Four-Year Action Plan for Finding a Job
We know that as wonderful as your four years here will be, the end goal is to leave with a path for employment. Our advice on what to do and when in your four years at UVM:
First year: Adjust
- Get to know your academic advisor and resident advisor.
- Visit Career Services to address questions about your major or about choosing a major.
- If you already know that you are pre-health or pre-law, review the information on our website and meet with your advisor or a Career Services counselor.
- Experience college by getting involved either on- or off-campus. Explore a variety of classes, student organizations and volunteer opportunities.
- Think about internship opportunities — how would you like to devote your time?
Second year: Explore and experiment
- Evaluate the experiences you've had so far at UVM and elsewhere. What interests and skills do you enjoy using? Meet with a career counselor to explore further.
- Explore connections between your interests, skills, majors, courses and career options. Find out what's out there.
- Experiment by attending informational interviews, arrange job-shadowing experiences, gain experience through career-oriented internships, work-study jobs, part-time and summer jobs. Continue to pursue interest through campus activities.
- Draft a preliminary resume — this is a living document that you'll update often; it's never too early to start!
Third year: Focus
- Focus on potential areas of career interest. Take advantage of career counseling to help with this process.
- Assess your perceptions about and qualifications for work in your field(s) of interest by talking to people in those fields.
- Gain experience: Obtain an internship or a career-oriented part-time jobs and develop your skills and further your exploration.
- Continue developing your relationships with faculty and administrators; you'll want their advice and recommendations.
Fourth year: Seek your path
- Prepare your resume and have it reviewed by Career Services.
- Search for jobs and upload your resume. Our online job database can show you the way.
- Meet with a career professional to develop your job search or graduate school plan.
- Schedule mock interviews — they're good for practice.
- Target jobs/organizations of interest or graduate schools. Investigate job-search strategies for your area of interest.
- Search online job postings and submit your resume — if you find something that interests you, apply all of your job search skills and go for it!
- Secure or request interviews for jobs of interest.
- Continue networking — UVM Career Connection is a great resource for connecting with alums.
- Evaluate and (eventually) accept the right position or graduate school offer.
Last modified August 18 2009 11:34 AM
