A guide to career planning services
at the U
From the Spring 2006 Parent Newsletter
Students enter college at different points along the career-planning
continuum. While some arrive with specific career goals and know
how to go about achieving them, others have only a vague idea
of what they will major in and have given little thought to how
their academic work will relate to future employment. Every University
of Minnesota college offers career counseling, and most have
career centers staffed with career advisers. Many offer career
exploration workshops, mentoring, internships, on-campus recruiting,
and career fairs.
Plan ahead: suggested timeline
Career planning is a four-year process. Although students may not have firm
career plans until their final two years, they should be considering their
career options right from the start. Here is a sample of the types of career
planning activities students can perform at different stages of their college
career. For more information, see this comprehensive
list.
Freshman year
•Talk to a career counselor about career values and interests
•Enroll in a career exploration or career survey course (offered by many
colleges)
•Talk to academic advisers about majors and requirements
Sophomore year
•Participate in job shadowing
•Conduct informational interviews
•Get involved with the college mentor program right away in the fall
Junior year
•Attend career fairs to learn about summer internships
•Select graduate schools
•Prepare for and take appropriate graduate school admissions tests (GRE,
GMAT, LSAT, MCAT)
Senior year
•Update resume
•Begin job search in the fall semester
• Complete graduate school application
Other U-wide counseling resources:
- University Counseling & Consulting
Services offers personality and interest testing,
workshops, presentations, and computerized guidance systems.
Counselors work with students to explore how their personal
interests could lead to a major or career.
- The Health
Careers Center, a collaboration between the
University’s Academic Health Center and the career
centers in the colleges, helps undergraduates explore health
care careers and prepare for admission into a health professional
program. The center offers information sessions, workshops,
credit-courses, and special events.
- The Learning
Abroad Center provides information and resources
on internships and career opportunities abroad.
- The College of
Liberal Arts Career and Community Learning Center offers
information about service-learning and internships.
- The St.
Paul Campus Career Center, a collaboration
between the College of Agricultural, Food and Environmental
Sciences, the College of Human Ecology, and the College
of Natural Resources, provides career counseling and planning.
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