Freshman Year

• Begin your Career Development Portfolio.
• Assess your interests, skills, values, goals, and personality.
• Go to the career center in your school and explore majors and careers.
• Set goals for your first year.
• Write a résumé.
• Network with professors and students. Concentrate on getting good grades, adjusting to college, and getting to know instructors.
• Keep a journal for reflection. Label the first section Self-Assessment and begin to write your autobiography. Label another section Exploring Careers.
• If time permits, get a part-time job. Check out your school's placement office for suggestions.
  

Summer Vacation

• Get a summer job to help you explore jobs, gain work experience, learn to get along with others, and earn money.
• Talk with people. Find out what they like and do not like about their jobs. Research careers.

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Sophomore Year

• Add to your Career Development Portfolio.
• Start a file about careers and majors. Start to narrow your choices.
• Do research on specific majors and careers.
• Develop computer skills.
• Join clubs and take a leadership role.
• Read articles and books about your major area, careers, and the world of work.
• Find a part-time job or volunteer your time.
• Update your résumé.
• Get to know instructors and talk to them about careers.
• Explore internships and co-op programs.
• Add a section to your journal called Job Skills and Qualities.
• Include these questions and write answers: How could I benefit an employer? What skills and personal qualities do I have to offer? What can I do to make myself more marketable?
  

Summer Vacation

• Get a summer job and continue to gain experience, learn skills, develop references, and earn money.
• Keep up your journal and include notes on what it takes to get along with others and how to advance in the workplace.

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Junior Year

• Update and expand your Career Development Portfolio.
• Choose a major and career and gain more job experience.
• Network. Join student organizations and professional organizations.
• Develop relationships with faculty, administrators, and other students.
• Obtain an internship or gain further job experience.
• Keep your journal updated with job tips, articles about your field, and assess your qualifications. Update your résumé.
• Visit the career center on campus for help with your résumé, internships, and job opportunities.
  

Summer Vacation

• Get a summer job in your career area if possible. Develop good contacts and references.

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Senior Year

• Refine your Career Development Portfolio.
• Time to put your job search into high gear. Go to the career center for advice.
• Read recruitment materials. Schedule interviews with companies.
• Update and polish your résumé and print good copies. Write drafts of standard cover letters.
• Update journal. Keep a list of potential employers and assess your job skills. Have you gained maturity, self-confidence, and poise? Are you ready for a career? Are you disciplined and able to put in more than an eight-hour day? Do you know what it takes to be hired and promoted?
• Network. Talk with faculty, administrators, and community members.
• Keep a list of contacts and their telephone numbers.
• Join professional organizations and attend conferences. Take your résumé along and follow up on contacts.
• Start sending out résumés and go to job fairs.
• Find a mentor to help you with your job search and career planning.
• Log interviews in your journal or notebook. Assess and improve your performance. Practice interviewing skills. Go to job interviews.
• Choose from among job offers.
• Continue your journal with strategies for being promoted.

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