COLLEGE TO CAREER
TRANSITION
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"The things taught
in schools and
colleges
are not an education,
but the means of an education."
-RALPH WALDO EMERSON
|
GRAD SCHOOL
n
CAREER PLANNING
n
COLLEGE TO CAREER
n
CAREER EXPLORATION
JOB MARKET
n
JOB SEARCH
n
INTERVIEW PREP
n
RESUME WRITING
n
WORKPLACE ISSUES
Click Here for Grad School Fair Info
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Employers continually express a strong preference for candidates with
experience that goes beyond mere academic credentials. With more and
more college graduates entering today's competitive job market, it
becomes necessary for candidates to demonstrate how their college
experience yielded more than just a degree. Employers seek candidates
who gained additional experience during their college tenure through
involvement in campus organizations, internships, community service
projects and part-time jobs.
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GOOD STUFF
CLICK HERE FOR HELPFUL
ARTICLES,
RESOURCES, AND LINKS |
College
Experience
Extracurricular Activities
College Confidential
College Questions
Monster Article: Extracurriculars
Mean Extra Points
Fast Web Article: Extracurricular
Activities as Career Prep
Princeton Review Article: Exemplary
Extracurriculars
Yahoo Education Article:
Extracurricular Activities, Getting Involved
YouTube: Eight Things I Wish I Knew
Before College
COLLEGE
ADVANTAGE
“Students with college experience
have distinct advantages over their
high school counterparts. There are
significant occupational status
differences between high school &
college graduates that are sustained
throughout life. Individuals with a
bachelor's degree are more likely to
obtain high-status managerial,
technical and professional jobs.
College graduates are less likely to
be unemployed than high school
graduates. College graduates are
seen by employers as possessing
requisite skills and values that
make them more desirable for
employment and advancement. College
graduates enjoy significantly higher
levels of career mobility and
advancement. College tends to
develop a capacity for critical
judgment and evaluation that in turn
provides sensitivity to shortcomings
of jobs. Socialization in college
increases student occupational
aspirations. College may enhance
occupational success by facilitating
development of traits that describe
a psychologically mature person
(reflective intelligence, empathy,
altruism, ability to combine a
variety of views, stability and
autonomy).”
- PASCAREL & TERENZI
/ 1991
EDUCATION
OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM
"As
long as instruction and life do not
merge in our colleges, so long as
what the undergraduates do and what
they are taught occupy two separate,
air-tight compartments in their
consciousness, so long will college
be ineffectual."
-WOODROW WILSON / US
President
"In
the classroom there is more teaching
than learning. Outside the
classroom there is more learning
than teaching. Some students are so
busy going to classes that they have
little time to get an education."
-EDGAR DALE / Author
& Educator
"Realize there are other aspects of
the college experience -- besides
the classroom -- that are important
too."
-WILLIAM COBB /
English Professor & Author
"The total university experience is
far more than the opportunity to
pursue one's career goals in the
classroom. It also offers the
unique opportunity to serve and be
served and to lead and be led. An
essential part of your education is
linked to the opportunity to
participate in student organizations
and activities. Leadership,
character development and
socialization of an individual are
enhanced when one chooses to
affiliate and participate actively
in one of our campus student
organizations."
-FREDA SHIVERS /
Student Affairs Professional
"I
would advise today's students to be
adaptable. Since you don't know
exactly what you want to do, be
willing to do a lot of different
things. Get your foot in the door.
Careers are fluid."
-COLLEGE GRADUATE /
Middlebury College
"College didn't fit me for any
certain career, but it taught me how
to learn."
-COLLEGE GRADUATE /
Cal State Univ Fresno
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"Campus experiences outside
the classroom enhance and
expand the education a
student receives while in
college. Extracurricular
activities are an extension
of one's college education
over and above the pursuit
of a degree and clearly make
the student more valuable
and marketable upon
graduation."
-MICHAEL
LEBEAU / College Career
Counselor
|
TRANSFERABLE SKILLS
Through active participation in
campus clubs and organizations,
students are provided an opportunity
to use and develop their skills in
leadership, interpersonal relations,
event planning, committee
membership, fund raising and a
variety of other skills that can
easily transfer to the workplace.
Volunteer activities also offer
students the chance to gain valuable
experience through a wide range of
community service projects and
philanthropic efforts.
Practical experience in a risk-free
environment can be gained through
internships, cooperative education,
and part-time or temporary jobs. In
addition to acquiring career-related
knowledge and skills, students are
able to make important personal
contacts within their field of
interest. It is a chance for them
to get their foot in the door.
UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES
Students have available to them a
wealth of on-campus opportunities
related to their professional
growth. Most university campuses
offer, at little to no cost to the
student, numerous chances throughout
the school year to attend career
information fairs, career issues
forums, employment interview
sessions, job skills workshops and
other career-related events. A
variety of training, counseling,
advising and assessments await the
student who realizes the intrinsic
value of these offerings. The
extent to which college students
actively take advantage of the many
resources and services offered for
their development will be reflected
in their level of preparedness and
employability upon graduation.
PREPARATION
College students should begin in
their Freshman year preparing for
the world of work. According to
career counselors, by the time a
student completes his or her Senior
year, he or she should have
accomplished some, if not all, of
the following activities:
Take a Career Assessment
Attend Career Fairs
Visit the Career Center
Join Professional
Organizations
Participate in Job Shadowing
Obtain an Internship or
Co-op
Get a Part-time Job in Your
Field
Establish
Professional Contacts
Volunteer for Community
Service
Read Material Related to
Your Field
Attend a Professional
Convention
Get Help Writing a
Resume
Assume a Leadership Position
Learn Effective Interview
Skills
Participate in a Campus-Wide
Project
Learn Effective Job Seeking
Strategies
Join a Campus Organization
Talk with a
Mentor
Build a Prospect List
Talk with
Professors about Career
Goals
EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION
"Tell me and I forget. Show me and I
may remember. Involve me and I
learn."
-BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
“Experience happens; it is
unavoidable. The true learning
depends on how we make meaning out
of our experience.”
-JOHN DEWEY
“Today’s college students tend to
prefer more concrete, hands-on
learning experiences. Our incoming
class of freshman represent a new
generation of students that can be
described as smart, ambitious,
incredibly busy, and ethnically
diverse. One other characteristic
about this generation is that they
like to plan. They are focused on
the future and believe that any work
they do today should be a planned
and preparatory investment for the
permanent life they wish to lead
tomorrow. They are more likely to
find summer jobs that serve the
community or teach new professional
skills than to bother with jobs that
simply generate spending money. The
popularity of the word internship
is suggestive. The jobs this new
generation of students find most
attractive are apprenticeships that
promise to pay off over a lifetime.”
-HOWE & STRAUSS
REDUCING RISK
Experiential education provides
practical opportunities for students
to gather information about their
career goals while reducing the risk
associated with pursuing one’s
career goals. Some career
exploration activities are riskier
than others. Some career
exploration activities require a
greater level of involvement.
Certainly, the greater the
involvement, the more irreversible
the pursuit.
Students are advised to get involved
in lower risk activities first
before advancing to higher risk
activities. At any point during the
research and exploration process a
student can feel comfortable about
changing his or her mind about a
particular career option.
Ultimately, the riskiest activity is
entering a fulltime professional job
without having subjected oneself to
preliminary activities that help to
solidify and crystallize the
decision.
INFORMATION
INTERVIEWS
Each day you have the opportunity to
talk with people about their jobs or
careers. The process of talking
with people who have jobs that
interest you is called
"informational interviewing."
Informational interviewing is simply
talking with someone who is
currently employed in a career that
interests you. Your goal is to
gather information that you need in
order to make a good decision.
Informational interviewing gives you
the opportunity to interview an
employer outside of an employment
setting. There are distinct
advantages to gathering career
information in this way... The
information is up-to-date. The
information is local. You find out
about the specific job setting.
People are often candid about
telling you the pros and cons of
their jobs. And you are
simultaneously developing a network
of contacts.
Informational interviewing is a very
effective method of investigating
your career options. People enjoy
discussing their jobs and career
fields. People are usually
flattered that you are seeking their
advice. People tend to be
empathetic about career transitions
because most have experienced the
indecision and frustration
associated with making a career
decision. And people generally like
to help others because it makes them
feel good about themselves. For the
most part, informational
interviewing is a non-threatening
method of gathering vital
information and developing a
professional network.
What are the primary objectives of
informational interviews? To
investigate a specific career
field. To uncover areas that may
have been unknown to you. To gain
insight into what is happening in a
career field. To gain insight about
future trends in a career field. To
obtain information that will help
you to narrow options. To obtain
advice on where you might fit in.
To learn the jargon and important
issues in the field. To broaden
your own network of contacts for
future reference.
JOB SHADOWING
A
job shadowing experience provides
the individual with the opportunity
to observe a worker on the job in
the course of his or her actual
workday. The worker agrees to be
shadowed or followed by an
individual who is interested in
learning more about his or her
particular line of work. The
individual accompanies the worker in
the performance of his or her
routine tasks and gathers valuable
real world information about the
field, the particular occupation,
and the job setting. Because
information gathered under these
on-site circumstances tends to be
accurate and authentic, the
individual is able to get a true
"feel" of the profession.
MENTORSHIP
A
mentorship is a relationship set up
between two individuals: a mentor
and a protege. The mentor is an
individual who is actively involved
in a professional pursuit. A
protege is an individual who meets
with the mentor on an occasional
basis to obtain firsthand advice. As
a protege, you can gather helpful
information directly from someone in
your field of interest.
A
mentor is someone respected and
knowledgeable who can advise and
coach you in your field of interest.
Seek advice from mentors experienced
in the areas you want to explore.
Don't limit yourself to seeking
advice from just one mentor. Look
for people who are open to your
concerns, who can help you learn new
skills, and who will take the time
to explain organizational dynamics
to you. Keep your relationship
businesslike. A true mentor will
develop an interest in you, make you
aware of useful resources, and
arrange opportunities for you to
meet key people and grow
professionally. Strive to meet your
mentors' expectations for your
performance.
"Share information about your
background, your needs, and your
aspirations. Discuss goals to
achieve your needs and aspirations.
Set goals for yourself and follow
through on them. Do not be afraid to
raise your expectations or redefine
your goals as part of this ongoing
process. With your mentor, decide
what steps will need to be taken to
achieve your goals. Assert yourself.
The purpose of the mentoring
relationship is to teach you. Make
sure you are learning. Be receptive
to feedback and coaching. Feedback
should be perceived as an
opportunity for growth. Pay
attention to changes in your life or
attitudes that may call for updating
your goals and objectives."
-MURREY & OWEN / 1991
GRAD SCHOOL
n
CAREER PLANNING
n
COLLEGE TO CAREER
n
CAREER EXPLORATION
JOB MARKET
n
JOB SEARCH
n
INTERVIEW PREP
n
RESUME WRITING
n
WORKPLACE ISSUES
ALABAMA CONNECTION
n
Virtual Career Center
