C areer S earch I nvestigation: Building a strong case during your college experience

1. Career Search Investigation:Building a strong case during your college experience Derek L. Thatcher Director of Career Development & Experiential Learning

2. A Four-Year Approach • Consider your post college goals and options • Think of your career development as a four-year investigation full of leads to explore and clues to uncover • As a result you will attain those universal ingredients sought by employers and admissions committees

3. Considering Your Post-OSU Goals • Past behavior is the single best predictor of future behavior. You will be evaluated on your past behaviors and accomplishments. • The following information summarizes the “universal ingredients” sought by employers and admissions committees alike.

4. Education • Grade trends, cumulative GPA, and GPA within major • Breath of coursework; possible academic minor that complements major • Well-rounded general studies and wise use of electives

5. Career-Related Experience • Internship or co-op experiences • Career-related summer jobs • Volunteer experiences and job shadowing • Class projects or assignments within a field of interest

6. Leadership • Involvement in campus or community organizations and activities (roles you held within them, contributions you made, etc.) • Volunteer experiences (within the university or local community, as part of organization or as an individual)

7. First Year • Your first priority is to adjust to campus life. Learn how to balance academic demands, possible work, and campus activities and social life • Get to know your faculty, advisors, Student Life staff, and University administrators • Seek the assistance of the Office of Career Development to identify your interests, strengths, and values and how these relate to various post college options • Explore your academic major options. With the assistance of an academic advisor choose GECs that will help you to explore different majors

8. First Year cont. • Become actively involved with camps activities and organizations in order to develop your soft skills • Enroll in EDU PAES 270 • Talk to alumni and others who either majored in what you plan to pursue or work in that field • Participate in the Career Fair and attend the Columbus campus Transition Fair • Seek an internship, part-time or summer job that will provide knowledge about an occupation in which you are interested • Ask yourself is my digital profile what I want to project to the world?

9. Second Year • Narrow your choices for major and possible minor. Reflect on how electives fit into your major • Develop short-term and long-range educational and co-curricular goals with a career development professional or your academic advisor • Ask yourself what skills do you want to develop through academics and co-curricular pursuits? • Attend career development, departmental, and job fair events throughout the year (here or at the Columbus campus)

10. Second Year cont. • Create or update your resume and have it reviewed by a career development counselor • Learn how to successfully interview successfully and how to write a really good cover letter • Start collecting letters of recommendation • Investigate or obtain an internship or co-op experience; develop you networking skills and use holidays and academic breaks to speak with contacts

11. Third Year • Meet with a career development professional to ensure you are on target to achieve your career and educational goals • Research opportunities within chosen career fields. Ask yourself if you are attainting the skills and experiences to enter the field • Continue to obtain experience that will position you well for graduate school or employment after graduation, such as volunteer work, part-time jobs, internships, and leadership positions within student organizations. • Join a professional organization and attend Job Fairs • Attend Employer Information sessions in your field of interest. Begin to do in-depth research into companies and organizations you will target for full-time employment next year.

12. Third Year cont. • If you plan to attend graduate or professional school after graduation: • Continue identifying graduate schools programs that are compatible with your educational and career goals. • Begin obtaining letters of recommendation from faculty and student life professionals for your graduate schools applications • Attend Graduate & Professional School Expo during the Autumn quarter • Become familiar with admissions procedures. Find out if you will need to take a standardized test for admission and plan to take it at an optimal time

13. Entering Your Four Year • Ask yourself: how is your career search investigation going thus far? What gaps in your case currently exist and what will you do in order to fill them? • Ask yourself: What role to you want work to play in your life?

14. Four Year • Polish your resume, job search letters, and interview skills by meeting with a career development counselor. Have your resume and cover letters critiqued and conduct mock interviews • Obtain a copy of a job search guide from your career development office and review it thoroughly. Attend a networking & etiquette workshop • Meet with a career development counselor to determine which strategies would be optimal for you and to learn more about career resources you can use during your search • If you need to obtain experience in your chosen field, search for internships or part-time jobs through the campus web resource. As you get closer to graduation, search the full-time job listings

15. Four Year cont. • If you plan to attend graduate or professional school determine if you have met all of the necessary requirements for admission • Regardless of your graduation quarter, be ready to conduct your full-time job search during fall quarter. Companies conduct approximately 75% of all full-time jobs recruiting in fall quarter alone • Go to Career Fairs held throughout the year, attend Employer Information Sessions and participate in interview opportunities • Participate in on-campus recruiting and network with potential employers as much as possible your final year at OSU

16. For Assistance: Derek L. Thatcher Director of Career Development & Experiential Learning Services Warner 226 740.366.9453 dthatche@cotc.edu