Career Development is a process that takes time and is something you can begin working on during your freshmen year. Read about tips for freshmen through seniors on ways to prepare for your future career, and feel prepared for life after college.
FRESHMAN YEAR
1. Join a registered student organization related to your major or personal interest. Student organizations help you build skills, begin to network, and can provide you with leadership opportunities. Employers appreciate student involvement experience on resumes and learning about your experiences during interviews.
2. Log onto Handshake and build your profile. Begin searching for employers and opportunities to familiarize yourself with the process of searching for on-campus positions and internships.
3. Meet with a career coach in the Business Career Center to begin building your professional resume.
SOPHOMORE YEAR
1. Apply for leadership roles in your registered organization. Are you a finance major? Consider running for the treasurer position. Do you want to lead people or projects someday? Consider running for the membership/recruitment or vice president positions. This experience will allow you to build transferable skills you can utilize in other aspects of college and after graduation.
2. Add relevant coursework to your resume. At this point you are likely in some major-specific classes where you are learning valuable information for your career.
3. Apply for internships. Start to build your work experience now so you can figure out what you are interested in.
4. Create a LinkedIn and start making connections. It is never too early to start building your network.
JUNIOR YEAR
1. Expand Your Skill Set. You have now taken a few courses specific to your career. If there is something you notice you are lacking that employers are looking for, take some time to teach yourself. Take an online course, learn a new system, or research top skills in your field.
2. Reach out to professors, alumni, and classmates to continue to build your network. LinkedIn and Husker Connect are great tools to make connections.
3. Find a mentor who you can reach out to for help and career advice. Connecting with professors, alumni, or professionals in your field will provide you with advice and encouragement, and be there for any questions you might have.
SENIOR YEAR
1. Spruce up your resume, LinkedIn profile, and Handshake profile. Include everything that has helped you prepare for your upcoming career whether that is involvement in an RSO, relevant course work, internships, skills you have learned, etc.
2. Build a post grad action plan. Think about where you want to live, create a budget, find housing, and apply for jobs or graduate school. Having a plan will help reduce stress when the time comes to graduate.
3. Build healthy habits like time management, financial planning and organization. Practicing these now, will create habits that your future self will thank you for.