Getting a first-year student to think about life after graduation when he has just barely lugged the mini-fridge to the fourth floor of Converse Hall is a challenge. But fresh initiatives, and greater investment in staff and programs are swiftly transforming how aggressively that message is communicated to UVM students and the help they receive in putting it into action.

For the first time this fall, the university is presenting its "Four-Year Plan for Career Success" to all incoming first-years. A list of strategies and tangible steps, the plan helps students begin to figure out what they want to study, where they want to go with their degrees, and how to get there. Organized by year, the steps move from exploration to execution. While a first-year's checklist includes joining campus clubs, volunteering, and talking to friends and family about their professions, seniors are focused on joining professional associations, attending conferences and practicing interviewing.

UVM's Career + Experience Hub in the Davis Center, which opened in fall 2013, will serve as both reminder and facilitator as students chart and monitor their preparation for life after college. In fact, many of the steps will take students to the Hub's doors. "The plan makes clear to students what they should be doing in each semester," says Pamela Gardner, director of the Career Center. "The Hub will give them the 'how.'"

Learn more about the Four-Year Plan on the Career Center's website.

PUBLISHED

08-26-2014
University Communications