Four-Year Career Plan

The Four-Year Career Plan is a four-step decision-making process designed to assist you with your career and graduate/professional school plans.

Step One—Self Assessment
While much of your first year is occupied with making adjustments and getting accustomed to college life, it's also a time for self-assessment in terms of career preparation.

  • Begin to identify your career goals through research, informational meetings, and career assessments that help you determine your interests, skills, and values.

  • Become familiar with various career options through utilizing the resources available in the Career Development library and on this Web site.

  • Become involved in campus activities to explore new interests and abilities.

Step Two—Exploration
Your sophomore year is an ideal time to gather more information and continue your self-assessment. You will base many decisions on what you discover during this year.

  • Review, revise, and/or reaffirm your interests, skills, and values. Include your career advisors, faculty, alumnae, and family in the process for different perspectives.

  • Brainstorm and research occupations using the Internet and print resources in the office of Career  Development..

  • Job shadow a professional in a field of interest.

  • Consider volunteer work to gain further exposure to occupations while developing and enhancing your skills.

Step Three—Experimentation
In your junior year, you’ll want to focus on the career fields that interest you most. If graduate school is a direction you are considering, this is the time to begin your research.

  • Participate in an internship, job shadow, or take a summer job to gain experience and learn more about a field of interest.

  • Determine the background and skills necessary for your field of interest and take courses and acquire experiences to enhance your qualifications to enter the field.

  • Accept leadership opportunities. By challenging yourself to learn new skills, you may discover additional talents that could be marketable to future employers or graduate schools.

  • Attend career preparation workshops on job search strategies, resume writing, networking, and interviewing, to name a few skills.

  • Research graduate programs via the Career Development web site and by discussing options with your faculty advisor.

Step Four—Decision-Making
During your senior year, you'll need to begin taking steps toward the career or graduate school goals you've established for yourself.

For Job Search:

  • Research job opportunities on the Career Development website and in the  library.

  • Write a resume; practice your interviewing skills by participating in a mock interview; attend career workshops.

  • Attend the Challenge Job and Internship Fair, a liberal arts and sciences job fair that will provide an opportunity to meet and interview with employers who hire liberal arts graduates.

  • Use the Career Network to talk with alumnae who have agreed to help students and other alumnae with career choices, job search, and graduate/professional school advice.

For Graduate School:

  • Complete application process; take entrance tests; obtain letters of recommendation; establish a Credential File.