Quick Tips for College-Career Success

Many students choose majors because they sound good or because they think they are related to their personal aspirations. The reality, however, is students' futures are not defined by their education alone. There is no such thing as a liberal arts job and an engineering degree without internships is not very marketable either. Yes, the hard truth is that experience is what gives college graduates the competitive edge. In today's economy that means approximately three years just to qualify for most entry-level positions - regardless of the academic discipline. What can a student do? Here are some suggestions for preparing for future careers that just make them better students as well:

Explore - Career assessments and interest inventories are just one way to begin to match up personal aspirations and future work opportunities. While these tools can be fun and enlightening, they only scratch the surface of the interest-career continuum. Another way to explore is to pursue any personally intriguing class topic or course subject. This doesn't mean "change your major," but students can explore further how the academics relate to possible careers to compare with their personal aspirations. One of the best resources for career exploration is to talk to many different people in a variety of employment situations. Simple questions like "What is a typical day like?" or "What has been your career path?" can offer students a wealth of information about the match between their aspirations and the realities of the world of work.

Register Early - Career Services is not just for students who are preparing to graduate. Besides instructing WSU's free career planning course, UCS 0991-Design Your Future, Career Services offers a variety of career exploration resources and job search programs. So whether a student is looking for a part-time job to pay some expenses, get related field experience with paid internships/co-ops, or launch their career with full-time professional employment, Career Services can help. Creating a profile and resume with Career Services through CSO at HYPERLINK "http://www.careerservices.wayne.edu/" www.careerservices.wayne.edu, allows students to view job postings, sign-up for qualified interviews, and receive updates regarding special career events and workshops - just to name a few services.

Get Involved - Just going to class and work is often not enough to impress many employers, particularly organizations who hire interns or co-op students. Leadership is a highly valued skill in today's job market and corporations rigorously compete for the top well-rounded students across the world. Student organizations and community service are a great ways to incorporate personal interests with career goals, as many groups will have a professional affiliation. Establishing and maintaining a successful career requires solid interpersonal skills to create a network of professional relationships. So one more benefit of getting involved is the opportunity to interact with the diversity of people that make WSU great.

Make it Count - It is a lot a pressure for students to effectively balance school, work, and play with career preparation. The good news is that with just a little effort, students can incorporate active career planning into their already busy schedule. The basic strategy is to develop awareness of how all college activities can be related to career goals. As mentioned earlier, exploring academic curricula outside the classroom is a great way to begin applying learning and developing high-demand work skills. Also, all work experiences (paid or unpaid) and leisure activities give individuals transferable skills that can be adapted from one job to the next, and savvy job seekers build on those experiences to advance their careers. For example, it is very common that an academically strong student can use his or her part-time job obtained as a freshman to gain a summer internship. Based on these two experiences, the student could also set up academic field experiences and/or professional co-op experiences in subsequent semesters to accumulate the three years experience needed to be competitive in today's new graduate job

by Nannette McCleary Shaw
University Counselor III-Career Development
Wayne State University Career Services
1001 FAB * (313) 577-3390 *  n.shaw@wayne.edu
www.careerservices.wayne.edu