Rich Grant, higher education professional and career advisor, wrote a post on his blog about simple steps for college students to take to begin planning for future careers.
We think that these steps are great advice for any student especially for those interested in gaining professional experience on an international level.
Global Experiences' internship programs can help students plan for their future with guaranteed internship placements, and networking and social events, and comprehensive career planning to help foster relationships between interns.
First year: explore your options.
-Talk with professors and staff about academic and career direction
-Take assessment tests, such as the Clifton StrengthsFinder or Myers- Briggs; visit career services for an interpretation of the findings
- -Expand your horizons and comfort zone; volunteer, join an organization on campus
- -Start exploring possible career paths through online tools, such as O-Net
Sophomore year: focus your interests
-Visit your college career services office and ask about internships, job shadowing and career seminars-Revise your resume, create a cover letter, and get feedback from career services
- -Start the internship exploration process
- -Participate in career events, such as employer visits and career fairs
- -Find an internship or a summer job related to your field of study
- (or let Global Experiences help you find one abroad!)
Junior year: gain career experience
- -Attend at least five professional events, including career fairs, during the school year
- -Make contact with people who are working in your field, and conduct informational interviews
- -Ask career services to conduct a mock interview session with you
- -Research prospective employers and professional associations in your industry. Get familiar with organizations in your field.
- -Search for and apply for an internship
Senior year: final preparations
- -Meet with career services to discuss how to manage your job search effectively
- -Network! Attend professional events, establish new professional contacts and set up more informational interviews.
- -Implement a total professional make-over: clean up your social networking profiles, change your cell phone greeting and email address to be professional sounding, actively use Linkedin and Twitter professionally
- -Purchase business cards –get them through an office supply store or online (such as vistaprint.com)
- -Ask at least three people if you may list them as a reference and prepare a reference document with their names and contact information
Rich Grant is a certified career facilitator with experience in higher education program management, career planning, and internship advising. He's an active blogger and advocate of social media.
Follow him on Twitter at @Richcareer.
