professors, supervisors, college administrators) |
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Research and apply to graduate school, if applicable. |
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We Suggest
First-yearEXPLORE |
SophomoreCHOOSE |
JuniorEXPERIENCE |
SeniorTRANSITION |
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Schedule an appointment with a career advisor on Handshake to discuss your experiential plan. | X | X | X | X |
Visit our career management system for students: Handshake (Log in using your student email and you will prompted to set a password. |
X | X | X | X |
Take Focus 2 online to help you with your career and/or major exploration. |
X | X | X | X |
Visit Academic Advising. |
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Regularly check out What Can I Do With This Major? » |
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Connect with your advisor and faculty |
X | X | X | X (If applying to graduation school) |
If undeclared, talked to professors and students within the major you are considering. Read the major requirements and the course descriptions to gauge interest. |
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Attend workshops, career panels, and job/career fairs. |
X | X | X | X (And on-campus recruiting events) |
Investigate campus activities and begin thinking about internships and studying abroad, and get involved! |
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If you have not already done so, create a LinkedIn profile. Visit Handshake for tutorials on how to do this. |
X | X (Update your profile) |
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Continue/Start to get involved in leadership activities. |
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Visit your Academic Advisor to explore graduate school. |
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Ask faculty for referrals and job leads |
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NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK!! |
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Make an appointment with the Career Development Center for a mock interview so you can practice your interview skills (Email the Career Development Center) |
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Join a professional organization relating to your field, and join a young professionals group in your geographical area (example: Manchester Young Professionals Network) |
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Be sure your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn photos and content are professional |
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Be sure your incoming voice mail message is professional, along with your e-mail address |
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Contact the Career Development Center via email with your questions.