Students - Your Career Plan

Freshman Year

• Work on Core Classes
• Get to know Academic Advisor(s) – Visit frequently
• Meet your professors and instructors
• Make a tentative plan of classes to take and when
• Visit and take a tour of the main library – use its resources!
• Visit student organizations of interest
• Meet new people!
• Meet with Career Counselor – Take Interest / Personality Inventories
• Begin evaluating your interests, skills and abilities
• Create a list of questions to ask professionals about to learn more about career fields of interest
• Talk to professionals in jobs of interest to you – conduct informational interviews
• Seek part-time work, community activities
• Seek opportunities to work with others
• Learn Auburn’s campus – what resources are where?
• Get tutoring assistance, and / or develop academic skills (note-taking, reading, time management, test-taking, study skills, etc.)
• Attend entertainment, cultural, speaking events on campus – visit Career Fairs
• Seek Summer Job to develop customer interaction skills / sense of responsibility

Sophomore Year

• Continue to complete core classes
• Evaluate academic areas for a potential choice of major
• Continue “fine tuning” your academic plan of courses
• Continue to meet and interact with faculty, instructors, counselors and administrators
• Begin investigating career fields of interest
• Continue self-assessment – likes, dislikes, preferences, goals
• Choose 2-3 student professional organizations in areas of interest to you to begin visiting
• Continue meeting with academic and career counselors
• Visit Office of Business / Student Partnerships and Career Services to learn about their resources
• Begin considering elective course offerings
• Investigate intern, co – op, and summer job options
• Develop a resume and cover letter
• Continue conducting informational interviews with professionals
• Continue visiting / using main college library resources
• Develop interpersonal skills – meet more new people; work in teams; seek leadership roles
• Attend career fairs and job search seminars

Junior Year

• Continue progress on your academic coursework plan
• Register with Career Services
• Continue self-assessment process – preferred tasks, environments, people interactions
• Communicate with network of faculty, counselors and administrators that you know for career questions and advice
• Begin to finalize career interests
• Select 1-3 student organizations to become more involved with as a officer and /or as a contributing member
• Identify your preferred career field(s) professional organization and join their student chapter
• Identify the professional publications and websites for your areas of interest and begin learning about the main “players” and issues in your field
• Take electives that help with your employment goals
• Start researching employers of interest for both intern and career possibilities
• Attend any speaker events of interest, as well as career fairs and job search seminars
• Update Resume – schedule a mock interview with Career Services
• Write papers / conduct projects on organizations and business topics of interest
• Seek opportunities to meet and to interact with people
• Start a file of employer contacts – Continue targeted informational interviews
• Visit cities of interest
• Evaluate interest in graduate school – visit schools of interest
• Interview for summer job / intern positions
• Obtain summer job / intern position to test career interests

Senior Year

• Complete course requirements – complete a credit check of courses
• Plan interviewing activities and academics as part of total schedule
• Participate in on-campus interviews
• Complete leadership assignments in student organizations
• Communicate with faculty, advisors, employers and administrators about career interests / goals
• Continue / complete employment assignments
• Take graduate school admissions test(s) and file applications early
• Select 2-3 employment options to begin interviewing for
• Finalize resume and cover letter
• Develop your off-campus individual employer contact plan including job search strategies and telephone approaches
• Attend career fairs, employer information sessions, speaker presentations and job search seminars
• Begin contact plan for your network of contacts
• Evaluate career options / make employment decisions
• Prepare for transition from student to employee