A Student Guide to Career Planning - Four-Year Timeline

Freshman Year (Assess)

• Talk with your parents, academic advisors, college staff members, and/or mentors about the different major and career choices you are considering.
• Consider the possibility of taking a lighter course load your first semester or year while adjusting to the transition of college life. Seventeen or 18 credits may not be a realistic goal.
• Take courses that will help you explore your major and career interests.
• Work on developing strong study and time management skills. High school study skills may not be adequate for college level work.
• Schedule an appointment with a career counselor to begin the career development process and review your MyPlan assessment results.
• Get involved in one or two campus activities or organizations related to your interests. This type of involvement can serve as a way to explore career options and will also begin the process of building a resume.
• Register on the CSO’s online career management system, JobGrove, and become familiar with the CSO’s resources (i.e., website, library materials, career tools).
• Plan to attend one of the fairs (Career, Internship, Camp) on campus to begin learning about career opportunities and exploring options.

Sophomore Year (Explore)

• Explore and narrow down potential career paths that fit your personality, interests, strengths, values and calling.
• Make a decision on a major if you are still undeclared.
• Take advantage of the services and resources that are provided by the CSO.
• Build your resume by finding a career-related job or internship experience during the summer.
• Brainstorm with your family members and mentors a list of friends or relatives that may work in a field that interests you. Job shadowing and informational interviews are excellent ways to obtain additional information about a career path.
• Plan to attend one of the fairs (Career, Internship, Camp) on campus to continue exploring career options and to network with recruiters.
• Check out our Graduate School Timeline on the CSO website if you think you will be going on to graduate school after college.
• If you are interested in pursuing post-graduate fellowships and scholarships such as the Fulbright, Marshalls, Rhodes, Rotary Ambassadorial, and Mitchell Scholarships, you will want to begin your exploration of those programs as soon as possible.
• Attend the CSO Sophomore Meeting at the end of the year for advice on the internship search and an overview of the CSO's resources and services.

Junior Year (Decide)

• Begin seeking out professional letters of recommendation (faculty, former/current employers, etc.) as they are valuable in pursuing internship and job opportunities, as well as graduate school admittance.
• Obtain leadership responsibilities in clubs or organizations. This is a way of developing marketable work skills.
• Continue to build your resume by obtaining experience related to your career goals through an internship or job (contact the CSO for resume and internship search assistance).
• Plan to attend one of the fairs (Career, Internship, Camp) on campus to more actively seek out internship opportunities and to explore possible post-graduation options.
• Attend the CSO Junior Meeting at the end of the year for advice on the senior year job search and an overvie of the CSO's resources and services.

Senior Year (Pursue)

• Intentionally block off time in your schedule this year to devote to your post-graduation career plans, whether that be applying to jobs or graduate/professional school.
• Identify your career goals before embarking on the job search to better focus your efforts.
• Connect with the CSO to discuss career goals and get assistance with your job search (i.e., job search strategies, job fairs, networking through the Alumni eCommunity or LinkedIn).
• Create or update your resume, prepare cover letters, schedule a mock interview with a CSO counselor, obtain recommendation letters, etc.
• Research organizations where you would like to work (utilize CSO’s resources for that process).
• Plan to attend on/off-campus career fairs and participate in on-campus interview opportunities.
• Demonstrate care and patience with yourself during this time of transition.

Adapted from Baylor University’s Career Counseling Center