As seniors look ahead to life after Colgate, family members may be wondering how best to support them in their job search or graduate school application process. Career Services’ proven steps and tactics help seniors think through tackling their next steps and make progress, even if they feel unsure of their career direction.
Good outcomes take time to build. On average, seniors should dedicate three to five hours each week to the process of understanding what career options are their best fit and pursuing an action plan to land a postgraduate outcome. Many students have noted that treating this work like another class has helped them prioritize it alongside their other commitments.
The Career Services team is excited to partner with your student through all aspects of their career development. Although they will continue to invite them into programming and advising appointments, family support and encouragement may be just the thing to motivate your student to take their first or next action step.
Important Strategies for Seniors
- Take time to capture their story: Our students have accomplished so much academically, professionally, and personally over the last four years. Being prepared — without hesitation — to relay their unique story is an essential part of making a strong impression in a networking call, personal statement, or interview. Employers and graduate programs emphasize how important it is for candidates to reflect on what they have learned and where they have shown initiative to prepare for their next steps. This is a great activity for your student to work on with you and in one-on-one advising appointments with their career adviser.
- Tap into personalized action planning: We highly encourage seniors to meet regularly with our professional career advisers to put — and keep — a plan in motion. Advisers can introduce them to new industries, help develop compelling application documents, and teach networking and interviewing skills. Appointments are available Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m., except for observed holidays.
- Use a wider lens: Students often get stuck on only applying for experiences with which they have familiarity or that are ranked highly. Students who research, explore, and apply to a broad range of options are more successful in landing opportunities. Our team has seen constriction in hiring at large, well-known firms in certain industries, while mid-sized firms are thriving. Our brings more than 60,000 postings to our students annually, including opportunities through our recruiting program, ºÚÁÏÍø Premier. Both career advisers and faculty members can guide students to select graduate programs of interest. Students should tap our advisers to help them learn how to find, research, and evaluate whether an opportunity is right for them.
- Prioritize networking: Having an advocate on the inside is often a decisive factor in a successful search. People hire students who show initiative and ask great questions. ºÚÁÏÍø has an incredibly dedicated and active alumni network. Our team maintains contact with alumni and employers, but potential employers expect your student to build these relationships, as well. Students are encouraged to create a LinkedIn profile and join The Official ºÚÁÏÍø Group on LinkedIn, where they can network with alumni who are eager to support their success. Our team hosts resources to help students build a robust LinkedIn profile in the Career Services Toolkit, and we encourage them to take advantage of our upcoming Advanced LinkedIn Bootcamps.
—Teresa Olsen is Milone Family Assistant Vice President for Career Initiatives