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Career Exploration
This is an amazing time in your life! You have a chance to indulge in your curiosity, ask questions, and make new discoveries about yourself and the world. Before you can make decisions about your career path, it is important to identify your personal goals and learn more about your options in the world of work.
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•What Careers are Right for Me? (PDF) |
Phase one in choosing a career path is to step back from all of your knowledge, potential and accomplishments so you can focus on the person in the center of it all- YOU! What motivates you? What are your talents and passions? What do you picture as your ideal lifestyle? Spending time to identify your critical values, interests and skills will help you make choices that are satisfying and rewarding. It will impact the careers you decide to research and the internships and jobs that you decide to shoot for.
Exploring Careers that Fit Workshop
Benefit from activities that help you identify your interests, skills and values and learn how self- assessment impacts your career exploration. Check out our Calendar of Events to RSVP for workshop dates and times.
Advising
Meet with an advisor to discuss your questions and ideas. Call 935-5930 to schedule an appointment.
Self-Assessment Tools
We offer three tools to help you think about your interests,
preferences and work style. The results will not tell you exactly what to do,
but will help you identify general themes and possible occupational titles to consider.
- Strong Interest Inventory asks you to answer questions about how much you would prefer or enjoy various activities and provides an extensive interpretive report. You will review your results with an advisor.
- Myers Briggs Type Indicator helps you discover what motivates you and how your personality relates to others in a team setting. You will review your results with an advisor.
- Elevations allows you to sort stacks of cards according to your style and preferences. You will walk away with a personalized workbook to help you determine your next steps.
To take SII or MBTI, call us at 935-5930 to learn how to access the assessments by computer and schedule a time to go over the results with a career advisor. To take Elevations, come by 157 Umrath Hall between 8:30 and 5:00, Monday-Friday.
Self-discovery will give you clues about the kinds of work or working environments that might be a good fit for you. Armed with this knowledge, your next step is to learn about your career options. The sooner you engage in the exploration process, the more informed and directed you will be as you seek internships and jobs.
Determine if a career field is a good fit for you by learning about the following: the nature of the work, job duties, working conditions, training and educational requirements, earnings, and the various positions within the field.
Informational Interviews
The best way to learn about the rewards, challenges and characteristics of a job is to talk to someone in the field.
Access Career Connections to connect with WU alumni.
You can also talk to relatives and friends, university professors and staff, or contact someone at an organization that interests you.
Schedule a phone appointment or personal visit. During the meeting ask for recommendations of good resources,
web sites, and other people you can contact. Prepare a list of questions, be on time, dress nicely,
and follow-up with a thank you note.
eRecruiting
Log on to eRecruiting and use the Career Research tab to
see industry profiles, city profiles, dream jobs, and resources
for further research. Use the Employers tab to search employers
by industry, read organizational overviews, and link to organization
web sites. Read job descriptions under the Jobs and Internships
tab to see how positions match your skills, interests and
experience.
Web Sites
Use our Web Links section to research careers, industries, companies and cities. The industry and city guide links are crucial learning tools that will help you form a list of organizations to target.
Career Center Events
Check out our Calendar of Events and plan to attend workshops, roundtables, panels, and other special events that will help you meet working professionals and learn about career fields.
Internships
Do an internship to find out if a career field is right for you. Learn more on our Internships page.
Professional Associations
Link to thousands of associations from our Web Links section. Learn about conferences, publications and professional development opportunities. Become a student member at a reduced rate and gain access to networking events and membership directories.
Meet the Company and Career Calls
Some organizations are able to visit campus and host Meet the Company events for students. Other organizations who are unable to come to campus host Career Calls or conference call events. It is your chance to learn about the organization's culture, entry-level positions, and characteristics they desire in applicants. Log on to eRecruiting and use the Calendar tab to search for upcoming Meet the Company and Career Calls.
Career Center Library
Use the books, directories and periodicals in our library
to jumpstart your search and lead you to helpful web sites.
Resources include the Book of Lists (published by
American City Business Journals) from various cities, books
listing career ideas based on major or interest area, and
industry research guides. The library is located in 161 Karl
Umrath Hall and is open weekdays, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Academic Departments
WU professors have valuable connections and insight about their fields. Look at departmental web sites at WU and other universities for links, books, and current research.
Trade Magazines, Web Sites & Publications
Find out which publications are important in the industry and read them! Get a subscription, stop by the library or frequent the web site to learn about hot companies and current events.
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